Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Creative Minds of the Market

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Expert Author Christopher J Howells
The best way to define entrepreneur is to describe what he does and what makes him an entrepreneur. To define entrepreneur is to understand his characteristics and his qualities and how these makes him an entrepreneur.
The literal meaning of entrepreneur is to undertake. It came from the French verb entrepedre. There are different definitions of entrepreneur. There are different perspectives used to give the meaning of entrepreneur. According to JB Say, a French economist, an entrepreneur is an organizer who combines various resources to produce a marketable product. For Joseph Schumpeter, an Austrian-Hungarian-American economist, an entrepreneur in an advanced economy is an individual who introduces something new in the economy. It may be a new product, method of production, new market or new raw materials, and making changes. For Richard Cantillon, an Irish-French economist, an entrepreneur is an agent who buys resources at certain prices in order to create or develop products with the intention of selling it in the future.
One thing similar with all of these definitions of entrepreneurship is developing or innovating products, combining resources, and generating income from these products. To take into consideration all of the definitions mentioned, an entrepreneur is someone who takes the risk to combine various resources, exploit opportunities to create a demand, employment and eventually contribute to the economic wealth of a society.
To understand more what an entrepreneur is, it is important to take a look at their characteristics and qualities. Entrepreneurs are action-oriented and highly motivated. They are always seeking for opportunities and are challenged by hurdles and problems. They don't like to be stagnant. He does not see failure as a negative thing instead he sees it as an opportunity to develop and improve. He does not easily feel disappointed or depressed. Entrepreneurs have a high energy level and they don't like stopping. They are determined to achieve their goals and they don't let anything stop them.
Entrepreneurs are confident about themselves. They understand their strengths and weaknesses, and they use them to their advantage. They are flexible and risk takers. They make decisions based on current situations but they don't forget to plan ahead. They understand risks and they are not scared of diving into unfamiliar but interesting situations.
Most of all, entrepreneurs are creative and loves to explore ideas. They can identify opportunities and use them to pursue their goals. They can even create opportunities for themselves and other people. They love to take initiative. They are not mere followers. Their creativity leads to the innovations and developments that they discover and rediscover.
The characteristics of an entrepreneur allow them to become successful in the business world. They do not study to become entrepreneurs. They already have it in them. They are born with it.
The list of entrepreneurs is growing as years go by. Why? Because there are people who are meant not to stop creating new ideas and developing new things. So if you want to become part of the list of entrepreneurs, you must be willing to take on the challenge of innovating, creating and molding resources, markets, products and processes. We don't know; you might be the next John Rockefeller (Standard Oil Company), Henry Ford (Ford Motors), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google), and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook).

A Successful New Business Idea Needs a Small Market and Competition

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Expert Author Rolf D. Versluis
After getting a new business idea, how will you know if it is something that can work? First thing is to define and analyze the market. Next is to identify any competition, or any way that the need is being fulfilled today, then asking why your way is better. Then stretch your idea into something that is unique and better than the competition.
The market is the group of people that can become customers. If the market is everyone, then it is not a viable business idea.
The best ideas have a very narrowly defined set of potential customers that are their ideal targets. If the ideal target can be serviced well, then subsequently the product of service can be altered to broaden the market appeal. But is it best to go for the most likely customers first.
A market that I am a customer for is youth sports. I have three girls that are gymnasts and a boy that is a soccer player, and they are all in club sports. The costs for these sports is more than I care to add up every month. But those costs make me an ideal target for products and services that can help improve my kids's chances of success.
One of the most innovative products I have purchased is an audio course that is supposed to improve mental toughness for youth sports. It is a good product, and if it can help my kids to get the extra edge they need to win, it is worth it. The interesting thing about the course is that there is one for each individual sport as well. I believe the owner started with gymnastics or figure skating, and once he saw there was interest, expanded it to all other youth sports as well. I love seeing success like that!
The next thing look for is competition. If there is already a way that the need is being fulfilled, that is good! That means customers see value in the product or service and are willing to pay money for it. It is much easier to better serve an existing need than to try to try to convince people to buy something they are not already spending money on. The need is always being addressed in one way or another. If you can come up with a way to service a small part of the market better by being more innovative, focused, or persistent, you can succeed.
There was already a way for youths to get better at the mental aspect of sports. There were coaches that would help and inspire children. There were psychiatrists that could help people think more positively about themselves. There was definitely a need, and what was even better was that the need was being imperfectly addressed, with either a lack of availability or a price that was too high.
The great thing about the Internet is that it allows for addressing markets that are not just local. It could be difficult to be a mental toughness coach for elite youth sports in just one city because there might not be enough customers. It also difficult to scale beyond the consulting limits of what one person can accomplish in a day. However, by taking that experience and encapsulating it into a different format, it creates a new product. All of a sudden, a new market opens up.
The more you know about something, the more complex it seems, and the less you know about something, the simpler it appears. The truth is, everything is complicated. That's why it is best to stick to something that you know well, and have learned about in the thousands of hours of life experience you have put into it. Don't start a business in an area you know nothing about, because it really makes it hard to succeed. Take a fresh look at the way things are being done in your industry, and come up with at way to make a portion of it better. Analyze that portion well, and if it makes sense, then build a business plan around it.
For those of you that have asked, the youth sports mental toughness program I used as an example is called Competitive Advantage by Dr. Alan Goldberg.

7 Explosive Strategies to Make Your Business Boom in 2012

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Did you accomplish what you wanted to in 2011? Did you hit your business goals? Now is the time to determine what you're going to do in the next year to make sure that you achieve everything you want out of your business. Here are 7 strategies that I've identified that can help you explode revenue and sales in the coming year. I have used these strategies with my clients and I know that just adopting a few of them can grow your business but putting all of them into play can take your business to new heights. So here they are:
Explosive Strategy #1: Tap Into Your Team
The first strategy is to tap into the ideas of your team. According to Gallop over 80% of all employees are disengaged in their jobs, one of the best ways to get your team engaged is to get their ideas and then do something with them. Now this may not seem like an explosive idea however your business will grow leaps and bounds with a team that is energized and actively engaged and executing their ideas at work.
This process shouldn't be a free-for-all, when you go to your team ask them to specifically identify 3 things that they think could help the business grow and then how would they implement those three things. Once you have input on this then let the cream rise to the top, take the top ideas you heard the most along with what can realistically be executed and present them to the team. Then in a brainstorming session create a plan to implement them. Once you start implementing make sure there is a way to measure their success and continually give your team feedback in how they're doing. This can be a very powerful strategy, I haven't seen too many businesses with active and engaged people that are failing!
Explosive Strategy #2: Put Your Website To Work
The next strategy has to do with your website. When I look at most business websites that are strictly information portals that spew information about the business but have no call to action. In this strategy you want to make your website is one of your sales people by putting it to work and measuring its results. What I mean by putting it to work is to make sure that there are multiple ways for people to interact with your company via your website. There are multiple ways to put your website to work, here are a few:
• Create a new product and sell it on your website
• Create a new service and give people the ability to access the service via the website
• Have a newsletter sign up button
• Have a link to your blog
• Have a Facebook Like button
• Have a request a proposal or contact button so you are generating leads 24 hours a day
• Promote an affiliate product or service and get paid on sales of that product or service
These are just a few ways to get your website working for you. The whole idea is to have your website be a tool that people interact with and the more they interact with it the more opportunity you have to make them a customer.
Strategy #3: Become an Authority
Marketing is critical to any business however when you shift from traditional marketing to what I call "authority marketing" you now establish yourself as a trusted advisor that is delivering critical information to help people. By doing this you create a pull versus a push marketing strategy. What I mean by that is that people are now coming to you for your content and expertise instead of you pushing your products and services at them. By giving people great educational content in your marketing you now are getting people to want more from you and to pass on your information to others that can cause viral marketing.
The authority marketing method can truly help you stand out from the crowd and clearly differentiate you from your competitors. This strategy works especially well if you are in markets that are highly competitive, commoditized or price sensitive. The key to this strategy being successful is the content and the content can't be tied into sales of products or services. The content must stand on it's own, it must be good, solid content that provides value to the reader. It should help them solve problems, expose them to new ideas and educate them on issues in regards to what you do. In order for this to happen the content has to be consistent and it has to happen on a regular basis. In addition you want to make sure that others comments on your content is accessible; a Facebook comment option could be included as you want to start a conversation about your content. Becoming an authority takes a little time and effort but you will find that once you're there it will pay huge dividends.
Strategy #4: Build a Community
In today's world of social marketing it is imperative that you not only create conversations about your business but also monitor those conversations. Building an active community with today's technology has never been easier; tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn give you immediate opportunities to create conversations about your business. If you have done a good job of creating content as we discussed above then the next step to that is to get the word out and get people talking about it.
By using tools like Facebook and Twitter you can actively engage in conversations with potential and current customers. And more importantly you can monitor what they are not only saying about you but also about your competitors and what they are looking for in the types of products and services you offer. With LinkedIn you can find groups of people that may have an interest in your products and services and get them engaged in your content and conversations.
Of course the key to all of these is you have to do it, does that mean 50 tweets a day? Absolutely not, but it does require 30 minutes a day of engaging in conversations and monitoring what's going on with your followers. Building a community is one of the fastest ways to get more people aware of your business, which can lead to higher revenue.
Strategy #5: Re-connect with your customers
Remember the old TV commercial for an airline that had the boss walk into the sales office and say he had just talked to one of their best customers and they had fired the company and the boss said we need to get back in front of all of our customers and started handing out plane tickets to the sales people. Well that's exactly what I'm talking about in this strategy. As marketing guru Jay Abraham says, 'there's only 3 ways to grow a business, more customers, more sales from existing customers and larger sales from existing customers." It's by far easier to get more sales from existing customers and larger sales from existing customers than it is to find new customers. It always amazes me in working with clients how little they know about their customers, if you are truly going to leverage the value of a customer then you need to know them. Do you know the true value of your customer? Have you analyzed how they buy from you and how you might get them to buy more or more often? These are all critical questions in reconnecting with your customers, in order to quickly grow your business one of the best things you can do is focus on existing customers and try to increase the number and size of transactions they have with you. If that means coming up with new products for them, repackaging services or creating an income stream through a joint venture, (I'll talk more about that in the next strategy) those are all things that can quickly lead to more revenue.
Strategy #6: Create a Joint Venture
Every business should explore parallel opportunities that could increase revenue. Are there other businesses that offer services or products that could enhance your customer relationship? And do those businesses have their own customer base that could benefit from your products and services. Creating a joint venture could mean any number of things; it could be offering someone else's products and services in exchange for access through their customer base and the opportunity to market to them, or it could be offering additional products and services that you don't currently offer and making a fee off the sale. It could be opening up an entirely different market based on someone else's customer base. Or it could be licensing your processes or services to others outside your marketplace for a licensing fee.
The key to a successful joint venture is it must be beneficial to both sides; there must be value in the relationship for both parties in order for it to work. A joint venture can quickly catapult your sales and revenues and jettison you into additional markets that you thought were off limits.
Where do you find joint ventures? The answer to that is everywhere, first examine your product or service, is there a way to license it to be sold outside your traditional market? Second look at what else your customers buy that parallel your product or service and find out who offers them and explore those companies to see if there might be a fit. There are many hidden opportunities out there you just need to open your mind to them and do some research.
Strategy #7: Recommit to Exceptional Service
Today good service is somewhat expected however that being said it always amazes me how in my seminars when I ask people to remember a service experience they are almost always bad service experiences. People have a tendency to remember bad service and they remember exceptional service but good service typically goes unnoticed. So the challenge is to move from giving good service to providing exceptional service. How do you create raving fans of your business or products and services?
The first step is to commit to it, get your team together and create a list of things you can do to ramp up your service. Create a game plan on how you will institute these "service standards", train your team to deliver the upgraded services, measure the success of how you're delivering and reward your team for their success. And once you start getting rave reviews from your customers make sure you're sharing them with the world (see the strategy above about creating community).
In some cases depending on your business exceptional service could be the one thing that could push you over the top in making sales and revenue boom. And sometimes it can be the clear differentiator that makes a customer do business with your versus someone else. And the best part is that you don't have to be the cheapest when you offer the highest level of service.
Summary
If you to grow your business in 2012 then take a couple of these strategies and immediately put them to work in your business. If you want to explode your sales and revenue then put them all into play in your business and make 2012 your best year ever!
Mike Ferrell is President and CEO of The Pinecrest Group, he works with businesses and entrepreneurs helping them create focus in their business development, marketing and strategic planning. He has over 24 years of experience working in sales development, marketing, business planning and business growth strategies. He has been involved in 11 different start-up companies and has worked in 27 different industries.
In addition he is a frequent speaker at business events and conducts training workshops for business owners and salespeople that help them focus on the things they need to do to achieve success. His coaching programs have helped businesses of all types achieve success.
His first book, Ultimate Breakthrough Planning: The Business Funnel Approach, was published in 2008 by Scarletta Press has won numerous best business book awards. 

Show Me the Money: Seven Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs

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Expert Author Leanne P Vicente Have a great business idea? Want to quit the desk job? Looking for extra income? Want to be your own boss? Whatever your motivation, before you get started, it's important to understand seven key secrets of successful entrepreneurs. And remember: "Success consists of simply getting up one more time than you fall" (Sign in Locker Room: Jerry Maguire).
  • Goal Setting: Successful entrepreneurs set goals and review them regularly. Not to sound too "New Age" but I think there is a lot of truth to the idea that when you put your desires out to the universe, you are a lot closer to achieving them. Maybe this is because it means you have actually defined them. For example, what specifically are your financial goals? Are you looking for pocket-money or a rock 'n roll lifestyle? In an ideal world, how will the work fit in with your family? Do you want a passive income or a job? Don't be afraid to be "unrealistic"....it will help you determine your true motivators and from there you can make an action plan.

  • Risk vs. Reward: Successful entrepreneurs understand the relationship between risk and reward. Sometimes to make money, you have to spend money, and sometimes you have to risk money. Before you even consider doing this, you need to think about your risk appetite. In general, women tend to be far more risk averse than men...not always a bad thing. There's probably far less women jumping out of buildings because they lost everything than men. However, without doubt to get extraordinary results, you sometimes need to take extraordinary actions. Not many people get rich working for an employer in life or when their main risky purchase is the house they live in. A general rule of thumb is never risk what you cannot afford to lose and don't invest in something you don't understand. Diversify, know your limits, do your research and never ever trust some-one who promises you a sure thing...there isn't one...

  • Know Thyself: Successful entrepreneurs know their strengths and weaknesses and know how to capitalize on this knowledge. In today's globally connected world, it is very easy to find inexpensive labor to augment your own skills. Whether setting up an auto-responder, paying a freelancer to set up your website or handle administration, or employing a sales rep, make sure you are spending YOUR time on the things that really matter.

  • Passion: Successful entrepreneurs know that passion counts. Both because clients pick up on real enthusiasm and because success takes time and effort, initially with little reward. Many businesses falter in the initial stages where you are trying and maybe failing to get market traction. It will your be passion and self belief that pulls you through the slow or tricky times!

  • Have a Plan: Successful entrepreneurs know that there is quite a few steps between the creation of an idea and world domination. Have a business plan however rudimentary. To find out whether your business will be viable you need to be able to sell a service or product that people will want and make a profit from it. Focus on your income sources as many "good ideas" do not actually transmit to bringing in dollars. Also bear in mind, your potential start-up costs and your break-even point... and carry out some analysis on your proposed market. Who are your target prospects? What competitors do you have in the marketplace? What do your proposed customers think of your product or service? What are the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to your proposed idea? The Internet is a great tool for this kind of research but where possible you might also canvas opinions from your networks of friends, neighbours, ex-colleagues or clients or you might carry out focus groups or local surveys.

  • Perseverance: The secret of successful entrepreneurs is perseverance. No one should expect overnight success but consistent and concerted efforts can and do reap rewards. No matter how good your ideas, nothing will ever come of them if you cannot or do not implement them.However, a good piece of advice for your first venture is to pick the thing that is easiest to implement right now and start with that.

  • Diversify with Strategic Partnerships: Successful entrepreneurs know not to put all their eggs in one basket. In an uncertain world when even major banks can fail, it's not ideal to rely on only one income source or just one client. Don't be greedy, share risk with others, build partnerships and always be on the look-out for new opportunities...

What Is Co-Op Advertising?

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Expert Author Marilyn J Munroe
Co-op advertising may be something that you have heard of before, but you may not actually understand what it is. Once you can fully grasp what this type of marketing and advertising strategy is, you can use it to get the services you need for your business for free.
What is Co-Op Advertising?
In the past, co-op advertising was essentially when a manufacturer underwrote the entire cost of an advertising campaign for a retailer or wholesaler, as long as their products were prominently featured. How can this be helpful to you, the small business owner or entrepreneur, today? Instead of operating on the old model of co-op advertising, you can use a new version that is highly effective and can lead to you getting your advertising for free.
Co-op advertising today operates on the same basic principle, cutting costs on advertising while targeting an audience for two different entities. This type of advertising in the past targeted the consumer that wanted a specific product and influenced them to go to a specific store. Today, you can use the similar model in a different way.
The New Model of Co-Op Advertising
In the new model of co-op advertising, an individual, independent contractor, company, organization or business will completely plan, organize, assemble and produce advertising, marketing and promotions for one or more promotion partners. In essence, one leader will carry out an entire marketing advertising and promotions plan using various vehicles, for promotion partners that they have found who will underwrite the entire amount of costs involved. The organizer must seek out the promotion partners and present the opportunity in an effective way to the possible partners, leading to an opportunity in which all of the costs are paid for. This leaves the organizer to enjoy the benefits of the promotion absolutely free.
Why would the promotion partners want to cover all of the costs of the campaigns, while the organizer also reaps the benefits without having to pay any money at all? Because the organizer is doing all of the work. In essence, the cost of the labor and planning of the organizer is paid for with free advertising.
How Free Advertising, Marketing and Promotions Work
The organizer is the central part of the co-op advertising model. The main goals of the organizer are to:
  • Identify and effectively present to possible promotion partners
  • Plan an advertising campaign that works correctly for all partners
  • Assemble all of the ads
  • Produce marketing and advertising materials
  • Design and implement a distribution strategy
  • Carry out the advertising and marketing plans effectively
The organizer will provide all of the above and in turn, the promotion partners will cover the underwriting costs of the campaign. This is a win-win-win situation for all parties, enabling the organizer and the promotion partners to get what they want, which is quality advertising at an affordable cost.
Using this new model of co-op advertising, an organizer can successfully advertise and market to their target audience absolutely for free.
Co-Op Advertising: Getting Your Advertising and Marketing for Free
By Marilyn J. Munroe, Author of The Art & Science of Getting Other People to PAY FOR YOUR Marketing & Advertising

3 Steps to Follow for a Winning Advertising Campaign

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To most small businesses marketing and advertising are the same-they are both expensive. With their limited budget, they think that they can't afford to produce a successful marketing strategy. It's important though to distinguish marketing from advertising. Advertising is an important part of marketing; it's not marketing as a whole.
Advertising doesn't have to be expensive. There are plenty of low-cost advertising tools today that will benefit your benefit effectively. These tools will help you increase your market visibility without trying too hard. All that is required is to do thorough research, planning, and implementation. With the assistance of a proficient commercial printing company, there's not doubt your advertising tools will deliver good service without breaking the bank.
Remember that your customers receive a lot of advertising messages each day. If don't make your ad memorable, you don't stand a chance against your competitors. You don't have to have a huge budget just to produce and maintain an effective ad campaign. If you plan well, you don't have to worry of your materials. They will do the rest of the job for you. Here's an outline of the important steps when producing advertising campaign that yield big results:
# 1: Begin with your customers. Who are your ideal customers? They are people who are willing to buy the products or services you offer and have the capacity to buy. In determining who your ideal customers are, you need to determine their demographic and psychographic characteristics. This refers to the gender, status, age, nationality, income level, lifestyle, values, and attributes of your target audience. The clearer and more specific the characteristics are the easier it will be to create ads that will meet their needs and desires. Be sure to aim your campaign to where your customers are so you don't waste your time and money on unproductive ads.
# 2: Promote your brand. People are bombarded with different marketing messages each day. This shortens their attention span. If you want to make an impact on people, you have to get your brand in front of them. A brand includes your business name, logo, tagline, website, and other tools. If you position your brand well, you are sure to get enough attention from your target customers. Your brand will differentiate you from the competition and let you step up of the game.
A strong brand touches on people's emotions. Be sure to create inventive and attention-grabbing logo. Don't hesitate to be creative with your brand so you can easily encourage your customers to get involve in your business. Develop your message well to convey the right impression on people. Be as interactive as you can so your brand and your business will be well remembered.
# 3: Be personal. In today's highly electronic world, relating with people on a personal level becomes more and more important. This is the best way to retain customers in your business which gaining new ones. While your competitions are trying to breakthrough the electronic world, take this chance to reinforce and reestablish your brand through a personal way. Send out printed postcards or greeting cards printed through high quality to guarantee good response. This will increase your chance of gaining people's interest and trust.
While these steps won't guarantee that your business will succeed right away, they can point you to the right path. Follow them to get the best response and get started with your advertising campaign.
For more information and inquiries about the article feel free to visit: Commercial Printing and Commercial Printing Company
John Ray Daniels is a specialist of brochure printing and is also a web designer. He is knowledgeable in printing and continues to support the developments in the field to help out companies in their business marketing needs

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Branding Process

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The (re)branding process involves establishing a simple, differentiated and relevant meaning for your brand. One that has the power to inspire. Think about who you are as a company and what you stand for. Only after you've established that can you begin to think about making changes to your company and product logos, names, images, marketing strategies, and advertising campaigns.
If you suspect the time has come to enter into your own (re)branding you're probably right, but it can pay dividends to look before you leap. Reach out to your company stakeholders first to see what they think.
Below is my 7-step process for (re)branding your company and/or its products.
Step 1: Identify your unique value. This is your brand promise, the one thing that separates you from your market and makes your organization what it is. Speak to your customers to determine what they like and dislike about your business. Empower your employees to provide their honest assessment of what they feel your strengths and weaknesses are. If there are industry heads or organizations you can tap in to, consider reaching out to them as well.
Step 2: Assess untapped avenues: After you've identified your uniqueness with your core audience, consider whether or not there are untapped markets you can pursue. With your company's new direction, this could be an ideal time to target a whole new group of people.
Step 3: Craft a simple brand message: Keeping your audience in mind, create a simple brand message that identifies your audience, your company name and service, and your unique value proposition. You might find that it helps to adopt the format, "For [YOUR MARKET], [YOUR COMPANY NAME] is the [SERVICE YOU PROVIDE] that [PROBLEM YOU SOLVE]". Here's mine:
For emerging and changing organizations, Joe Franklin is the brand strategist that makes them relevant to consumers by establishing simple, differentiated brand meaning.
Warning, this is not an easy exercise. Play around with your simple brand message. Revise it as necessary, and once you've got it memorize it and say it to everyone you talk to about your organization.
Step 4: Develop a communication strategy: How you speak to your customers says a lot about your identity as a company and reinforces your brand promise. Make sure you adopt the right voice to reach your target audience. This can be a challenging process but also extremely rewarding and fun.
Step 5: Create internal and external plans: If your employees aren't able to connect with your brand, your customers won't be able to either. On the flip side, employees who understand and are inspired by your brand idea will look for ways to bring it to life. Allow your employees to see how customers interact with your brand and the role they play in the interaction.
External plans include developing marketing and advertising campaigns, communication strategies, and more. Think creatively and practically. Ask yourself: "What will best communicate our message and make people remember it?"
Step 6: Execute: Take the information you've gathered and the plans you've developed and go create a logo and tagline. Extend it further and design or redesign your website if need be. Keep in mind though that these visual looks are only part of the big picture (albeit an important one). Your new brand image also includes how you present yourself at speaking events, in public, and even how you dress!
Step 7: Measure: Correctly following Steps 1-6 should ensure that you arrive at a relevant, simple and clear brand promise that resonates with your target audience. You can make sure by measuring its effectiveness with your core audience. Measurement ideas can include posting a poll on your website, and simply asking your customers what they think of when they think of you and your new brand image. Your customers are your most important brand ambassadors because they're the ones that will provide positive or negative word of mouth marketing for your business. Make sure you have your finger on the pulse of what they think of you and fine tune as necessary.
The (re)branding process is a normal part of every organization's life-cycle. Doing it well will keep you relevant with your audience and help ensure your organization's continued success.
Joe Franklin is brand strategist and marketing director who has helped emerging and evolving companies solve their business problems for over 15 years. He lives and works in Oakland, California.