Would You Hire Picasso as Your Company's Graphic Designer? Not If You're a Shrewd Business Owner

From talking with business owners, both clients and non-clients, I've found that more than any other reason, business hire graphic designers to grow their business, make them more successful and MAKE THEM MORE MONEY. That's not what art does, that’s not what Picasso does – so as a business owner, maybe you shouldn’t hire Picasso for your graphic and web design.

Branding - Defining Yourself

Careful branding, and subsequent strategizing and application, can result in increased sales, more customers and an ability to increase the value and, therefore, the pricing of your products. Successful branding compaigns combine relevancy, consistency and awareness.

B2B Small Business Product and Service Content Branding

Every product and service you offer to small businesses is a great source of content you can brand into a useful article.

Small Deals are the Steps to the Really BIG Deals - Here's how

Every level of income demands a new you. Every level of YOU demands a new you but you can't get there before you master the smaller YOU of your present financial level. Get it? Now get this! That month is going to go by anyway, whether you do something or not. So why wait, who knows when that BIG deal is going to come in?

Five Myths That Effect The Decision To Just Do It!

Article looks at 5 reasons people will benefit from working with a Specialist.

Your Recipe for Brand Success, Part I

What's the dividing line in your business? Let's focus on the importance of setting boundaries in our business, particularly for the solo pro, or risk being overpowered by the very thing we love most.

Your Recipe for Brand Success, Part II

What's the dividing line in your business? Let's focus on the importance of setting boundaries in our business, particularly for the solo pro, or risk being overpowered by the very thing we love most. Part II

Marketing Masturbation: Branding Not to Win

There is a single fundamental truth in branding that is true regardless of industry, company, or product: IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL, YOU MUST BE WILLING TO WIN. The great Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.” Meaning, if a company, team, or individual does not have the will to win, they will never be able to win.

Smaller Budgets Need a Smarter Strategy

Brands that win with smaller marketing budgets get their messages through the SPAM filters by announcing to the prospective customers that the message is important enough to notice. Marketers scoff at the amateur and unsophisticated TV commercials paraded about by personal injury lawyers which start with an authoritative voice over corresponding type that says “Attention: Have you or anyone in your family been injured by…” We filter it out, pay no attention to it, unless a family member was just injured in the manner being discussed. When that is the case, the message gets through because it is about “our present condition.”

Branding The Realty Consulting Business

Branding in the real estate business is often confined to 'property developers' or the 'property' itself. But none of the marketers have ever discussed the role of branding for a 'realty consulting business'. In this article, I discuss how brand development and management can enhance the overall enteprise value of a real estate consulting business in the long run, especially in an emerging market like India.

Promote your Business with the Right Logo!

A logo is a design or image that represents a company, brand or product. Its aim is to help people identify the company with a positive customer experience. It is the basis of all future branding, advertising and communication strategies.

Rebranding Nigeria's Cities

A conceptual gap still exists in the understanding of the principles and practices of place branding amongst Nigeria's many state and local government officials. Despite the efforts at the centre to promote this novel concept that has been described by branding professionals as one of the fastest growing knowledge sectors in global branding and marketing, it appears that place branding is largely only linked and associated with the various activities embarked upon by the federal government, aimed at improving Nigeria's image in the international community, and to position her as a good destination for tourism and investment in sub-saharan Africa.

Naming Your Start-up: Simple Do's and Don’ts

The time to start thinking about the ideal name for your new business is at the same time you start putting your business plan on paper. Yes, your business – no matter how small a start-up – should have a written business plan. But that’s another story for another day. For now, let’s look at the most important reason to pick just the right name for your business.

How to Strengthen Your Unique Online Brand

Sure, you can pay web designers, copy writers, and SEO/SEM firms ten of thousands of dollars to do all of this for you. However, at the end of the day, it's your business, not theirs. It's ultimately up to you to be an expert at your own game, business model, product line, and brand!