Is your business doing very well, but you are still wondering whether you should be making changes for continuous improvement?
Like improving effective brand marketing? We recently received that question from Grace at Fresh Books. It is a frequent question we receive from clients.
Related: How to Frame Marketing Messages for Optimum Engagement
First, a word about Freshbooks. They are a cloud-based accounting software service designed for owners of the types of small client-service businesses that send invoices to clients and get paid for their time and expertise.
From my research online, they appear to be doing incredibly well. And so I would conclude that their brand, branding, and brand marketing must be doing well also.
Let me point out that Freshbooks is not a client of ours. Grace simply asked me to take a look at their online presence and answer this question for them in the way of a blog that I post on my consultancy’s website.
This is what I agreed to do because I believe it is such a pertinent topic for many businesses. I will do this task by simply studying their online presence, with no further discussion with them.
What is branding in business?
But first, let’s first be sure we share a common understanding of brands and branding. There is a brand, and there is branding. One is a noun, and one is a verb.
But the funny thing is that when it comes to what defines a brand and what defines your branding, the noun and the verb are switched.
Branding is defined by things like a logo, the look and feel of website copy, and all the visual details that go into managing the brand. It sends out a vibe, and it’s made up of many things.
A brand, on the other hand, is defined by a company’s actions. How do you serve the customer? What interesting service do you offer?
How do you approach relationships with business partners and vendors? A brand is also by what you want to stand for.
The most important thing to remember, it’s not about you in the sense that you are in control. You are not. But you can influence.
Your brand represents a collection of your customers’ perceptions of how they see you, how they feel about you, and what they say about you. It communicates and influences every time it touches a customer.
In a world of abundant choice, such influence is crucial for business success. So despite Freshbooks’ brand marketing success, there are always ways to be better.
Let’s examine some ideas on this subject:
Tips on brand marketing … purpose
The objective here is to define the company’s existence above and beyond making money. What does Freshbooks stand for beyond being a successful software company?
None really visible. As they step up their game, now would be a great time to build and market this brand’s purpose.
Tips on brand marketing … compelling value propositions
Freshbooks does a very good job of defining several very good value propositions, such as a user-friendly interface, ease of use, and award-winning support team.
We suggest going deeper with these statements by validating details from customer users. A great way to do this would be to use customer stories to extend the value propositions beyond the products and services.
Become defined by what you make happen, focusing on the customer’s end state resulting metrics.
Making a difference builds on your value propositions. Strong value shows the difference that the customers see.
We recommend adding to your list of value propositions and supporting them with details of proof from customer results.
Tips on brand marketing … deliver on promises
Freshbooks uses many great customer testimonials and referrals. However, they could do a better job of pointing back to brand promises.
We believe Freshbooks could make explicit promises in their value propositions. Feature metrics and offer guarantees behind the promises.
They should use actual customer experience to find the best metrics.
Brand marketing strategy … engage customers
Great brands drive greater engagement by creating emotional responses. They make learning about their products and services fun.
Freshbooks offers free 30 day trials of their products, which is excellent.
They can make this more engaging by offering a customer support team to work with these potential new customers.
Brand marketing.
Customer trust
Customer trust in this world is everything, isn’t it? Freshbooks must be doing it pretty well.
We suggest Freshbooks take a page from the FedEx brand by becoming synonymous with “reliability.”
Define your reliability benefit to customers in the most straightforward terms possible.
Offer reliability in everything you do — from your products and services to your website and communications.
Make your promise peace of mind for your customers.
Help consumers help themselves
The best brands offer lots of help/advice …giving value in every interaction. You see this very often with online brand marketing and Freshbooks does this well also.
We believe our earlier idea of using customer support heavily in the free trial could be an excellent way to highlight the customer support team.
Highest quality customer service
We don’t have any results to examine here, but we recommend Freshbooks steal a page from the Zappos Brand.
There is no secret here. Zappos became Zappos because of the fanatical customer support it offered. That is the company’s brand.
As Tony Hsieh, the Zappos CEO, put it, back in 2003, we thought of ourselves as a shoe company that offered great service.
Today, we really think of the Zappos brand as about great service, and we just happen to sell shoes. Freshbooks could easily do the same to strengthen its brand marketing
Tips on brand marketing … website design
For the best brands, the design is more than a shiny wrapper. It is the brand. Freshbooks needs more emphasis in this area with visuals and more professional visual influence.
Takeaways
There can never be enough focus on continuous improvement of brand marketing, independent of how well the business is doing. It seems Freshbooks is looking to take its success to a new level.
This is an excellent time to make a statement about their brand marketing. Changing before you have to is always a good idea.
Would you like to participate in a free evaluation of your business marketing where our output is published on our blog like Freshbooks? If you are interested, please send us an email at Mike@digitalsparkmarketing.com.
Need some help in capturing more customers from your brand marketing design strategies?
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on marketing strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Relying entirely on driving traffic and making as many sales might not be the best strategy for running an online business. If you want to build a sustainable venture, you will need to spend a lot of time raising brand awareness and build your reputation online.
Of course, if you are still relatively new to the world of eCommerce, reputation might not take your priority as much. But preparing for the future is also heavily encouraged. If nothing else, this article will be a good reference for when that time comes. But as for those who are trying to focus on the bigger picture and want to take action right now, follow the steps mentioned below right now.
Step #1 – Learn About Customer Satisfaction
Starting with the basics is always a good course of action. There are a lot of sources on the internet on how you can learn about customer satisfaction. Oberlo and their research in which they measure customer satisfaction is a good example.
At the end of the day, it is all about keeping your customers happy. If you cannot ensure that people will not bother visiting your store ever again. Not to mention recommending the business to their friends and family. A positive word of mouth is a good indication of your brand doing well.
Step #2 – Offer Multiple Payment Methods
Other payment methods.
Not everyone has the option to use a credit card. And providing multiple payment options should be a good incentive to get more people to your store. People will mention you to their friends and family. Flexibility tends to be overlooked quite a lot.
Do not neglect such payment methods like PayPal and Payoneer. Something like cryptocurrency is also worth exploring.
Step #3 – Go Pro-Environment
More and more brands are taking the pro-environment approach. And it seems that people have also become aware of the problem our planet is facing. If you harm the environment, there will be a lot of damage control necessary.
It might be impossible to change every single aspect of your business, but try to make an effort and show that you care about the environment. Your reputation will jump immediately.
Charity work is another way to show that you are more than just a business with nothing but profits in mind. If you have the resources to spare, dedicate them to something that will improve the world.
Maybe you can create a volunteer program? Or maybe you could fund a program that would improve the lives of people living in local communities? It is part of good PR, but if you are interested in building a great reputation, charity work is certainly something to consider.
Step #5 – Cooperate With Influencers
Cooperating with others and creating Instagram stories about it is worth exploring as well. And if you want to reach as many people as you can, then there is no better option than influencers.
Influencers can be found on social media as well as specific platforms. Be sure that you work with someone who has a good reputation. If they show you in a positive light, then you can expect an even bigger influx of new customers. Not to mention raising brand awareness.
Step #6 – Provide Valuable Content
Providing valuable content on a regular basis is another thing that will guarantee you more positive attention from people. Of course, the most difficult part is finding a channel and providing such content.
Social media is one of the suggestions that come to mind. Starting a blog also has its merits, including opportunities to invite guest posters as well as SEO improvements.
Paying more attention to customers is a great way to show that you care about them genuinely. Ensuring great customer support is one of the ways to reach that point.
Loyalty programs are another. You can create a VIP system with points that can be later exchanged for various perks, such as free shipping or discounts. As for the method of acquiring such points, customers can get them by posting reviews, spending money, or spending time on the store browsing.
Step #8 – Engage Customers
Engage your customers. Initiate the conversation. Reply to their comments on channels like social media and forums. Communication is important. Show that there is a real person behind there and not a money-seeking corporation that is trying to act all nice for the sake of profits.
Step #9 – Avoid Posting Fake Reviews
Despite what some might think, there are still a lot of companies that order fake reviews to boost their ratings. This kind of behavior is going to catch up to you eventually. And when that happens, you may find that getting out of the situation unscathed is more or less impossible.
Are you happy with your business success enablers and growth? Or are you struggling to keep up with your competitors? You would be surprised how many of our clients say they are happy with their success and size and therefore don’t have a growth or success strategy for remarkable business success. To exploit change as an opportunity, like Peter Drucker would say?
The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.
– Peter Drucker
Related: Peter Drucker’s Crash Course with These Management Lessons
Remember this: whatever got you where you are today will not be sufficient to keep you there. A rapidly changing environment is the regular background against which organizations must develop. We can all dream about what it takes to make our startup a success. Dreams are important, but not without a success plan and its execution.
As an entrepreneur, I’ve long been fascinated by the forces that drive business success. It’s been 5 years since I founded Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing agency that focuses on helping to improve business success. In interacting with will be entrepreneurs, start-up business owners, or small businesses, I have noted that it is not too uncommon for them to want to spend lots of valuable time and energy thinking about appearance rather than spend their time demonstrating that they can win new customers, and more importantly, keep them.
Here are the top five most important success factors to a winning business that we use most often with our clients (listed in order of importance):
Business success enablers … your people are your business
Your team is your business, quite literally. It is only as good as the weakest link and your ability to provide strong and effective leadership.
You, as a business leader, must be a talent hound for future hiring, be a strong mentor and coach for people development, continually work to build your leadership skills, and build and maintain a staff that collaborates effectively as a team.
Digital Spark Marketing offers workshops and useful blogs in all of these areas.
We are definitely in the age of the customer … ignore this at the peril of your business. While the customer is not always right, he always has the right to choose. Building customers into advocates is perhaps your most important task. It all starts by listening to your customers.
Do you listen more than you talk?
Do you know who your most important customers are? Your influencers? And why they come back to do business with you? These are important questions whose answers provide valuable insights to your business.
Why engage customers? The answer is pretty simple. Customers remember and value personal experiences that demonstrate deep understanding and respect for their needs. There is a fine line between a bad, good, and great customer experience. You need to know your customers and understand your touchpoints well to build great customer experiences. Great customers experiences are the foundation for great customer service … both are essential in building advocates and influencers.
Smile, listen, connect, and thanks = engage customers
DSM Marketing Agency is skilled in understanding and improving customer touchpoints in ways that make positive impacts on customer experience and service. Our goal is to make your customer experience and service discriminate your business from its competitors.
Do you need the ‘spark’ to set your business apart … if so, call for a free consultation today.
Responsive customer service
Businesses need to take their customer service to the next level. The best approaches are by being more responsive and proactive, delivering on their promises, and listening and observing to gain insights and then acting on them.
The ability for a business to serve its customers in a responsive way that is consistent with meeting or beating their expectations will prove to be the ultimate differentiator separating the winners from the losers.
Be social, yes, but above all, be responsive.
When companies learn how to deliver and evolve differentiated customer service, they build strong, enduring customer relationships and trust.
Does your business strive to create world-class customer service? DSM Agency can help you build your roadmap.
Building customer relationships and trust
Few things as critical as building customer relationships.
Customers choose businesses based on their confidence, strength of relationships, and trust.
Today there are many communication channels to engage your customers, build communities, display your brand’s values, deliver on your promises and building customer relationships and trust. Use those that represent where the majority of your target customers reside.
Creative marketing
Creating an integrated marketing strategy and messages that will be heard, remembered, and, most important, talked about, is very difficult in a world where customers have precious little time to listen. Achieving creativity in your marketing messages delivery is essential to winning your customers choices, and then their loyalty.
The DSM Agency will collaborate with you and your team to design winning marketing campaigns to effectively deliver your messages.
Creative marketing messages
Your job as a business entrepreneur is to establish your expertise with your target customers … both on-line and off-line. You must know more than your customer communities know and use this knowledge to help them in their decision making. Use creative messaging to achieve these goals
Winning value propositions
With the amount of competition in the marketplace and the number of choices a consumer is given, the creation of a winning value proposition is difficult … but all the more necessary.
How does your business make a difference to customers who have infinite choice? The DSM Agency has been building successful discrimination and value propositions for the past several decades … we will be happy to collaborate with you on yours.
Brand marketing
Give your advocates and influencers good things to talk about. Focus on the advocates and influencers and let them take your messages to their friends and do your market branding for you. Everyone who touches a customer has a role to play in positively influencing a customer and strengthening your brand … so it’s their job to deliver the right kinds of communications and influence.
Social media and word of mouth campaigns
A community is a social network of people who interact amongst themselves about a specific topic. An audience is people who interact with a service. You can buy an audience, but you can’t buy a community. Focus on building communities through your use of integrated social media. We have many excellent examples we can discuss with you … it starts with a simple call.
There are many new components of a successful marketing campaign … such as social and mobile, and many more channels created by social media. The world of marketing is in a constant state of change, growing more personal, dynamic and local.
Is your business ready for the world of real time marketing? It is certainly an area that requires your attention. Let us discuss some of our ideas with you.
Integrated marketing campaigns
Marketing campaigns are not one dimensional. You have many customers, lots of messages, and several value propositions. You engage customers wherever they are … and they are on many channels. A campaign must effectively integrate your messages, their delivery and timing in a way that optimizes your ability to engage and not bombard your customers.
Innovation
What do you think: are innovators born or made? Surely, those who spawn ideas that change the world are special – different than the rest of us. Take one look at an Einstein, a Steve Jobs or a Da Vinci and it seems that they were bequeathed with something unique.
But are we looking in the right direction? I believe the biggest secret of innovation is that anyone can do it. The reason is simple: It’s just not that hard. Look up the word “innovate” in any dictionary and see what it actually means, instead of what you think it means. You’ll find something like this:
To innovate is to introduce something new.
That’s it. It doesn’t say you need to be a creative genius, or a workaholic. It’s just three little words: introduce something new.
The key word in the definition is “new.” The common trap about newness is the assumption that new means something the universe has never seen before. This turns out to be a very bad assumption.
Here’s why I conclude this: name any great innovator and I guarantee they borrowed and reused ideas from the past to make whatever it is they are famous for.
Innovation principles and process
Companies often ask themselves why their innovation principles seem to produce so few truly game-changing ideas. Why are they mostly getting only lukewarm suggestions for incremental improvements rather than radical new concepts for revolutionizing their industries? How can an organization get dramatically better at generating big, breakthrough ideas? What are missing in most companies are innovation principles that translate ideas into winning ideas.
Crowdsourcing
Does your company do crowdsourcing in any form? Have you done any recent reading or research on crowdsourcing design? We follow this topic quite closely and have written several blogs on the topic and the businesses that employ it.
Crowdsourcing design is not just for new entrants challenging established players; the latter can also leverage crowdsourcing to their advantage, enabling users to design new products and test the demand at the same time.
Times of marketplace change
In a time of overwhelming competition, increasing rate of marketplace change, and significant marketing message noise and clutter, even maintaining your current customer base is difficult … and real growth even harder. Digital Spark Marketing Agency defines growth capabilities, as shown below, and provides services in each area. We add value in problem understanding, marketing campaign design, designing changes for market trends, and team training.
Adaptability to change
The digital and network revolutions have unleashed rapid and significant marketplace changes that impact your ability to engage customers … and the rate and amount of change is accelerating. Businesses must interpret and understand the implications of these changes and rapidly respond with creative ideas and innovations to maintain their competitive edge.
The survivor is the one most adaptable to change
Need some help in finding ways to grow your customers? Such as creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers? Or perhaps finding ways to work with other businesses?
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy continually improving your business learning?
Do you have a lesson about making your learning better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
More reading on customer experience from our Library:
Client Satisfaction …10 Secrets to Improve Customer Experience
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
