Thursday, September 22, 2011

Brand Names affect Profits!

"What a well-spoken man" I thought, as I was introduced to a dynamic mid-career professional. He and his family were visiting his parents.  It was a familiar story - they had sent him to study in another country, where he excelled and so settled down there to bring the best he could offer to the world.

Okay!  So you're asking what this has to do with branding?  Well, although this man was well-spoken and a high achiever, he initially had found it very difficult to get a job.  He was literally tearing his hair out in frustration! Then someone who had received his resume called him for an interview.  Wowee! A breakthrough - and a revealing one too, as it happened.  The interviewer said "It is so nice to know that you speak good English; because of your name I wasn't sure and it is important to my business that my staff speak well". Yes, personal brands do affect company brands, don't they?

So, guess what happened?  From that day on Harinder became known as Harry and his career path rocketed in tandem with his abilities!  Sorry Shakespeare but this doesn't always hold true: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (from Romeo and Juliet).

This is a phenomenan known as Brand Dissonance i.e. when the image doesn't match the delivery and it could happen in any part of a company's chain of the delivery of its products or services.  Is your Brand aligned well, in terms of image and delivery?

Actually its quite hard to beobjective about something that we are close to, and it helps to get an objective opinion from a third party as to whether we are projecting a profitable image.  If you'd like my help in this area just call 603-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net and we could chat about what you have in mind?

BRING ME THE BRAND AND I'LL INCREASE ITS PROFITABILITY! 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Product Placement can boost profits while reducing costs

Hmmmm. Kinda empty.  Business was slow because of the holidays.  The owner of the hair salon plonked himself down in the chair next to me to chat - he'd just taken the place over and had become its sole owner instead of a partner and came more often now, intent on boosting his business.

The tv show? At Owner's greeting I recoiled at the memory of poor support from a penny-pinching producer which had me doing my own hair - without any tools! Aaargh! You know what?  After that particular shoot I decided I was going to have to budget for my own assistant in future. Sigh :(

On Owner's mind were ideas for re-vamping the salon and we chatted about how to effect visual changes inexpensively.  The staff and he are service-oriented so I'm a regular there - they are lovely and always warm and friendly.  Nice!  All that was needed was some visual branding and pricing strategies to attract new customers to his salon.  Boy were we having fun tossing ideas around!

Then BINGO! We hit on Product Placement ie using his salon's services and crediting them, on my next series. Less expense, improved Brand Reach for him, and an on-site hairdresser for me. Cool!!!

What about YOU? Whom do you know who can showcase your business in win-win ways?  By arranging to cover costs in exchange for services, you could save yourself some $ expenditure while earning a very credible advertising channel.  Want ideas for how this can apply to your business?  Just call me at 6-03-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net.

BRING ME THE BRAND AND I'LL INCREASE ITS PROFITS!