Ideas for Branding at Zero Cost

Are you worried about copy cats who might steal your customers?  DON'T!  That is what Branding saves you from - ideas are worth nothing; their value lies in how they are executed.  Branding is about your uniqueness and here are 3 tried-and-tested ideas for how to maintain your brand:

1  Use social media as much as you can to share about your business. A page on Facebook is a great way to attract and engage follower, but retaining them will take some commitment of your time. It is well worth investing your time on this as you can get good feedback as well as loyal customers, without spending any cash.
2  Keep your followers engaged in your journey, by sharing photos and video clips about what you are doing. Your mobile phone is your friendly reporting tool and the more interesting your shots are, the more followers your brand will gain.
3  Offer good ideas and advice when you can and soon you'll be attracting attention from those who want to learn from YOUR experiences, which no copy cat can speak credibly about.  Your journey is your own and that is its value.

Take the music industry as an example. Notice how great guitarists sustain their brand whether they go solo or join other groups? And it doesn't apply to creative industries only - even managers have their own brand which attracts staff to follow them where ever they go!  Think about Apple - it showed us that when its Essence was lost, it plunged in value and approached bankruptcy until its Founder returned and revived it with his vision.

Yes, Branding is about the users' experience of the essence on which your products and services are based. Would you like some help in clarifying the essence of your brand?  Call me at 6-03-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net.

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

Better the devil you know, than the devil you don't know?

Oh DRAT!! the laundrette had closed for their loooooong holidays and I'd missed it. But hey! I'd been wanting to look for an alternative anyway and now's a good time. They take ever so long and have to keep going back sometimes; customers stop to tell family stories and don't bother about the queue for service. Sigh. And, getting somewhere to park has been getting more difficult too. Time for change?

What about the one on the main road? They've very accessible and are popular. Hmmmm - The service is brisk and businesslike too! And the load would be washed and dried in less than 24 hours! Can't complain eh? Nice!

But, but, but, what's this? All the above were true; but the clothes didn't feel soft :(. And oh-oh! There were wrinkles that meant ironing was going to take longer. Gulp! WHY do they smell a tad - how can I risk someone I meet wondering why a smell? What a doozy!

You know what? I recall the lady at the regular place saying that she takes extra special care, issuing instructions to give them a gentle spin so that they aren't wrinkled, and making sure they're soft and fragrant too. Well, it's time for the next load and it's back to the grind of looking for parking spaces near the regular laundrette. Sure, it's slow in service and untimely with the returns, but at least I can count on them to care about the little things that show that they care about my clothes.

Off I go, and true enough it's difficult to get somewhere to park. Ah! There it is! But oh no - they're closed! Hah! I rememebr now - they'd decided to close at mid-week didn't they. Humph! So what's it going to be? The newbie who gets the job done without the frills? Ummmm. I don't think so. I'll settle for the tender, loving care, warts and all - I want to be cared for and not be just another number.

How about YOUR customers? Do they know that you value them? Want some suggestions for giving them some TLC that keeps them bringing repeat business? I'd like to help make your business known for being customer-centric. Call me at 6-03-21697704.

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