While the concept of personal branding has taken off corporate branding seems to go in and out of favor. Economic cycles may have a lot to do with that. With the growth of the Internet and social technology tools, personal branding activity and opportunities have exploded. On the other hand, in some ways, the arc of Web 1.0 to 2.0+ (not to mention this current economy) has seduced many marketers into being focused on tactics at the expense of strategy including branding. Hot media tactics often substitute for the “strategy.”

If you are skeptical that brands still matter in the age of 1-1, millennials and social media, or if you are trying to run a business and make numbers and don’t have the patience for brand consultant-speak or theories, here is a quick, simple refresher on good old fashioned branding that works today, that can help you frame your marketing and other operational tactics…to drive business results.

Your business enterprise and marketing programs will be more successful if they are guided by a cohesive strategy that meets the B.R.A.N.D. criteria.

Your brand strategy must be:

B–Believable (about Belief & Behavior too)

Your brand positioning must be credible both with your customers and employees. Would a Volvo strategy around the idea of “sporty” be believable? (they seem to own “safety” for life). In addition, your organization’s belief in a brand vision and values and execution on that is critical. Many marketers and even some of my clients all too often equate the brand strategy with a logo. The brand is so much bigger. The brand strategy is about what your business stands for. It needs to be championed by the CEO, internalized by all employees and behaved and delivered, employee-to-employee, employee-to-customer. Just ask Zappos. And building this brand foundation internally has to take place before an external launch (ads, trade shows, Web site, social media…), otherwise you risk doing more harm to the brand (if your company is not prepared deliver on its promise).

R–Relevant

You and your colleagues need to be close enough to your customers to develop products and services that truly meet their needs including interacting with them in a meaningful way, through the most relevant media. (see “Nuts About Southwest” blog)

A–Adaptable

While your brand strategy should be relevant for today and specific markets, it also needs to be flexible, broad and viable over the long haul. GE’s “trust in good things” (1970s-80s) and “imagination & innovation” (this decade) brand positionings are enduring platforms from which diverse, effective concepts, campaigns and media strategies develop.

N–Numerically based

How you arrive at the brand strategy as well as measure your business’ alignment with it and marketing effectiveness must be based on objective data and customer and market inputs versus gut. In addition, your brand opportunity should map to business objectives such as market share and profits (numbers!). If a niche positioning results in being a second tier player it is likely not viable.

D–Differentiated

One of the toughest challenges is to create a brand strategy that is unique. Solutions? Quality? Laundry list of commodity features?. Zzzzzzzz. Apple’s brand positioning around playful, innovative simplicity has not been duplicated and is seamlessly expressed across media too numerous to name.

So even if you think the B-word is a bad word, and the SM-word (Social Media) is a good word, you might agree that tying your SM programs to an organizing principle, anchoring tactics in an underlying organizational and market strategy (or B-R-A-N-D strategy) is a good thing.?

Reference: Brand Planning

Writing and designing a successful advertisements can be a very challenging task, especially for entrepreneurs who don’t have the luxury of an internal marketing department or the budget to hire an expensive advertising agency.    It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the number of factors involved, so when designing an ad we like to begin by asking ourselves some preliminary questions before beginning on an ad design.  We like to write down our answers to these questions and continuously refer back to them as we design our advertisement.

* 1.  What is the goal of your message?

Why are you advertising?  Are you looking for to generate readers for your new blog?  Are you looking for customers to fill orders for a particular product?  What action do you want the customer to take after reading the message?

* 2.  Who is your audience?

Who is your message targeted towards?  Knowing who your message is intended for will help you design your advertisement.  Be aware of the different buyer personas in your target market.

* 3.  What does the audience want?

Knowing your audience and what they want is essential to writing a successful advertisement.  Your goal is to connect with your customer on a personal level — make them think that the ad was written specifically with them in mind.  The more personalized the message, the better your results will be.

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Once we have answered those questions, we have a foundation for the design and copy of our advertisement.  Checking back with these original questions as we develop the ad will ensure that we are talking to our audience and driving towards the goal of our message at all times.

Building on the foundation, we will begin to think about what kind of language we want to use in our ad.  We know that we need to speak on a personal level to our target audience and to do our best to tailor our advertisement specifically for each reader, but there is more to it than that.  It is important that we keep the following things in mind when writing our advertisement copy:

* Grab Attention – This is the most important factor of any advertisement.  If it doesn’t grab the attention of your reader, it will never be read in the first place.  Keep this in mind at all times.
* Use A Call To Action – Tell your customers what they must do to get your product.  Do they have to click on something?  Ask them to click the link.  Do they call a number?  Ask them to call the number.
* Create A Sense of Urgency – Offer some sort of incentive (real or perceived) for the customer to act immediately.  Customers may intend to come back, but without incentive to act immediately they may procrastinate and will never return, despite their intentions.
* Clearly Make Your  Offer – Your offer is the reason you are advertising and it’s also the reason that customers will respond to your ads.  Make your offer as clear and strong as it can possibly because the response to your ad will depend on the quality and clarity of your offer.  If your offer is not clear, you may get unwanted responses that will only waste your time and advertising budget.
* Appeal to Emotion – Neuroscience has proven to us that humans depend on emotions to make decisions.  Attempt to influence the emotions of your reader using stories, pictures and anything you can dramatize to draw the customer in.   The popularity of  “reality TV” is a great example demonstrating how powerful this simple principal is.
* Appeal to Self Interest – The only thing your customer is concerned with is themselves.  Focus on how your product or service directly benefits them, they don’t care about anything else.  Demonstrate as clearly as possible how your product or service benefits the customer.

It is often beneficial to come up with several similar but slightly different versions of your ad copy for the purposes of testing.  The idea is to run all of the ads and then look back at the results to see which ads had the best response rate.  Keep the ads with the best response rate and remove the rest.  The more times you repeat this process, the more effective your advertisements become.

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After you have established a foundation for your advertisement and have decided upon a few versions (or one version) of ad copy, you can begin to think about the visual appeal of the advertisement.  Advertisements consisting of images and multimedia are more likely to grab the attention of the reader in most cases, so we definitely want to use some visual elements and avoid using text-only ads — unless of course our target market wants to see only text.  Keep the following considerations in mind when designing the visual elements of your ad:

* Don’t try to cram too much into a small space – leaving some white space may actually guide your reader to the important information.  Don’t overwhelm them with too much noise.
* Users will notice visuals first – before a reader bothers to read your copy, they will glance at your visuals and instantly decide whether or not to read.  Keep this in mind.
* Put important information where the user will expect it – don’t put anything important in the fine print.  Make it easy for the user to read the ad and instantly understand what the offer is and how to get it.
* Stay consistent in your layout and design elements – keep your visual elements consistent, including colors, borders, graphics  and fonts.
* Draw a border – in most cases you should make sure that there is a clear line between the beginning  and end of your advertisement.
* Include your logo – Always include your logo to improve the visibility of your brand.  The more customers see your brand, the more trust they will place in it.  Building a brand will be crucial to your success, so you should be constantly engaged in it.

After designing the visual elements of your ad, you should check back to the original 3 questions and ensure that you are still communicating your intended message to your intended audience in the way that they want to receive it.  Making sure that you optimize each element of the ad will contribute greatly to its eventual success.

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You should have a pretty good framework for creating an advertisement design at this point, but there are still a few things we think you should watch out for.  These are things we strongly recommend avoiding:

AVOID:

* All capital letters in ad copy – this gives the appearance of  “shouting.”  It’s a common misconception that this is a good way to grab attention.   Readers may glance over small letters and derive full meaning from the text, whereas they are not conditioned to do so with all capital letters.
* Offering too many choices – offering too many choices can paralyze your user and cause them to not act when they would have otherwise acted on your offer.  Choice can be good, but be careful when offering choices in any advertised offer.
* Talking about yourself  or your company – don’t talk about yourself or your company too much in your advertising — the customer cares only about helping themselves.  Don’t describe your company — describe your offer.
* Misleading ads – do not mislead your customer in any way.  This may get them interested in your ad, but the last thing any advertising budget needs is customers who are interested in the ads but not in the products.  Obviously it will also negatively impact your credibility.
* Rushing to print – don’t rush to get your advertisement to print.  Take your time to thoroughly  and carefully create a quality advertisement.

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After you’ve finished your ad design, there is one more thing you might want to ask yourself one last question.

Can I simplify this at all?

Is there anything you can do to make the ad more simple?  The better you can simplify your ad, the better response it will get.

1. Debt Collection

It goes without saying that in tough economic times bills start to pile up and often go unpaid. While debt collection is not an especially pleasant business, it’s one that generally does well during economic downturns. As an added bonus, you have the option of working out of your home as an independent contractor or working for a debt collection agency.

2. Healthcare Products

An aging population whose health is declining is going to purchase healthcare products and services—recession or not. And, with more health related products and services available than ever before, this is a business that is sure to thrive.

3. Job Search Agency

When people lose their jobs, they often turn to employment agencies or job search firms. If you are a people person with a lot of industry contacts and a knack for matching out-of-work employees with potential employers, then this type of business might be a good choice for you.

4. Mediator

In tough economic times, many people turn to mediators rather than attorneys to settle disputes simply because they are less expensive. If you’re skilled at negotiating, this may be the business opportunity you are looking for.

5. Security Firm

Security firms are doing a booming business, but the security business is not just about security guards. It’s also about performing security and background checks for employers.

6. Computer Repair

Computers are a fact of life and so is computer repair. The good news is that a computer repair business doesn’t depend on whether the economy is good or bad. If you are the go-to person when a friend’s computer goes bust, then the computer repair business might be a good fit. It’s also possible to join a franchise operation like Geeks on Call.

7. Internet Marketer

Many people jump on the website bandwagon without really understanding internet marketing. After all, what good is a website if no one sees it? Internet marketing is becoming more and more important as people comparison shop and purchase items online. That’s just one of the reasons why it’s a good business when the economy goes south.

8. Web Entrepreneur

You don’t have to be a computer geek to become a web entrepreneur; all you need is a good idea or product. You can create a website yourself or hire a web designer to do it for you.

9. Pawn Broker

Ok, not everyone is cut out to be a pawnbroker, but pawnshops are typically businesses that do well during recessions. A pawnbroker takes merchandise as collateral on a loan, albeit a loan with exorbitant interest rates.

10. Cosmetics Sales

This may seem like an odd business to start in a sluggish economy, but the truth is that cosmetics are an inexpensive way to let us feel good when times are not so good. After all, who doesn’t want to look terrific?

How often you you answer the “wow, where did you get that” question? When you see yet another celebrity launching a new clothing line, do you think “that should be me?” And just how many times have you watched all those episodes of Project Runway you’ve Tivo-ed? If you’re obsessed with fashion, you probably have the dream of all budding designers: to open your own clothing company.

Just like any business, you need creativity, drive and some solid business knowledge. After all, Coco Chanel went from a little hat shop in Paris to international superstardom. With the right combination of talents, you too may be the proud proprietor of your own clothing company.

Working in the Clothing Industry

How well do you know the industry? And more importantly, do you have any work experience? One of the best ways to reduce your business’s risk of failure is to learn practical ways to make your business succeed. A good way to do this is to take some fashion merchandising and/or business classes, read books about starting a clothing business or work in a store similar to one you’d like to open.

Choose Your Logo and Clothing Style

You know your style, it’s what inspired your business in the first place, now it’s time to name it. Decide upon a brand name that reflects you and is one your customers will remember. Once you’ve got the name, design a logo. Your logo should reflect everything all together – your name and your style. Logos are shorthand for your business identity. If your budget permits, hiring an outside design firm to design your logo and accompanying business materials can be a very effective investment.

Target Market

When deciding on your target market, start with the basics. Whom are you trying to dress? Are you designing women’s or men’s clothing? Are you specializing in adult, children, or both? Do you see yourself selling high-end fashions that would compare to Bloomingdales and Barney’s, or is your merchandise more sporty and casual, like Target and Old Navy? What are today’s trends and “must-haves” for your target market? Knowing your customers is the first step to running a successful clothing store.

Write a Business Plan

Develop a business plan and use it as an outline for your company. This plan should include – but is not limited to – your overall ideas and logo; specific financial information and projections; a description of your target market; your business policies (hours of services, policy on returns, etc.); employee details; an advertising and marketing plan; and a potential exit strategy.

Determine Startup Costs

Some experts say as little as $50,000 is a good start to opening a clothing company, while others claim as much as $250,000 is the recommended dollar amount. Your business plan can help you allocate how much up-front costs you will need. Start by approximating your yearly rent, cost of goods sold and operation costs. If these numbers are still vague, talk to other business owners who have opened shops similar to yours.

Establish Operating Policies

Running a clothing company isn’t a 9-to-5, five-day workweek. One way to keep an out of control lifestyle under some control is to establish operating policies for your company. Determine such facets as store hours, pricing, return policies, and layaway. Consider e-commerce or credit card acceptance, special orders, gift wrapping, and anything else that comes to mind. Operating policies will help guide you in your daily business decisions. Write these policies down and make them available, upon request, to customers.

Choosing a Location

Your store location can make or break your company. When looking at several locations for your site, investigate the surrounding community – is it large enough to support your business? Is it comprised of your target market? Is the economy stable? Does the location have adequate parking? All of these questions should go into your location decision. In addition, make sure your monthly rent is in line with your business plan’s projected profit. Nearly all clothing store landlords allocate monthly rent to the square footage of their properties. Make sure the size of your location and the accompanying monthly rental amount is compatible with your business plan projections.

Hire Employees

Hiring employees for a clothing store is different from hiring for other businesses. Like other companies, your employees are a reflection of you and your product. But in the apparel business, your employees’ personalities should also reflect your company’s image and style. The number of employees will vary depending on your store hours and customer traffic, but the basic rule is one full-time and one part-time employee for a 1,000 square-foot store.

Choosing Suppliers

Without your merchandise, your company will never be in the black. If you are new to the supplier-side of running a clothing store, get recommendations from other business owners who sell similar product, or visit Web sites such as the National Register of Apparel Manufacturers at www.thenationalregister.com.

Marketing

After you choose your target market, structure your advertising plan around it. Advertising and marketing your business is the key to getting and retaining customers. Not only do you have to get your name out so that customers will walk through your door, you want to convince them you have something unique that your competition doesn’t offer. A comprehensive advertising campaign will help you accomplish this.

If your budget permits, traditional advertising, such as billboard, newspaper, television and radio, will always help get your name out to potential customers. But remember, using coupons, special sales, and in-store promotions (such as a fashion show and buffet in your store), will also spread the word. You can even use yourself as a walking billboard. Wear your own fashions whenever you’re out, carry business cards, and ask others what they think about your clothing. You’ll be surprised as to how many new customers will come in because of an inexpensive, grassroots campaign.

Resources

Attend business expos and fashion shows. Not only will this help you establish your business and publicize your name; you can get great advice regarding financing, networking, and other important aspects of your business. Reading fashion magazines and trade publications is another great way to keep up with the latest trends. Trade associations are another excellent source because they can give you specific information about your particular market niche. Visit the American Apparel and Footwear Association’s Web site at www.apparelandfootwear.org for more information. And as with any new business venture, it is important to discuss business options with an attorney.

Starting a new business takes considerable courage. With the right resources and the right talents, you might be starting more than a new business – you might just be starting a lifelong career.

As the year comes to an end, the effects of the brutal economic year are everywhere. With drastically slow revenue streams and a national unemployment rate hovering around 10%, there’s no question that business has been tough.

For small business owners, staying afloat in a recession can be quite startling. The important thing is not to let it discourage you from improving your business and realizing the potential for business growth. Here are some ideas on improving the efficiency of your business in challenging economic times.

1. Cut Costs

You’ve probably heard this over and over again, but are you really making an effort to reduce superfluous business expenses? Some changes are easy to make; for example, choosing a lower-priority shipping option to send packages is a simple way to reduce shipping costs. Your packages may not get there first thing in the morning, but saving on hefty shipping charges will be well worth the extra few hours it takes the delivery to arrive.

Another way to cut expenses and become more efficient is to invest in your successes. If a product or service you offer isn’t making you money, why continue investing valuable time and money into it? Consider reducing your investments in stale and unprofitable products, and instead focus on new and profitable projects. Large-scale changes may take a while, but now is the time to think about stability and long-term growth.

2. Creative Marketing

Can’t afford to buy ads on TV or a spread in a magazine? No sweat. It’s time to get creative in promoting your business and think about utilizing alternative ways to connect with your customers. Get online and establish a presence on social networking sites. If you don’t already have one, start an e-newsletter and let your customers know what you’re up to.

Building relationships is crucial in a recession. Once the economy starts to get better, you’ll want your customers to think of you first. By keeping in touch with them now, you’ll help position yourself to be the go-to service when they’re ready to spend.

3. Get Help

If you know you need help in keeping your business running but can’t afford another full-time employee, consider hiring a part-time employee or recruit interns. In this recessionary climate, there are lots of qualified and enthusiastic job hunters who will be happy to help out wherever possible. And who knows-as times get better you might be able to bring some team members on board as full-time staff.

It is during tough economic times that smart business owners take charge and improve the efficiency of their businesses. Like times past, the economy will get better and people will soon start spending again. Will your business be ready?

One of the top New Year’s questions around the water-cooler is usually, “Have you made your resolutions yet?” Every year, many pledge to shed those holiday pounds, clean out the garage or finally finish that “To-Do” list of home repairs. Well, while you are improving your personal life, why not take those ideas into your business life? Here are some ideas that might help your customers and your profits:

Shed That Excess Weight

Dead weight in your business can be just as unhealthy as excess weight for your body. As business expert John Schriebfeder says, “Don’t get emotional about stocked inventory!” If you have a retail business or a service business that carries some retail products and you have inventory that is not moving, Schriebfeder recommends marking down the original price. He also suggests substituting some items for lower-priced items. Either way, while you might not get a full return on your investment, you may still find that extra profit.

Clean and Organize

Your business is likely no different from many other homes and businesses. There are always those spaces (or people) that are completely resistant to getting organized. Now is the perfect time to change that. Buy a hard drive and scan your vital accounting and operations documents onto it to cut down on paper clutter. Implement a cleaning schedule for your employees. Once you get a protocol going and get everyone involved, you might find that you have a more motivated workforce.

Complete that To-Do List

What better time than the New Year to fix that damaged desk or ditch that ancient fax machine? The “Maintenance Fact Sheet” at nonprofitrisk.org identifies three main categories of repairs: emergency repairs, preventative maintenance performed at certain intervals and predictive maintenance to assess whether repair is necessary. If you do not currently have any of these handled or scheduled, now is the time to start. Equipment that does not work properly or is out-of-date should be included in this itinerary. Injuries to workers and customers cost thousands of hours in lost productivity and millions in lost revenue every year. Proactive measures may mean that your company avoids these types of expensive issues.

Taking what is best about the traditions of New Year’s resolutions can help you and your employees get more organized, resourceful and productive. That will likely translate into better customer service. That, in turn, just might help the one thing you definitely want to see expanding-your bottom line!