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Marcia Yudkin Profile and Articles
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1). The Benefits Of Branding
Branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. A brand is a persistent, unique business identity intertwined with associations of personality, quality, origin, liking and more. Here’s why the effort to brand your company or yourself pays off.
1. Memorability. A brand serves as a convenient container for a reputation and good will.
2). Exploit Your Brand To The Fullest
A brand goes beyond a company name and tagline. It is a complete personality or set of values, sometimes even a story line, along with repeated visual, auditory and behavioral elements. When you decide to invest in creating a brand, follow these guidelines to ensure that you get your money's worth:
1. Be distinctive. You'll land your company in expensive legal hot water if you attempt to steal or encroach on another company's identity.
3). Wrapping Up Profits with a Package Deal
A landscaping company complained to a reporter that instead
of carefully defining their needs, interested prospects say,
"Send us a prop
4). 5 Ways To Think Up A Great Domain Name That's Still Available
I'd be a zillionaire if I earned a dollar each time someone complains that all the great domain names are already taken. It's just not true, however. Even in a highly competitive industry, you can think up original, appealing domain names for businesses by using naming tactics that few people use, such as these:
1. Focus on results. What is the outcome.
5). Why Bother Building A Brand?
At a conference in Dallas not long ago, a graphic designer from Kentucky and I sat down at a table where people were exchanging business cards. I looked at his logo, and he studied the name on my card.
"I know that logo. We've been in touch in the past," I said.
"That's right. I know your name," he said.
Although we weren't able to pinpoint when or why we'd exchanged mail previously, we guessed it had been at least five years back.
6). Tag Line Calisthenics
A terrific tag line sets you apart from other businesses and provides a memorable and appealing reason to choose your firm over other options. The tag line should trail your company name like a shadow everywhere - in ads, on your web site, on business cards and in on-hold telephone messages, to name a few places.
Before assessing your own tag line, warm up by looking at a category of Yellow Pages ads or flip through your local business paper.
7). New Business Names: Naming With A Story
Sometimes a company name communicates a message on its own, and sometimes the story underlying the name adds depth and distinction to that message.
Isis Group International, for instance, uses the name of an Egyptian goddess in a word combination that comes across well to the ear and looks great in an artfully designed arrangement of fonts, shapes and colors.
8). So That's What Goes On A Home Page!
In the early days of the World Wide Web, the word went around that the thing to do on a home page is to heartily and sincerely welcome the visitor. Today, this is unnecessary, cliched and ineffective. Instead, an effective home page needs to quickly orient the visitor to what the business or professional practice offers, distinguish these offerings from competitors' and direct the web site visitor what to do if they are interested in learning more.
9). For Business Names And Tag Lines, Popularity Shouldn't Rule
Don't turn your search for the perfect name or tag line into a popularity contest! Two instances of this have crossed my path recently.
First, someone I know asked people to vote on the best title for a forthcoming book. That's unwise, because what people say they like in a book title:
* Doesn't necessarily distinguish the book from others
* Isn't.
10). Company Identity Goes Far Deeper Than A Logo
Graphic designers frequently play a prominent role in launching or repositioning a company. When they create a look (or new look) for a company's stationery, brochure, ads and web site, this often goes by the name of an "identity package." Don't let this convenient term mislead you into believing that a company's identity consists of merely the logo and look.
11). Building Your Online Fan Club
Building Your Online Fan Club
by Marcia Yudkin
According to a Recording Industry of America survey, about 7 in 10 music fans do not beco
12). Pear and Walnut Salad with Roquette and Parmesan
This is a contemporary salad which has actually been around for quite a while now and we regularly prepare it as part of our cooking holiday in Franc
13). In Marketing, Enthusiasm Connects
Two incidents in one week got me thinking about an ingredient in persuasion that we don't often hear about.
In the first incident, an accomplished copywriter asked for feedback on a letter he intended to send to members of the local Chamber of Commerce that he'd just joined. The letter was technically excellent. It contained all the ingredients that a sales letter should have, in the right proportions and in the right places - except for one.
14). Linked In: Basic Marketing Blunders
Like me, have you received email invitations like these?
> I'm using LinkedIn to keep up with my professional contacts and help them with introductions. Since you are one of the people I recommend, I wanted to invite you to access my network on LinkedIn.
>
> Basic membership is free, and it takes less than a minute to sign up and join my network.
15). Branding Cures Several Marketing Headaches
Are you trying to attract business with a no-name, no-differences-from-competitors company identity? Branding your company, when done well, not only helps you stand out in a field of similar choices, it also helps you avoid price-shoppers and deliver results to customers that inspire loyalty. Here’s why.
Headache #1: Competitors all seem the same
Put yourself in the mindset of a customer and go shopping for a company that provides what you sell.
16). Those Telltale Typos
"To be or to be." That's how one of the most famous sentences in the English language began several years ago in a new edition of Shakespe
17). Creating a Reputation
Want to shorten the sales cycle for your professional services? Want pre-sold prospects who need fewer or no face-to-face meetings before hiri
18). Business Names Do Matter, Norm Brodsky
In the November 2005 issue of Inc. magazine, Norm Brodsky wrote: "Your company's name plays little, if any, role in determining your success."
I agree completely that a company with a bad or mediocre name can reach success. However, here are 10 reasons why coming up with a snappy, interesting and memorable name is worth the business owner's or organization's time and energy.
19). How To Avoid A Business Naming Disaster
An entrepreneur of my acquaintance, in a rush to get his new company up and running, launched his new online publishing venture with a press
20). Naming Your Local Business
Pothole Pictures: Normally this name wouldn't create a positive image for a movie theater. But in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, where glacial potholes in the Deerfield River running through the village are a cherished part of the landscape, the name works well.
When naming a business whose geographical reach and clientele are mainly local, you can use nicknames, regional or city lore, local in-jokes and historical references that might be lost on outsiders.
21). Award Competitions: Route to a Publicity Bonanza
Inc. magazine is currently in the process of judging sites for its annualsmall business Web award winners. Since I was a judge last year, I though
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