Did Your Brand Suck in 2016? You Could Be Due for an Update

Maureen McLaughlin wants to know: Did Your Brand Suck in 2016?  Read on…

While you’re busy running your company, digital trends, internet memes, 24-hour news cycles, politics, and random local and national events are constantly changing the landscape in which you do business.

It’s all too easy for your brand to become stale in the blink of an eye – often without you noticing. The new year is the perfect time to check in with your branding efforts and see if they need any tweaking to stay fresh going into 2017.

Here are a few quick questions to ask yourself to see where you stand. 

How Are Your Visuals?

Do your logo, website design, and print materials still reflect what your business does and the image you want to portray? Have you been using and reusing the same photos and graphics on your website and social media for years? Periodically updating your image library is important for keeping your brand fresh and interesting.

Is Your Website Dated?

Find a trusted friend or colleague who is not very familiar with your company’s website and ask them to check it out. Getting honest feedback about the design and user experience can reveal if your website has become dated – which doesn’t take long to happen.

What Do Your Customers Think?

If you can, ask some customers personally if they think that your branding is an accurate reflection of your company, and whether they think it could improve. Be sure to check out reviews of your company on social media sites; reviewers might not speak about your branding efforts specifically, but will likely be more candid when reviewing your business in general. These reviews can be extremely valuable in alerting you to areas where you need to improve.

Have You Outgrown Your Branding?

Maybe you had an amazing 2016 – congratulations! But if you quickly scaled up from a local operation to a regional or national one, your branding might need to catch up. Make sure your company looks and feels like the success that it is!

If you find you need an update or want a second opinion, contact us at The MAD House!

Opening a Business? Start with Branding and End with Success

This week, MAD Contributor-Freak Sandy Gates thinks properly branding a new business leads to success.

Finally, you have made the life changing decision–going into business for yourself. Yikes! That is one scary, exciting decision, but working for someone else is just so unsatisfying. So, what’s next?

Well then, where to go from here?

You have done your homework, research, and have the needed funds. Let’s say you have decided to use your talents to open a craft beer brew pub. BANG. There is the brand. A brew pub. Not just a dive bar, no ambience joint, but a real, high quality, fun, neighborhood, crowd drawing brew pub. From all the reading and meetings, you’ve learned that success is achieved through hard-hitting branding.

You grab a pen and pad beginning the all important list to get your brand created, being sure you will stand out in the crowd, and get those doors open:

A name for the pub

Catchy and fun, but sophisticated enough to attract the   customers who will do anything for a great tasting brew.

Business cards

Visually appealing and easy to read, nice logo, using high quality card stock.

Website

This is key toward success of the business. It must look absolutely professional including the needed tabs and pages with email and social media connected to it. That way, your customer list will grow like a mature hops vine.

Advertising

What avenue should you take? Budget? Who to target with which media?

Sure, you could do all of this yourself. Or, perhaps, you could call in that favor from your brother-in-law who took that art class that time. But, after some serious thought about the business that will be your livelihood, you realize you may need a reputable professional to create and get this brand out. The MAD House specializes in the entire marketing package–the creative process,  branding, graphic design and advertising. The MAD House has the experience to create the brand and design for the cans, bottle labels, tap handles, and even the swag! Today, the brew pub may just be a dream, but in the near future it will be a successful small business! Contact us to begin the branding and advertising process today.

Branding Reminders for Small Companies That Seek to Win Big Against Successful Competitors!

J.J. James (MAD Freakus-Contributus) has some branding reminders for small companies going up against established competition.

One of the growing pains that many small companies must propel themselves through when seeking to get ahead in business, is the pain of trying to establish themselves against their already successful competitors. After all, competitors are generally larger, and have more means at their disposal. They are usually able to attract the best employees who have the most experience in their given fields, and already have an understanding of how to see the best amount of growth with the least amount of effort and resources.

Fortunately, there are some simple ideas that a small company can implement that will help establish them as THE most sought after brand. These branding reminders for small companies are inexpensive to put into place, but will provide a huge return on any time and energy that you put into establishing them as commonplace in your business, no matter the size of the company itself.

Cultivate Personal Relationships with Customers

Cultivating personal relationships will take on a unique appearance based on the line of business your company is in, but remember, when creating your own personal brand, letting your customer know they matter will go a long way toward having an opportunity to serve that customer again in the future. Sending out a personalized thank-you gift, such as a fruit basket or box of delectable pastries, will show your customer you appreciate their business and look forward to working for them again.

Consistently Provide A High-Quality Product or Service

It may be easy to impress a customer one time. Being able to continuously provide a product or service that meets or exceeds their expectations is key to establishing your small company’s brand and propelling your company past the competition. Global leadership expert and author Robin Sharma stated it best when he said,

“Daily ripples of excellence, over time, become a tsunami of success.” 

At times, overzealous business leaders within a company look for ways to increase profit margins, and in doing so, degrade the quality of the good or service the company provides. Small companies that seek to win against their already successful competitors can’t afford to risk losing customers because of an inferior product or service. Patience is a virtue that cannot be overlooked when your small company is first trying to establish its own specific brand. Establish yourself as being known for both consistency and excellence in your product and your customer service, and you will quickly and easily earn your customer’s loyalty.

Need help developing a strong brand for your business? Let The MAD House partner with you to help you create a brand that your customers trust. Contact us for more information!

What to Consider Before Hiring an Advertising or Design Team

By MAD Contributor-Freak Aja Putney

A lot of research goes into picking someone who can help benefit your business. It is a personal decision based off of trust. There are also many factors to consider. Some important factors when considering an advertising or design team are:

• How long has this company been around? In other words, how many years of experience—if any—does this company have?
• What financial condition is this company in? Everything from the location of a company to the people they employ can speak volumes about their financial conditions. Basically, will they be around next week, next year, in ten years?
• Does this company even seem interested in me? Am I simply another customer to them? Is it only the money they seek? Am I valuable to them and do they treat me as such? Do they ask the right questions and are they trying to understand my business?
• Can they make my vision come to life? Essentially, can my ideas and goals for the company be transformed by their hard work and dedication? Can I trust them enough with my thoughts and ideas?
• Can I relate to these people? Will they be respectful of my culture, religion, likes, dislikes, and personality in general?
• Can I see them being a part of my success? If and when my business takes off, can I see myself thanking them for their help?

Other things to consider include the location of the advertising and design team. The world has grown smaller with internet and cellular communication. If you do not feel comfortable with telecommunication, you will need to search for local companies. Additionally, it is important to ponder whether or not you can see yourself in a long-term business relationship with this team. After all, the design and advertising business are subject to change at all times. Are you willing to be in contact with these people to keep updated on the new trends in the industry? Finally and perhaps the most important question to answer is the idea of whether or not your budget allows for an advertising or design team. Is your business able to accommodate an additional cost every year, month, or even week?

In conclusion, there are countless things to ponder before hiring an advertising or design firm. Even if a specific company does not require a contract-based relationship, you may want to ask yourself if this is a team you can work with for the long haul. If you are on the fence about hiring an ad and design firm, contact the Mad House today. We’ll be happy to talk it out with you!