Insights on Branding & Marketing

How to Talk to Clients in Language They Actually Care About We've all been there. Sitting in a meeting, zoning out as someone drones on with corporate gibberish that means absolutely nothing to you. “We're leveraging synergistic opportunities to optimize cross-functional alignment and maximize stakeholder value…” Blah, blah, blah. If your brand messaging is filled…

The terms brand, branding, and rebranding are thrown around a lot these days and the concepts can be a bit overwhelming and confusing. If you are feeling this, you're not alone! Learn what is a rebrand and what you need to know before attempting a rebrand There is a lot of jargon out there that…

If we compared the messages on your website to your ad campaigns, brochures, and social posts – and what your sales team is saying in the field – would it be cohesive? Is there brand alignment, or is it all disjointed? If your brand is outdated, confusing, or a jumbled hot mess… keep reading. The…

You have insurance for the hard assets, but what about your soft assets? Your employees, your loyal client base, your culture, your family, and most importantly your personal give-a-damn? Protect your assets you will. You may be asking: But how can investing in my brand protect all of these people? Before we get to that,…

I was having a coffee date with a girlfriend who works for one of the biggest general contracting companies in the city and she came out with this show-stopper: “I think our CEO will have a hard time seeing the value of branding – they see marketing as a cost center, not a driver of…

Rebranding done for the wrong reason can be an expensive nightmare, a cosmetic exercise that’s equivalent to putting a Band-Aid on your knee when you have a broken leg. Rebranding is adapting and evolving. Every company will eventually rebrand, sooner or later, and sometimes multiple times over the company’s lifetime. Rebranding is a healthy realignment…

If you’re the best at what you do, then you’re guaranteed to pull ahead of the game and win every time. You’re on top, because nobody does your job better than you and because you’re better, everybody will want to buy your product or hire your crew. Right? Not exactly. If you want to build…

Do you feel like your prospects just don't get you? Do they not see the value your company provides, no matter how many times you say it? If they did, they would be beating down your door to hire you – but they aren’t. Is your message wrong? Don’t worry. You're not alone. This is…

Referral leads are the easiest to close because they come preloaded with trust from the referrer. We all love referral business and want more. However, there are a few hidden dangers when it comes to relying solely on referrals to carry your business long-term. Not knowing, or not being aware of these dangers, can impact…

You know your company does amazing work. So why aren’t you dominating your market with amazing sales figures? You have great referrals and repeat customers but new prospects aren’t knocking on your door. But are you stuck in the low bid nightmare of RFPs? Do you struggle to attract new employees? But, deep down you know…

Figuring out your brand can be daunting. It can be scary to look at your business – and I mean REALLY look at it. If you're not sure if you're heading down the right road, some universal branding truths will help steer you in the right direction. Don't worry, Branding & Beyond's got you! Branding…

Has business gone quiet? Leads gone cold? Are you sick of seeing prospects hire your competitors instead of you? Time to start pumping money into a marketing campaign, right? It'll attract more people to your business, and they'll hire you no problem! Well, maybe. If people don't know your company exists, then yes, promoting your…

Is your website undermining your sales team? A solid sales and marketing strategy should include these three major things that lead clients or prospects to enter your smoothly paved path to a sale. Increasing account penetration with existing clients Having a reliable referral engine Acquiring the attention of new prospects You can find article after…

When somebody's looking to hire a new vendor in the B2B world, they're not going to pick the first one they see, especially when the project is critical or has a significant budget. People obviously want the job done right to a high standard, but they are also looking for the right ‘fit.' Every potential…

Your brand might have started strong, but even the mightiest brands can get weak over time. If you're a bodybuilder and you get buff beyond belief, you have to pump iron in the gym daily and consume ridiculous calories. If you stop putting the time and effort into nurturing those biceps, they'll eventually disappear, and…

I know you've seen them—those neon-colored ads for $500 websites. A whole website for $500. An absolute BARGAIN, right? The saying ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it is!’ has been around for centuries for a good reason. It’s freaking true! As a business owner, it’s essential to understand what to expect from…

Ok, so the world still feels slightly crazy, despite 2020 being a distant memory. You might not have control over the market right now, but you do have control over how you’re positioned in it and what you’re doing to attract new prospects. It’s time to kick things back into action and focus on the things…

B2B does not mean boring to boring or building to building. Technically it is business to business, but those businesses are still made of people. And people like dealing with other people. People have personalities and nuance, and so does your business. Read on as I share my thoughts with The Branding Journal in this…

I would like to thank the wonderful Karen Adamsbaum, CIC, for having me on her podcast Risk Intelligence. What's riskier than ignoring your website for years and walking around with a brand wedgie? I believe that every CEO should provide their biz dev/sales team with tools that don’t suck. Your team is out there busting…

Your brand's success relies heavily on whether you have a successful (and proactive!) brand management strategy in place.  When I say brand strategy, I mean the rules and guidelines on how, what, where, when, andto whom you should communicate your brand message. And it is based on your business DNA – what you do, who…