Insights on Branding & Marketing

Having a brand mindset is a key business strategy available to everyone regardless of business size. Branding isn’t about having a pretty website and a fancy business card. And it isn’t your logo. (If you’re new here, we’ve covered this before, check out this Branding 101) Branding isn’t a set it and forget it kind of…

‘Can you do it cheaper?’ ‘The guy down the road is selling the same thing for $15 less…’ Sound familiar? Frustrating as hell, right? You do kick-ass work. You shouldn’t have to justify an extra couple of bucks per hour. So how do you stop people from asking? Convey your worth before they even contact…

You’re probably sick of reading all-things-COVID-19. I get it. It’s been months of non-stop news updates and social media shares. But, it’s still affecting business. It’s affecting clients, income, profits, and let’s be honest, our steam is running low from the constant pain-in-the-ass that is the coronavirus. For many, many businesses, they’re hurting right now. Business owners…

During a recent Brand Intensive Workshop with an established flooring installation company, we uncovered a serious problem with their sales team – that I’ve seen in a worrying amount of other companies before and since. The problem? They were wasting all their selling hours filling in endless RFPs. Hold up, RFPs are the lifeblood of…

You’ve put hours, weeks, months, even years of hard work into carefully creating your brand – growing your company into a successful business with a devoted base of loyal customers. It’s taken dedication. Determination. Probably plenty of dollars too. You try to embrace new marketing techniques, tactics, and platforms to attract new clients and keep…

Branding and marketing aren’t just about sexy content and viral posts. At the heart of both is the need to connect with the people you’re meant to serve. We’ve already covered how important it is to niche down (those people you’re meant to serve? Yeah, they’re not everyone with a pulse and a checkbook.) A…

What if I told you there’s a super-effective sales weapon that already exists in your company – and once you use it right, it will make everything easier in your business? Sound like click-bait? Too good to be true? It’s not. Seriously, you have a super-secret sexy sales weapon just waiting to be uncovered in…

There is a fine line between increasing your social media presence and being a social media spammer. It’s only natural you want to promote your company on social media – that’s what everyone always says to do, right? “Update your social media profiles with new posts at least once a day and watch the leads…

LinkedIn isn’t just for job seekers and head hunters.  Think LinkedIn is just another job board? Hold onto your hat, boy, because have I got news for you. LinkedIn is the world’s largest and most active professional networking platform. In the U.S., there are 169 million LinkedIn users – that’s half the entire population. 40%…

Establishing boundaries and learning how to fire a client gracefully are healthy skills to attain and vital to your brand. Every opportunity comes with a cost. Some opportunities cost too damned much by taking an unacceptable toll on your staff morale and your profit margin. Some people in this world you are meant to serve,…

Let’s be blunt. Your firm needs a makeover before the big anniversary year that’s coming up. Your company does great work, but the last time you had a brand refresh, flip phones were still a thing. You’ve been busy building your company, and as you contemplate the upcoming anniversary, you can see that the brand…

If you’re reading this, I’m going to assume you already know what a Google My Business (GMB) profile is – if you’re not sure, check out this intro to Google My Business profiles. Ok, now we’re all on the same page – let’s get into it. So, you already know how important GMB is for…

Whether you’re a multinational with 40 offices or a small business with 40 staff, local customers will probably be the bread and butter of your income. Professional services and the construction industry can be pretty dog-eat-dog. Going toe-to-toe with your competition and competing with them for your target audience’s attention is a daily struggle –…

Your website has one of the most important, multi-faceted, dynamic roles in your business. It provides an inside look into what your company’s all about to multiple audiences, including: Potential leads Current clients Future employees Suppliers Competitors Now those are five very different audiences, looking for very different things, right? If your website is laying…

Your website is looking great. It’s stocked full of clever content and a portfolio loaded with impressive examples of your work. But nobody seems to be visiting. You’ve had a few people visit your home page, but nowhere near as many as you imagined. It’s been so long since you got an email inquiry, you’re…

I am an evangelist type of personality (bringing the good news). If I like something, I want to let others know about this fantastic product or service… but sometimes it’s hard to quickly describe what a company does – and why anyone should care. Not all remarkable experiences are easy to talk about. Often there…

 Let’s be honest, pandemics suck. So many jobs lost and businesses devastated as the ramifications of closing our country cascades through every industry. Hopefully, your business has not been affected too much. You've survived by being lucky or by resilience earned through past storms. Either way, you may have found yourself with unexpected time…

I've been helping frustrated firms in the construction industry look and sound as credible online as they are offline since the ‘90s, and it’s safe to say our industry’s seen some tough times before – but nothing quite like this. You might think I'm here to tell you that you need to rebrand yourself and that…

Have you ever had a task, like moving a big box that you knew was a bit much, and you should ask for help, but something deep down said, “you got this?” even when you clearly didn’t? What you got was a hurt back and a bruised ego. All because you lack the ability to…

We’ve already covered the difference between marketing and branding before, but a little refresher won’t do any harm: What is marketing? Marketing is the overall strategy and act of promoting a product or service. Marketing pushes your message and stimulates demand for your products and services using advertising campaigns. If done well, marketing gets your…