Branding is the single most important element to business. The back office, the sales people, the stationery, the whole box and dice revolve around the Brand. It is what people see, what they hear and what they repeat.

When businesses are sold the Brand value is represented as the share price or buyout price. Many businesses do not understand that it is the Brand that will determine whether the owners retire to Noosa on the beach or a caravan park in a regional town.

It is also that same purchase price that can afford you a trip away each year or that prevents you from affording a private hospital when you have a trip at home.

Your brand is impacted by many things:

• Service – turnaround times, sticking to commitments, knowledgeable etc
• Your people – how good they are, the clothes they wear, the language they use
• Your promotions – quality vs tacky, appropriate vs just plain costly
• Your price – are you value, quality, prestige or junk
• Your product – is it as promised, do I get my monies worth, do I get value?
• Your budget (spend a lot and even poor Brands can survive)

Brand is about the 1st, 5th and 6th sale: The 1st sale gets them in, and if you make it to the 5th and 6th sale, you have a loyal customer. If your plan is to maximise revenue whilst in the business, and maximise the purchase price when you want out of the business, then Brand is the only thing that will do it.

As your PE teacher said – “Image is everything.”

Fa’toomsh look at the IP and Brand issues slightly differently – yes it is governance, yes it is part of risk management, yes it is design, but in Marketing terms it has to be more.

We work with start up and existing companies – new businesses who have great ideas and need a way to create a going concern and older businesses that have concerns about the way they are going. With 8/10 companies failing within the first two years and the private sector, especially small business, being the cornerstone of employment, growth and innovation in the economy then surely the application of IP and Brand has to be seen more broadly than just from a due diligence and artistic perspective.

In Marketing, the fundamental question of “what business are you in?” has to be asked and answered correctly in order for a business to survive. As businesses strive for the break in the market, that little point of difference, they design and create unique offerings, ways of working, delivery methods, products, processes, language and culture that give them an edge. This drive for “uniqueness” and its subsequent application into the business and the marketplace provide revenue opportunities that otherwise would not exist. In Marketing that “uniqueness” forms the basis of the USP’s and Competitive Advantages of the business.

It is the “uniqueness”, or IP, that we try to patent/trademark. Logically the sole reason we do that is to “control” that uniqueness – because control gives you the power of options. And, because we strive for as much “control” and as many “options” as possible in business, we bring processes and disciplines to bear on IP such as due diligence, governance and risk management to ensure that it is a management and business priority.

The role of Fa’toomsh is to:

• Find or build uniqueness/IP – i.e. marketing edge
• Build and encourage the use of processes – i.e. governance edge
• Implement strategies to increase business success – i.e. marketing and governance

Unfortunately for Marketing, the Boardroom table has traditionally been a matter for the accountants and lawyers; as a result we mostly see IP, and now Brand, from their perspective fields. The real value of IP is from a Marketing perspective i.e. the drive for uniqueness and the processes that get you there. This is what creates the business’ revenue that accountants count, and the lawyers are paid with.

Brand is the summation of a business – the people, processes, product, USP’s and Competitive Advantages, market drivers etc. In its physical form, seen as a name, logo and tag line, – we demand it to be as “unique” as possible in order to give us another, or sometimes sadly the only, USP and/or Competitive Advantage we have over our rivals. Hence why graphics and IP are all a legitimate and fundamental part of the Marketing process.

Customers buy a product/service because it will satisfy a need. IP is a Marketing issue because it is about the control, valuation, development and protection of the “uniqueness” that is part of every customer offering.

Without a strong and robust Brand your sales efforts cost more, your service levels are required to be higher, your promotional costs are higher, your product development costs are higher, your channel opportunities are reduced.

It is all bad news when you have poor Brand image or an unsuccessful rebrand.

Conversely, strong Brands enjoy less promotional effort to gain the same awareness, are able to trade off their Brand when things go bad and the value of the company is a lot higher – impacting share price and sale price of the company.

At Fa’toomsh we create Brands that have cut through and market presence – building it in to your IP and company worth.

For a business that has something to sell or deliver, advertising performs many functions and the effects on a business from this can be considerable. Some of the advantages of advertising include:

Creation of brand awareness – People who have seen advertising for a certain product or service are more likely to remember this when they come to make a purchasing decision.

Boosting sales – Ads run in the right publications and areas increase awareness and will lead to increased sales.

Speeding up the buying cycle – People are more likely to be receptive to advertised products and services increasing the probability that they will take notice of other information from that company.

Enhances prestige – Businesses that advertise are more likely to be seen as credible.

When done badly however, advertising can create confusion and even hostile feelings towards brands and services. The following are some advertising don’ts to look out for.

Making the branding and product shot too small – This will create confusion about what the product/ service is and who the company providing it is. The aim of advertising is to make this information easily available and clear to those viewing the ad.

Including too much information – Too much information will cause people to dismiss the ad. Often there is limited time to get the advertising message across; therefore this message needs to be succinct and straightforward.

Being too clever – Being too clever in advertising may also cause the ad to be dismissed by the audience. People tend to not spend too long on something they can’t understand. Remember to keep the message clear.

Weak imagery and boring creative – We have all heard about cut through. As there are so many adverts around everybody every day, your advertising message needs to break through the clutter. To do this you will need effective imagery, catchy, easy to remember messages and interesting creative.

Bad Placement – If your advertisement is not in the correct place to reach your target market, it is not going to have any impact. This also applies to the ad’s timing and the length of time it is available for the target market – if it is lost in the clutter it will not be effective.

Advertising is an extremely effective communication medium, although when executed badly it can form negative results in the minds of consumers. When advertising has been developed with strategic direction in mind and is used in line with other communication processes, the benefits on businesses and brands can be far reaching.

Most of us in business see the brand only via its physical or visual manifestation (VM) as in name, logo and tag line.

However the power of the brand is more than the VM, just as the role of Intellectual Property (IP) is more than just trademarks and patents.

Although IP and Brand issues are usually thought of as completely different– we should think of them as similar. Both are often design or graphic related, both have significant existing and emerging governance
issues, they are both part of risk management, but the problem lies in the Marketing function not contributing to a company’s strategic risk assessment and governance program.

In Marketing terms IP is much more than just graphics, and business success is only achieved through successful marketing (the full 4 P’s) – yet as a discipline, Marketing is often discounted in its importance or needs when compared to legals and finance i.e. when it comes to the “serious” management disciplines and governance.

We have all heard of the premise in business – that 8/10 companies fail within the first two years. We are also consistently reminded that it is the private sector, especially small business, that is the cornerstone of employment, growth and innovation in the economy. Surely then, any element that is crucial to this economic success has to be given more than a cursory glance.

Each business must strive for a break or position in the market that will deliver them revenue and profit. Aiming for that little point of difference, each will endeavour to design and create unique offerings, ways of working, delivery methods, better or new products, streamline processes, look to technology, geography, distribution, language and culture – anything that can provide an edge.

This drive for any “uniqueness”, and its subsequent application by the company into the marketplace provides revenue opportunities that otherwise would not exist. In Marketing, it is the two (2) elements of: 1. The actual process of finding and developing “uniqueness”, combined with 2. The resulting unique elements themselves, which form the basis of potentially all the USP’s and Competitive Advantages (CA) of the business.

This new “advantage” or CA is what delivers each company more money, or at the very least allows them to stay in business. It is also this same revenue generating “uniqueness or CA”, which by its very nature is a company’s IP, the same IP that we patent or trademark in order to protect and control its use (or non use).

Having a site planned and structured to strengthen your Brand whilst also delivering your Marketing objectives is often easier than it sounds.

The priority is to ensure that client (internal and external) expectations are part of the design and implementation mix.

Whether it’s internet, intranets or extranets – we work with the Marketing and IT teams to get the strategy right from the clients’ end. Then we make sure it works in an easy and simple manner.

Sounds like logic – but there are quite a few companies out there that can’t get it right – just look up their web site (if you can find it)!

You could go for the obvious one and give discounts on future purchases – but loyalty is very rarely just about money. People who shop for the cheapest price are not loyal to you – they are loyal to the cheapest deal and will move from supplier to supplier to get it. Before you jump in to a loyalty program – make sure you consider all the factors.

Customer loyalty is very subjective. To have a good loyalty system you need a variety of strategies that will suit different types of customers – depending on what their current and potential value is to you, referral value and their motivators.

1. Information is king – Haven’t you found a time when you keep going back to the same supplier because they know your history – and going to someone new would involve the hassle of filling them in and providing them with all your documentation all over again?

Knowing your customer can be one of the best loyalty programs you will ever invest in.

But once you get to a certain number of customers, it is easy to forget what they spoke to you about last, or what their partners’ name was. The key is for you to be able to show the customers that you know them better than the competition and that you will deliver better service. This perception can easily be destroyed if you can’t recall details about your past relationship / conversations.

But we aren’t super heroes – we can only remember so much, so keeping up to date and accurate records of conversations, interests, partner names, services/products used in the past and ones they have expressed an interest in for the future.

Depending on the size of your business, this can be done with a spreadsheet, small database or a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

2. Have loyalty programs that address your customer’s motivators – For example – if your customer is only interested in money, the loyalty program will need to be dollar related. If your customer is interested in feeling valued, your loyalty program should be able to meet that need.

3. Make sure your loyalty programs are not defeating the purpose – Having loyalty programs is great – but at the end of the day, loyalty programs are about profitability – so ensure your loyalty programs aren’t costing you more than you are making by keeping that customer. You may need some loyalty strategies that are low cost, and some that are a higher cost for more profitable customer segments.

4. Value your service – Finally – remember that you are offering a valuable product / service. You don’t need to “bribe” your customers to talk to you or to use your services again. That kind of relationship only ever ends up one way – the customer will go with whoever is offering the “biggest incentive”.

Loyalty programs target genuine customers with the aim of showing your appreciation of their continued support and to reinforce the fact that they are a valued and important part of your business.

Rewarding customers will secure you repeat business and ensure they feel they are getting a return for their continued support.

You have built a personal and strong relationship with the small number of customers that you do have partly because you have plenty of time to dedicate to them… what you are short on is more customers.

But more customers mean you have less time for each of them, and the important task of maintaining those relationships slowly shifts to the back seat. After all, it is a necessity to get new customers if you are going to build a sustainable business. But some people are getting it right. One particular consultant has had the same base of customers for over 15 years, and has never had to promote themselves. This scenario is not always possible in every industry, but it shows the potential for loyalty to contribute to your business.

When you look at it objectively – it is a pretty simple concept:

• New customers cost more money. First you have to find them, then you need to promote to them which can involve advertising, non-chargeable sales visits and collateral (e.g. brochures).
• Keeping existing customers costs a lot less – mostly a bit of time (which you would have to spend on new customers anyway).

So – if you spend excessive time gathering new customers at the expense of your existing client base, you could end up losing some loyal customers. You can start to see how the indirect and hidden costs start to mount up.

And of course getting those previous customers back is near impossible.

Further, if you look after your existing customers in the right way, it can also mean:

• Referrals – if the customer loves what you do for them, they will recommend you to their peers
• Testimonials – many new customers will judge you by what your existing customers think of you. Testimonials are a great tool to use on collateral.
• More work – if they like what you are doing for them, they will be more encouraged to use you for other parts of their business. Remember that as you maintain your relationship, your customer is growing, and their needs will grow and change.

So when you are looking at your business processes and the amount of time dedicated to each function, make sure you take into account the importance of keeping those existing relationships.

Click Here To Read Start-Up Businesses – The Importance of Customer Loyalty: Part 2

They are dynamic documents that are both by their very nature, forward and reverse planning tools.

Sales Budgets need to work in with Product Budgets which in turn roll up into the Marketing Budget.

From our work for and within companies, we know how the process works, who the stakeholders are and what the fundamental outcomes for each budget process are.

We will work with you to develop a budget that provides you with the most “bang for the buck” in the areas that matter – but are often never linked: sales, product and marketing.