Entrepreneurship

The Art of Branding

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There are two Major schools of thought regarding Branding: The first holds that it’s an incomprehensible voodoo that marketers practice. I Belong to the second, which Contends that it’s a simple matter of the classic Ps of Marketing: Product, place, price and promotion.

To this List some people added another P: Prayer. They are not far off- but instead of Prayer, I prefer proselytization, which is the process of converting others to your belief, doctrine or cause. Proselytization or Evangelism, represents the core of branding for start-ups in Today’s Highly competitive world, in which information is free, ubiquitous and instantaneous.

The art of Branding requires creating something contagious that infects people with enthusiasm, making it easy for them to try it, asking them to try it, asking for their help in spreading the word, and building a community around it.

  • CREATE A CONTAGION: Herein lies the secret to building a successful brand; Align with a product or service that is gold-or enhance it until it is Gold. Then Successful Branding is easy if not unavoidable. If you have a product that is Gold, you can make a lot of mistakes with it and still succeed. If you do not, you’ll have to do almost everything right.

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What Every Good Marketer Knows

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ImageThis week I am sharing a thought from Seth Godin (World renown Author and Entrepreneur see a brief of his profile at the end of this thought)

The following is a list of great marketing lessons from Seth Godin. Ignore them at your peril.

  • Anticipated, personal and relevant advertising always does better than unsolicited junk.
  • Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.
  • Your best customers are worth far more than your average customers.
  • Share of wallet is easier, more profitable and ultimately more effective a measure than share of market.
  • Marketing begins before the product is created.
  •  Advertising is just a symptom, a tactic. Marketing is about far more than that.

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EFFECTIVE SALES PROPOSALS- How to write them

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A while back I was invited to speak at the annual sales kick off meeting of a Major Financial institution in the country. The morning of my talk I was in early enough to share breakfast with about 450 sales people, while they went on to listen to the CEO Talk about “The Journey so far” address. After that it was my turn.

As I sat quietly sipping one more cup of coffee, and gathering my thoughts, a young man came into the waiting room I was and walked straight to me and said “you’re late for the meeting”.

“No Sir”, I replied. I am the next speaker, so in a way I’m early. What about you?”

“Oh, I’ll like to be, but I’m waiting for my driver. Had to dash off to close a deal.”

My eyebrows went up. “Congratulations. Must be an Important deal.”

“It is” he said. “It’s worth about half a billion Naira(about $4 Million). But before you get the wrong Idea I am not selling anything. I’m buying. I am the Country Vice Manager in charge of investments, and I have to go sign some papers to bring this deal to a closure.”

I was scrambling for my business card, in case he had any money left over, when he asked me, “What is the subject of your talk?”

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Why are you in Business?

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Before you can build an exceptionally strong brand, you need to know why you’re in business. Not what you do, but why you do it. Your business’s ‘noble purpose,’ if you will. Articulating that mission is probably one of the most critical—and difficult—challenges in the branding process. And it’s a challenge for companies of any size and stage, not just for startups.

Without a clear articulation of your business mission, branding is just window dressing. If you’re like many business owners, though, you may find it difficult to separate yourself from your company’s brand. When you’ve been the driving force behind the company, it’s hard to take an objective, external view and see your brand, basically, as your customers see you. The following exercises may help you get started.

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What do you consider the Most Important part of your Business Plan?

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Now I need your view on this and only the best get Published! One of the things we do at PenexusConsulting is Business Plan reviews. With that I mean If you have already written your Business plan, we can provide an objective third party critique before you send it to investors. However I have seen … Read more

THE WORTH OF YOUR PROPOSAL- What decision Makers look out for.

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BY Ajibade Adejare Oluwaseun. Two Fridays ago I granted an interview on National T.V to commemorate the world friends day. That interview jolted my memory of a vital point I skipped in my last article Why did my proposals fail? It is about the most important point when you have done every other thing right! BUILD RELATIONSHIPS! Learning to … Read more

What to Consider Before Quitting Your Day Job

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by Adam Toren

Sick of working on your business when you’re not at your 9 to 5? I bet you are. Though you would likely love to quit your day job to focus on your business fulltime, the question of ‘when’ is often puzzling to young entrepreneurs. After all, if you leave prematurely, you may run out of cash quicker than you might think. And let’s not forget about that precious health insurance that you’d be giving up if you quit.

Still, your end goal won’t always be elusive. Here are five considerations that will help you make the right decision at the right time:

Your responsibilities. Are you single with a simple, cheap lifestyle? If so, you’re better equipped to take more chances and leave your full-time work earlier. And if push comes to shove, you might be able to move back in with Mom and Dad or sell your car if you have to.

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