Successful business owners understand that their logo is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Whether it’s on a business card, signage or Web site, your logo is often the first contact a customer has with your business. It is, in fact, your corporate identity. And in marketing, like most things, image is everything and first impressions count.

As such, it is imperative you research and hire a professional agency to handle the development of your new identity. This is not the time to think you are creative or an opportunity to give your cousin’s art school daughter her big break, or explore online $100 options. If you have a limited budget to spend on marketing, here is where to spend it. There are plenty of ways to build inexpensive Web sites and PR campaigns. But there is no cheap way to build your identity. And why should there be? Second to your strategy, this is your single most important marketing tool. And since you will most likely use it for the next 10 years or more, dollar for dollar it’s the wisest investment you will make.

It takes to time to properly research your industry, develop exciting concepts, explore appropriate fonts and color options and put it all together to create a memorable – and lasting – logo and/or trademark. For example, our preliminary conversation prior to starting any creative on a new identity, covers over 30 points of interest – just as a starting point – and touches on topics such as the company’s short and  long term goals, current audience makeup and top competitors.

If you’re looking at redeveloping your identity system, take the time to do it right and watch it pay off in dividends over the long haul.

I was puzzled as to why designing a Web site is considered so different than any other element of a marketing mix. For example, would the same business owner consider building a prototype himself, training his factory workers or developing an effective cross-platform advertising campaign? Is design so under valued that it is considered something “anyone can do, given time”?

Of course you can build a Web site yourself, but why would you? A Web site is an ongoing, organic process. If not planned carefully, it will take months longer than you expect and cost much more than planned. Hiring a trained professional to work with you is absolutely the right thing to do. I don’t do my own corporate taxes, or argue cases in court, or build an addition to my house (although I could, just not very well and not very quickly).

Web site design – or any design for that matter – is essential to the survival of a successful company. And doing it right requires the same process as creating other marketing tools. Your job as a business owner is to find the right contractor to handle your project. Depending on your scope, that could be a freelancer, a small design studio or a large Web site development firm. In any case, the process is the same. Here are 10 steps to success:

1. Create a list of what you expect your site to accomplish.
2. Create another list of what you would like to see included.
3. Create a budget – based on what you feel is appropriate for your needs (if you don’t know, ask colleagues and other business owners what they spend – relative to their gross sales).
4. Start acquiring potential candidates. Ask colleagues for referrals. Do your research in to the sites you feel are successful, and who designed/built them
5. Interview potential candidates (firms or individuals may be on this list). Share your lists with them.
6. Look for a good fit. Can they do what you need? Do they have actual experience building a site appropriate for your business? Do you feel you can work with them for 3-9 months with honest, open exchanges of ideas? Do they have a track record of success? Do they really understand what YOU are trying to achieve?
7. Start creating a Website. If you’ve done your homework, this process will go reasonably smoothly, with minimum surprises.
8. Review the site carefully. Pay attention to the site map and wire frames in particular. Catching mistakes here is much less costly than in the programming stage.
9. Stay on task. It’s easy to wander off the path when working on Web sites. Many clients see what can be achieved, and since it doesn’t have the permanence of ink on paper, make changes constantly. Staying focused on your original plan is the surest way to get your site up quickly. Have new ideas? Great, start planning phase 2.
10. Proof. A lot. Be sure to have several people you trust read through your site maps, copy and explore through beta sites and soft launches. It’s easy to assume your site works and functions well, but you’re the one who planned it so of course it makes sense – in your world. Everyone experiences sites differently. Having other people review it throughout the various stages will go a long way to preventing embarrassing - and costly – mistakes later.

Many people consider  marketing to be selling, or tools to assist in selling such as advertising. In fact, in a recent online discussion with hundreds of professionals, including designers, writers, marketing experts and business owners of all types, “selling” came up a lot. There were so many responses defining “marketing” as about building an image or enticing a consumer to purchase a product, it raised of the questions  “Has marketing really devolved to glorified selling? How did we get there?” Selling and image are certainly parts of the equation, but there is much more to it.

Briefly, “From product conception through customer satisfaction, marketing is the process to successfully facilitate an exchange between a business and its customers.”

This is commonly defined as the 4 P’s; Product, Price, Placement, Promotion. In order for a product or service to be successful, it has to be well conceived, well positioned and well received. Marketing is the process to facilitate this. I  like the simplicity of this example (submitted by one of the participants in the discussion mentioned above):

A man has an apple tree.
He realizes he has more apples than he can eat
He decides to sell them
He puts them in a cart and takes them to the market
He starts shouting “apples for sale”
He Sells his apples and makes money
When he gets home he starts thinking about selling more apples
At what point is he Marketing (with a capital M)?

Marketing enters the picture between steps 2 and 3, when he realizes there may be an audience for his apples (Product). Should he trade them? Give them away? Sell them? (Price) He takes them to market (Placement) and shouts “apples for sale” (Promotion). There you have it. The 4 “P”s. ALL of that is marketing.

Since the advertising and selling aspects are the most visible stages in marketing, it’s no surprise  that’s what so many people equate with marketing. But business owners would do well to back up their marketing plan to include the stages before – and after – the selling process. Only by completely understanding the entire process, can a successful marketing strategy be developed.

Looking for ways to increase your sales? Before you purchase a direct mail list, update your corporate brochure or even re-think your corporate identity, take a good, hard look at your Marketing Strategy.

Creating a proper Marketing Strategy is an important step in deciding where and how to grow your company’s roadmap to success. You will benefit from formal business planning and a comprehensive strategy that can be used as a platform from which you can chart future growth.

What can you expect from a Strategy Planning Session?

• Review of your current materials and sales processes
• Define current and future markets by performing a Feasibility Analysis of revenue streams to decide upon pricing, branding and business development strategy
• Define a Marketing Mix to reach specific market
• Develop realistic budgets with stated goals in mind

Once your strategy is outlined you can plan execution timelines based on your capabilities and then decide what can be handled in-house and what needs to be farmed out.

Keep in mind you are making an investment in your future and your ability to create a competitive advantage.

See how we implement strategies here