Who among us loves donuts?
If eaten in moderation,* donuts are the yummiest!
On a recent trip to Ocean City, New Jersey I was taking an early morning walk on the boardwalk with a close friend. What a view and the people watching is top notch. If I walk the whole boardwalk and back (5 miles) I treat myself to some of the best fresh donuts I have ever tasted. As I waited in line for my favorite cinnamon sugar donuts, I took in their sign. “Browns Almost Famous Donuts. The Original Since 1976.” Hum, I thought. We have a branding issue.
- Brown: The Brown family is the skilled provider of these fabulous donuts so let’s make that “Brown’s.”
- Almost Famous: Hello, I’ve been coming forever and you have always been here. You have arrived, you ARE famous!
- The Original: Was or is there a fake donut maker I should be aware of? Do you think after this long we can bury the powdered sugar-laden hatchet and just say: Since 1976?
I realize that my changes would run about $1000 and make no friends. But folks, brand strength comes down to how you say everything. This sign is saying, “I’m not sure I own these donuts, not sure if everyone knows about us and I have a long-standing twist with another donut maker.
It’s time to make the sign read what is really going on here:
Brown’s Famous Donuts Since 1976. Thanks for being there!
* For more guidance on all things nutrition, go to LisaCorradoNutrition.com
Over the weekend, I was prepping for my presentation tomorrow on Social Media and I took a break to attend a dinner. I was seated next to a wonderful person from England who requested to sit next to me. Her first question was “So, what’s this social media thing?” I paused for a minute and mulled over where do I begin. Should I be glib and say: “I’ve been trying to figure out that for the last two years.” or should I lunge in to my finely crafted corporate response honed from years of knowledge in new media, or option three: Ask her a question – ” I would love to explain it, what do you do?”
I went with the latter and for the next hour we talked about her business, my business and the amazing landscape of social media. She confessed that she used no social media whatsoever – no blogging, no twittering, no witty fan page on Facebook. She didn’t even have her “face up on LinkedIn.” So, slowly I explained how it can all come together and how, with very little time and money, she can integrate social media into her marketing plan. I would be lying if I said by the tiramisu she was all on board, but I did see a glimmer of hope! We were about to leave and she came up to say goodbye, “Good luck, BJ, with that social media thing!” Made me smile.
Tomorrow, I get to present with Rich Gee, owner of the Rich Gee Group. He is a consummate speaker and his use of social media is just the best. We will speak briefly about how we use social media but mostly we’ll ask the question: “What do you do?” and tailor our talk to their specific businesses. This will be more of a conversation, just like social media! The most important take away will be: “Just do it. Just jump in and begin communicating.” It will be a great talk!
Whether you’re marketing yourself, product, or service, consistency counts. The reason is simple. A consistent message is more memorable. When you are consistent, you are communicating the exact message you want over and over again, for maximum impact.
We seem to know this intuitively when it comes to visual communications. We see the same Nike logo on applications from print, to TV, t-shirts, and Serena Williams’ tennis wear so we know that’s the goal for our brand as well. Even in the smallest enterprise, someone watches over the company’s logo to make sure it’s consistent each time it’s used.
But the words we use to talk and write about our brand need to be consistent as well. This is harder to control, but equally important. Craft the message about your brand and institutionalize it. Get everyone in your company using the same words to describe what you do. This holds true for the elevator pitch you make to a contact, the company descriptions you post on the web, or the way you talk about your service offering in an email.
With today’s Web-based marketing tools, keeping your e-communications consistent is critical. Search engines reward consistent messaging. Agree on the main words and phrases you’ll use to communicate about your company, and find lots of places to use those on your site. Find ways to emphasize these same words on social media sites. When prospective clients search the web, they’ll find a company with a clear, memorable message.
Being consistent is smart marketing.