Author: Bob Thomas

During a four-decade career in communications, Bob was responsible for developing the brand of a company that began as a small, one-state de novo operation (GUARD Insurance Group) with a dozen employees and sales of $500,000. During his tenure, that start-up grew to be active in all 50 states with 900 employees and sales in excess of $1.5 BILLION. Bob created the communications function within that organization and oversaw all aspects of the discipline across a 36-year period. During that time, the organization underwent several name changes and strategic rebrandings. That period included two sales to new parent corporations – the most recent to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway family in 2012. Historically, the company’s communications activities (from advertising, web development, and public relations to more technical tasks) were all handled by an in-house staff of less than 10 people who created and maintained GUARD’s brand. Bob has often said that he has worked for a number of employers (from small to quite large) without ever having to change jobs. While he has enjoyed experiencing the size and scope of the current variation (Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies), he has always had a particular fondness for the smaller versions. In addition to insurance, Bob has experience with branding- and communications-related activities for the following industries: commercial real estate, banking, technology, and retail operations. He is a graduate of Bucknell University. Bob and his wife Molly have two adult children (Caitlin and Dylan) and split time between Dallas and Harvey's Lake in Pennsylvania.

Press Release Generator – Sample Press Release on United Way Day of Caring [or Action] Involvement

10-Minute Branding Refresher: How do you build your brand 10 minutes at a time? You start small, and you simply begin. An excellent way to convince yourself to get going is to plan your ending. You can even set a timer. Then, be sure to bask in the success of your huge accomplishment of actually beginning and also appreciate the amount of work that got done. Then, repeat the process tomorrow. And the next day. And so on. You will be amazed at your branding progress . . . 10 minutes at a time.

PR as Another Opportunity for Branding

In an earlier article, we discussed Press Releases as Another Opportunity for Branding. Specifically, we addressed some of the basic criteria needed to produce a successful PR piece, including discussions about: Topics, Voice, Audience, Outlets, Format, Quotes and Photos, and Post-Submission Follow-up. In other articles, we provided the following press release generators: Identifying Your Content, Sample Press Release Announcing a New Hire, and Sample Press Release Announcing an Employee Promotion. In this piece, we are providing a template for publicizing a community involvement on the part of your company and employees (specifically the United Way Day of Caring/Action). We chose this example because such observances are broad in geographical scope and because publication of local and regional efforts is an extremely common and a widely accepted practice. However, any community service activity is a likely candidate for PR. (As before, we are hoping these tips will help keep you from getting stuck staring at a blank, crumpled page! However, recognize the need to customize this template to your own situation.)

Can this task be done in 10 minutes? With a template, maybe. However, you can easily spread the exercise across multiple 10-minute sessions.

In getting started, remember that the rule of the 5 W’s still applies, so we encourage you to review our earlier articles. We also want to remind you that voice matters – you must write as though you were a totally objective journalist preparing the story. Similarly, the content must be of interest to the audience of the intended publications.

As previously noted, announcements of community involvements are a common press release practice that communicate a positive branding message about your organization and your people. If you perform an internet search on “United Way Day of Caring,” you will find that local newspapers across the country have shown a willingness to print these kinds of stories that are generally perceived to be of interest to the readership. That said, be aware that some outlets might be willing to include all or most of the information you provide . . . but many will reduce your words to a skeletal, bare-minimum sentence or two. If that is the standard practice, a quick glance at past issues will let you know the kind of space typically allocated to such stories.

Secondary Benefit

When preparing a press release on a public service activity, you are also realizing a secondary benefit by sending your current employees a message that you care about the community and are willing to provide resources (their time spent during working hours) to help. By making this quality part of your brand, you help yourself become an “employer of choice” and you encourage customers to treat you as a valued member of the community.

Below is a fill-in-the-blanks-template to use as a starting point in developing your own content:

Your Logo

PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release

[Company Name]

[Contact Name]

[Phone Number]

[E-mail Address]

[Date]

[HEADLINE ex. ## Employees from COMPANY NAME Participate in United Way Day of Caring [or Action]

[CITY, STATE, MONTH DATE] — Recently, ## employees of [COMPANY] took part in the United Way Day of Caring [Action] by spending time at [LOCATION/NAME OF RECIPIENT/BENEFICIARY] performing the following tasks – [LIST THE SERVICES PROVIDED]. Participating for the FIRST TIME-or-# CONSECUTIVE YEARS in this United Way initiative, the crew from [COMPANY] met at their offices before traveling as a group to the work site.

Note: Body paragraphs then follow this opening (i.e., background information, quotes, company description, etc.)

For those unfamiliar with this activity, the United Way Day of Caring [or United Way Day of Action] is an initiative designed to link company volunteers with organizations that have a special need. The kinds of services provided are very varied and can range from outdoor clean-up activities to painting and general maintenance—basically whatever service the recipient needs most. No special skills are required of the volunteers, just a willingness to provide the time and effort needed to make a difference. According to the United Way, their missions is “. . . to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good.” On the Day of Caring [Action], large numbers of people work to improve their communities by volunteering with United Way. (To learn more and find the most up-to-date information, see the United Way’s website.)

According to [NAME OF HIGHLY PLACED OFFICIAL WILLING TO BE QUOTED], “[COMPANY] is very pleased to have participated in this year’s event. As strong supporters of the United Way, we welcome this opportunity to give back to the community and help out in a very tangible manner by offering our time and effort to this worthwhile cause. We appreciate the willingness of our group of volunteers to help out and are glad to be able to give them the chance to spend this day of work in this manner. As you may know, [COMPANY] has a long-standing history of community involvement. We believe our staff and customers benefit from participation of this kind.”

Note: Add a quote from one or two of the volunteers willing to make remarks. Try to include a description of his/her activity and the way in which the involvement made them feel. (We offer the following example for you to use as a starting point and modify as needed.)

[NAME AND TITLE OF VOLUNTEER] was one of the people volunteering this year for [COMPANY]. According to [VOLUNTEER], “I was asked to [DESCRIBE ACTIVITY]. Working with several others from my company, we accomplished quite a lot, and the people from [RECIPIENT/BENEFICIARY] seemed very grateful. Personally, the whole project made me feel very good about myself and my employer. I hope to come back next year.”

[NAME AND TITLE OF VOLUNTEER] agrees. “I was also part of the group that day. However, my job was to [DESCRIBE ACTIVITY]. I really enjoyed this break from my routine and especially the chance to do some good for others. I appreciate the fact that my employer supports this cause and allowed me to spend a day away helping without a loss of pay.”

Note: Your “boilerplate” company description that outlines the products, services, history, location, hours, etc. then gets added. See our Style Guide for further information. While the boilerplate language of different companies will be quite individual to reflect the specific history and characteristics of that particular business, a simple example might be:

“Established in [YEAR], [COMPANY NAME] specializes in providing [PRODUCT/SERVICES] to customers located in [GEOGRAPHICAL OPERATING AREA]. Open [LIST HOURS/DAYS] or available 24/7 online by visiting [WEB SITE ADDRESS], [COMPANY NAME] [IS ENDORSED BY/IS KNOWN FOR] and encourages customers to learn more. In recent years, [COMPANY NAME] has grown substantially and is looking to achieve similar increases during the upcoming months.”

30/30

Note: As you can see, your boilerplate text provides you with a chance to briefly tell your story while giving potential customers a means of acting on their interest. The above is just one very basic example. Be sure to tailor yours to tell your story in the most effective possible way.

_________________

As always, we welcome any thoughts or feedback, and we encourage you to comment by using the space provided below. We would be happy to receive special requests to provide other sample press releases in the future.

Want a Word document of this example? Just click!

Good luck!

Be Brand Proud; Sign Up Now!!

National Small Business Week Virtual Summit: May 2-3, 2023

In the words of the small business hosts, “Attend this free virtual summit to learn new business strategies, meet other business owners, and chat with industry experts!”

This week’s 10-minute branding task is to start taking advantage of this opportunity by getting your registration done (a task easily completed within the allotted time). Registration is now open!

Note: While signing up will take just 10 minutes, plan to invest up to two days to attend the Summit. (Your time will be well spent.)

Each year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) sponsors a variety of events in conjunction with National Small Business Week, which officially runs from April 30, 2023 thru May 6, 2023. The annual Summit that occurs within this week features extensive resources. To learn more about what to expect, see video highlights from years past. We also suggest that you acquaint yourself with some of the in-depth tools and information made available via the SBA Guide.

Reminder: Steps Your Business Can Take Now

Last year for the 2022 event, we highlighted several actions you could begin taking now to promote your small business in conjunction with the national celebration. The suggestions still basically apply in 2023, so you might want to spend 10 minutes tomorrow refreshing your memory and considering which initiatives might work well for you this year!

So How Does This Apply to Branding?

The fact that you are a small business is an automatic, integral part of your brand – one that can be a great strength to the success of your operation. Branding is all about values . . . and some of the typical ones associated with small businesses are:

Personalized attention
Commitment
Adaptability
Independence
Directness (i.e., lines of communication and number of layers to reach decision-makers)
Loyalty (to staff, customers, and community)

In other words, successful small businesses generally have good qualities to have associated with you and good qualities to live by and cultivate as part of your brand.

Be proud of this lineage.

Sign up now to learn more about the kinds of activities the SBA/SCORE have planned for 2023 and check out all the valuable resources being made available. Every time you promote your business by participating in this national celebration, you are helping to reinforce your brand in the eyes of the public.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

Coffee Break!!

Disclaimer: While we only recommend products we know and love, we want to note we use affiliate links and may earn a commission for purchases made through those links.

Recognizing Opportunity

Take a coffee break . . . and check out another installment of 10-minute branding.

Today’s article is about recognizing opportunity in very commonplace objects and activities. In this case, we’ll use the basic coffee mug as an example.

Chances are, your business already has a supply for your own and visiting customer use. Perhaps you’ve even gone to the next level and purchased branded mugs. If not, we suggest you do so, going to a major, well-known supplier like 4imprint to see a wide spectrum of options . . . OR a site such as Zazzle where you can find a variety of items, including mugs. (Check out our 10-minute branding story on promotional items.)

However, the focus of this article is one highly successful effort to take a commonplace item and associated activity to the next branding level. Specifically, we offer our kudos to Willie Geist and his Sunday Morning show for implementing an extremely clever and popular promotion.

A specially branded Sunday Morning coffee mug is available through the network. Once you have yours, you can then take your picture holding the mug (i.e., “a mug shot!” – VERY CLEVER) . . . which just might then get featured in the closing segment of one of the future shows. Every Sunday, week after week, new images are displayed that have been submitted by loyal and enthusiastic members of the audience across the country (images that coincidentally also display the highly recognizable brand iconography).

So, are we suggesting that you copy this promotion?

NO!

However, we are saying that the real secret is to recognize opportunity in the commonplace, and we suggest you periodically take 10 minutes to consider clever ways unique to your small business that might enable you to create your own highly successful campaign from an everyday object and/or activity. (Although I will never really know, I personally believe some clever person thought of the label “mug shot,” . . . and that flash of inspiration suggested the whole promotion.)

Speaking of coffee cups and companies, that branded item must be among the most successful. In fact, some of the most coveted branded mugs are those available under the name of a fictitious company – Dunder Mifflin. If you followed the cult classic TV series The Office, you know who that is. While the company only has a real existence within the land of make believe, the popularity of the company’s mug is impressive – just do an internet search of the term Dunder Mifflin Coffee Mug.

Remember, think outside the box during your 10-minute coffee break, and you may land upon the next great promotion to wrap around a branded giveaway tchotchke!!

As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

Want to see an example of a customizable coffee mug that can be obtained in small quantities per purchase from Zazzle? Check out Example1 and Example2.

Ties That Bind (and Define)!!

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding!

Who Are You?

Are you a member of your local Chamber of Commerce?

Your Rotary?
The Kiwanis?
VFW?
American Legion?
Junior League?
Union?
Trade group such as the National Restaurant Association)?
College Alumni?
Local PTO?
Church or other religious organization?
Etc.

Frankly, the list can go on and on and on! Most people have far more affiliations than initially imagined, and each of these relationships help define our personal brand, which in turn can be very useful in promoting the brand of your small business. So . . .take 10 minutes to build your list of ties for further action. Then, take another ten minutes tomorrow or the next day to act upon your list.

How Can Your Affinity Group Involvements Help?

Within whatever limits or restrictions imposed by your organization, spend your customary block of time getting the word out about your business . . . but presented in such a way as to benefit the interests of all the group’s members (not just you) by highlighting the manner in which your product and/or service can satisfy their personal needs and interests.

How Can This be Done?

You might consider . . .

Sending an e-mail to members.
Posting a social media comment or message on the platforms of choice.
Placing a small business-card ad in the most popular communication vehicle of the group (such as a newsletter or bulletin).
Etc.

In other words, take a few minutes to harness the power of networking, word-of-mouth advertising, and personal branding acting in unison.

Aside from delivering a needed value via some aspect of your product or service to them, consider adding a financial incentive as well:

A special discount.
A coupon (perhaps a buy-one get-one free offer for fellow group members).
Extra reward points that accumulate toward a few items.

We believe that 10 minutes spent on a regular basis informally promoting your brand to your fellow affinity group members will yield surprising benefits and increase the brand recognition of both you and your company.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

“Your Call Is Important To Us” (NOT!!)

How many times have you heard this telephone automated attendant message? And did those words make you feel the exact opposite of the intent? If so, you realize the importance of ALL forms of messaging to your brand, and we suggest you keep reading this next installment of 10-minute branding.

Meaningful Content Matters

On one of the most common routes I drive, this very small country church has a changeable outdoor message board (such as the one shown below) with sufficient space for a meaningful thought to be communicated.

Over the years, I have looked forward to reading the new weekly message that almost always contained a mix of humor and serious, understated insight. Often, a basic piece of housekeeping information (such as the dates and times of special services) was included . . . and I suspect people paid a whole lot more attention because the content was carefully tucked inside an entertaining wrapper. I know for a fact that I have not been alone in becoming a fan of the sign, which I also saw reproduced in photos on social media by appreciative fans who shared my reaction.

Similarly, a local bar I pass almost as often has a sign that is used to make comments about current events, send regular patrons best wishes on special occasions, and sometimes even crack a joke or two. Like the church signage, this one also has a fan base and regular following who waits each week for the letters to change – enjoying the sensibility of the message that gets posted and perhaps even checking to see whether they got mentioned.

In each of these cases, the organization’s brand was defined, communicated, and publicized in a way that brought great visibility and recognition . . . while assuming a place at “the top of thought” of the audience. Furthermore, this brand building exercise cost nothing to execute and was probably accomplished in 10 minutes – five to develop the message and five more to change the lettering.

While not all small businesses have a sign to be used for this purpose, pretty much everyone has telephone voice mail that communicates a very basic, practical message; 90% of the time, this opportunity to get the attention of a patron is wasted.

While some offices do at least use out-of-office or wait-time messages to run canned ads (which can be effective), these notices are too often tuned out because the content is updated too infrequently.

I suggest learning a lesson from the master marketers in charge of the outdoor signs mentioned above by adopting their practices of wrapping their practical content in a message that informs, entertains, and communicates (either directly or indirectly) some basic understanding of your brand, your style, and your sensibility. In doing so, you want to establish a regular posting schedule and feature information people want to hear. (I have on occasions gone out of my way to drive past these signs just because I wanted to see the newest message.)

So, what kind of options do you have for creating such content?

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. However, always be sure to keep the entertainment side of your message short, simple, and direct. Some examples to use as a starting point for your own brainstorming include (but are not limited to) the following:

Try asking and answering general trivia questions.
Mention a fact from history that happened on the day.
Call people’s attention to the obscure celebrations occurring on the day. For instance, February 10^th, 2023, was National Pizza Day. August 5^th, 2023, is National Bloggers Day.
Note: You can find these lists online at sites such as National Day Calendar 2023 : What National Day is it Today 2023 (nationalday365.com).
Highlight interesting facts about your local history.
Follow local high school, little league, etc. sports teams and comment upon and congratulate the athletes on their performances.
Tell people to come to your website for additional information – perhaps a recipe of the day.
Provide an interesting fact about your business.
Wish a Happy Birthday to patrons born on this day, collecting the date and simultaneously getting their permission as part of a prior sign-up campaign. (Consider sending them to your website to collect an additional reward/Birthday Gift.)
Tell a joke.
Pass along a special password that can be used to participate in a sale.
Etc.

You get the idea. The nature and structure of the lead-in entertainment part of your message can be almost anything and can encompass multiple categories but should be short, simple, direct, AND hopefully somewhat clever. Frankly, that plus the mere attempt to entertain rather than just sell will be part of the branding message that get communicated.

While certain efforts will work better than others, consistency is important to set expectations. Customer feedback will be your best measure about whether the initiative is succeeding as planned. If you realize one strategy is not working, try another and keep experimenting until you have the right formula that speaks to your audience and sends the right message about your brand.

On your part, you should be able to accomplish this task in 10 minutes most of the time. We believe the rewards will far exceed the effort (and time commitment) required.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

Employee Reality Check

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding.

Walking the Walk/Talking the Talk

Large companies generally have Mission and Vision Statements that summarize their product and service philosophy and (either directly or indirectly) establish standards for employee/customer interactions. Realizing the potential value of such a written manifesto, many small businesses have adopted their own as well . . . though a few with perpetually lean staffing and operations probably never get around to creating a formal document.

However, that does not mean no written record exists. In such cases, you often find the small business has a motto or byline that serves a similar purpose. When you hear a good slogan that has been around for a while, those words have usually succeeded in capturing the philosophy, the goals, and the essence of the brand – and, therefore, becomes another way of figuring out what that company’s mission might be.

So, What Is Today’s 10-Minute Branding Assignment?

We suggest spending this time meeting with your employees to perform a checkup on the way branding values are being implemented on a daily basis while using the opportunity to:

reiterate your ideal.

OR – perhaps –

learn a lesson from reality.

To get this training exercise off to a fast start, read your mission statement or slogan to your employees and ask them whether those words accurately reflect their daily reality. Depending upon the feedback you receive, you may want to remind your people about your ideal brand values and suggest ways they can integrate those qualities into their daily interactions with customers. If, however, you did find that your ideals are no longer based in reality, ask your employees to help you modify the statement to better reflect their daily experience. In the case of the former, you could end up with a better employee and better brand. In the case of the latter, you just might get a more accurate Mission Statement and/or slogan to live by AND help generate future sales.

Depending upon what you find, several 10-minute sessions may or may not be required to discuss the reality of your brand and retrain staff behavior OR brainstorm a new message. However, the process will be worthwhile and a good reality check. If you were one of those businesses that never took the time to develop a Mission Statement, you may find that now is the ideal occasion to do so.

Click this link to learn more about Mission Statements. And Vision Statements.

Click this link to learn more about creating Company Slogans,

As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

Go Shopping!!

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding.

A Gift that Keeps on Giving

Disclaimer: While we only recommend products we know and love, we want to note we use affiliate links and may earn a commission for purchases made through those links.

Do you have 10 free minutes until your next task and want to create a way to keep your business’s name in front of existing and potential customers? Then, Go Shopping . . . for possible promotional gifts that you can distribute in a variety of ways. For example, imprinted pens often have a good shelf life – sticking around in the pocket of your patron or on his/her desk for a considerable amount of time and then staying in the face (and the thoughts!!) of that person throughout the day.

Before you reflexively say you don’t have the budget or extra cash, know that cost and quantity can vary greatly, which makes this opportunity available to everyone. You can check out major, well-known suppliers like 4imprint and see a wide spectrum of options (including some for well under a dollar per unit) . . . OR you can go to a site such as Zazzle to obtain just a handful that can often feature artwork relevant to your business as well as your particular company’s branding. While the per-unit cost might be greater, the ability to buy a few at a time might be helpful.

Such small quantities can be used very effectively when distributed in a personalized way. For example, invite a prized customer to lunch and pass along a customized pen as a takeaway. (The whole cost of such a gesture can – together with a good product and service — help secure brand loyalty in the present and future.) If, on the other hand, you have been able to invest in a larger quantity, we suggest getting a good enough quality to enhance the chances of being retained but at a sufficiently inexpensive cost to distribute them freely – including having a handful at your point of purchase for customers to grab-and-go at will.

While we have offered pens as a very typical example of a common company promotional gift offered by a high percentage of businesses, the same logic can be applied to countless other items like key chains, stress balls, lens wipes, sanitizer bottles, lip gloss, etc.

Although you can seldom go wrong with a pen, look for a gift that is both unique and reflects your products and/or services For instance, a contractor might offer a tape measure, an optician an eye glass repair kit, or a doctor a pill box.

If you are lucky, you might find the perfect item in just 10 minutes. If you are one of those people who just can’t get enough shopping and are constantly distracted by a need to check out each item you see, more than one 10-minute session might be required.

Once the perfect promotional gift has been identified, use a second 10-minute session to place your order – typically an action that can be accomplished via the Internet and/or a phone call. When completing your transaction, remember to stay consistent with your brand style guide in selecting fonts, colors, bylines, etc., which will enhance the recognition of your brand.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions. Till then, Happy Shopping!!

Want to see an example of a customizable pen that can be obtained in small quantities per purchase from Zazzle? Check out Example 1 and Example 2.

2023 – Start a Fresh, New “To Do” List!!

Give Yourself a New Beginning Free from Old Failures

The New Year is a time of fresh beginnings . . . a time of optimism not yet marred by those inevitable defeats we all experience on a daily basis. To properly capitalize on this moment when you get to start over with a clean slate, our 10-minute branding tip for you is to develop a new “TO DO” list that reflects this positive state of mind. If you happen to have an old one, resist the temptation to just perform a quick update. Rip that old page up so you enter the New Year without unnecessary baggage and dead weight from those tasks you never got around to trying or that failed because you did not follow through sufficiently to succeed.

While you will of course need to carry some items over onto your new list because those tasks have indeed been deemed worthwhile, you will have gone through the exercise of re-evaluating each item before automatically (and blindly) carrying the activity forward.

When building your new list, look back over your 10-minute branding successes and determine which ones deserve to be repeated and which ones have advanced to a new stage. Consider your short- and long-term branding goals and identify those new tasks that need to be added . . . but make sure your running list – while ambitious – stands a chance of getting completed.

Start Moving “TO DO” to “DONE”

Attitude and outlook – these intangibles are critical to maintaining the positive energy needed to accomplish your initiatives. Optimism for the future is ultimately the fuel that drives you to move your “TO DO” list over to “DONE” . . . and keep adding new ones that define and advance your brand throughout the year.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions. Happy New Year!!

* * * * *

Special Note

Are you willing to start the New Year with an additional slightly more ambitious assignment — one sure to take more than 10 minutes? (If so, see our article from 2021.):

Perform an Annual 5-Step Brand Wellness Checkup

A Match Made in Minutes

Consider Bringing a Partner On Board

Owning and operating a small business can be a lonely and overwhelming proposition. Sometimes, you just wish you had some additional resource you could rely upon. If you have ever found yourself in this position, perhaps you should consider enlisting the assistance of a strategic partner – the topic of this newest 10-minute brand building tip.

Such a relationship can but does not have to involve any kind of formal legal arrangement. Rather, you are looking to pair with another business that – like you – is hoping to gain a certain marketplace advantage.

Identifying a Potential Prospect

Some combinations seem to have a natural synergy – like the way peanut butter pairs with jelly or marshmallows with chocolate bars and graham crackers. When considering prospects, ask yourself what other product or service might be acquired to better take full advantage of the characteristics of yours.

For instance . . .

If your business is to share advice about branding, you might consider forming a strategic partnership with a designer who produces branded stationary, business cards, etc. If you are a farmer with apple orchards specializing in the production of cider, perhaps your ideal strategic partner would be a grocery store or farmer’s market that uses seasonal campaigns (such as fall, Thanksgiving, Halloween) to promote sales.

Basically, think of a business that could benefit from your product while, in turn, enhancing yours. That said, you will want to consider issues such as goals for growth, culture, values, attitude toward service, and history of success to ensure the optimum likelihood of a good match.

Potential Benefits of a Strategic Partnership

Many exist . . . but I will concentrate on three for the purposes of this piece.

Cut Costs

One role of well-matched strategic partners is the ability to run joint sales and advertising campaigns, which has the potential to substantially reduce the expense of both parties by splitting costs while also allowing everyone to take advantage of economies of scale. Better deals can sometimes be available to companies willing and/or able to spend more, which can be accomplished through a partner while your own original investment remains the same. Any activity targeting large numbers of prospects falls into this category (direct mail/e-mail campaigns, sales events, etc.)

Increase Your Audience

You have your own list of customers as well as a data base of prospects. More than likely, your strategic partner does as well. Combining these lists for activities such as direct mailings or even telemarketing campaigns substantially increases your pool of highly qualified prospects. If you’ve chosen your strategic partner well, their customers should be very interested in your products/services and more likely than your average cold contact to ultimately become your customer as well. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that you already share some of the same customers and that letting them know about your strategic partnership can only strengthen their loyalties to both of you, which suggests a joint loyalty program might be very successful.

Remember, strategic partners are not your direct competitors. Rather, these companies are ones that complement your main focus . . . so sharing of customer data is reasonable.

Enhance Your Product

Even the best products can always become a bit better . . . but you just lack the resources to pursue such development. By choosing your partner wisely, you can make your product better by being able to offer additional qualities brought to the table by your partner. (Once peanut butter found jelly, that partnership created a new enhanced offering called PB&Js . . . and the rest is history!!)

In the case of a branding blog, we try to explain some of the characteristics that create an effective brand, we can even provide instruction for building certain basic tools like logos. However, a partnership might allow us to highlight certain vendors who are able to supply finished products for items like brochures (helping those readers who prefer not to take the DIY approach).

Your 10-Minute Branding Assignment

Identify a company offering a product/service that complements yours. Visit their web site to get a sense of their audience and approach to sales. Determine whether the prospect has been involved in a coordinated effort with another business (perhaps even one of your direct competitors). Track down the names and contact information of people within the operation who might be the best ones to approach about possible partnerships. (The “About” page of the candidate’s web site can sometimes yield this information.)

While your 10-minute task for the day is done once you’ve completed this assignment, another day your mission will be to make a preliminary contact. This process can be repeated as many times as necessary to move forward. The potential benefits will easily justify the effort.

Sponsor a Community Team

Grassroots BRANDING

Would you invest 10 minutes of your time and a very modest amount of money to get your name (and BRAND!) publicized within your community in a very positive way for weeks (often months) at a time?

The answer seems obvious, but a surprisingly small number of businesses take advantage of the opportunity to sponsor a local athletic team – ranging from those of young kids to adult recreational groups. Typically, a quick call or e-mail to a league official would be all that’s required to agree to sponsor a particular sport.

What You Get (in Addition to Gratitude)

In return for your sponsorship, you can expect to receive some combination of the following forms of recognition:

Your name on hats and/or jerseys (both of which tend to be worn for years after a particular season has ended).
Your name on printed programs and/or schedules.
Your name displayed in some manner within the athletic venue.
Your name repeated every time the player mentions the team in conversation with others.
Your name listed in any newspaper covering the sport (ex: Donny’s Hoagies plays West End Pizza tonight for the league championship!).
Your name mentioned at any end-of-season banquets or perhaps reproduced on a trophy.

This word-of-mouth exposure can be especially effective within a local community and seems ideally suited to retail operations (though larger regional and national companies can still benefit). When you consider the high cost of advertising, an investment of this kind provides a good shelf life and return for each dollar spent . . . while associating your brand with community involvement in a very positive way.

Opportunities Abound

When considering possible sponsorships, all forms of athletic teams are available – from little league baseball and mini-football to intramural/recreational softball, soccer, hockey, and basketball. You can even consider branching out further by supporting school plays, choral groups, etc.

While the exact amount of your investment will vary with your location, type of exposure provided, potential audience size, etc., you are very likely to find that the 10-minute branding activity needed to set up the sponsorship and the modest amount of money involved will produce results that compare quite favorably with other branding opportunities.