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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.

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.

Make Google Alerts Work for Your Business

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding!

While you need to know where your business stands in the world according to google, because that is how most prospective customers will try to get to know you, the process doesn’t need to be work intensive (even for 10-minute branding standards). With google alerts, you designate how often you would like google to send you an email with a summary of new search results for your selected keywords. That leaves you with the not-so-lofty challenge of quickly skimming the email upon receipt. However, you do have to go through the process of setting up the alerts. Since our philosophy is think small in order to achieve big, we would recommend breaking up the tasks into a couple of days since the process overall is probably more than 10 minutes. . . .

Day 1: Finish reading this post. 😉

Day 2: Decide on the keywords for your alerts. At a most basic level, you would want your name (because to some degree, you are your business); your business name; and possibly your business name followed by the word ‘review’. Beyond that, would some other topics be useful to track for the sake of your business? Maybe you want to keep an eye on the competition. Maybe a particular current event is relevant to your business. Make a list for yourself.

Day 3: Set up the alerts. (You’ll need to have a google account for the task, so if you don’t have one, know that you’ll be prompted to create one before your alerts go live.)

Go to google.com/alerts and enter your first set of keywords along with your email address. Consider entering quotes around your keywords to limit your results and click “show options” to set the parameters for your search (like frequency, language, etc.). Click “create alert” once done and repeat the process as many times as needed.

Easy Peasy!

Then, you’ll see what the world sees, and you can proactively address issues as they arise.

Note that google does not track social media references unfortunately. Those need to be addressed separately.

Let me know of any questions or comments below. Till next time!

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.

When was the last time you googled yourself?

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding!

When was the last time you googled yourself (or rather, your business)?

(If the answer is today, that’s either an extraordinary coincidence, or you might actually do this exercise too often. This article isn’t for you.) More likely, you’re in the majority and don’t perform this quick task often enough.

You need to know where you stand in the world, according to google, because that is how your prospective customers will try to get to know you.

I recommend three regular searches: your name (because to some degree, you are your business); your business name, and your business name followed by the word ‘reviews’.

This way, you see what the world sees, and you can proactively address issues as they arise (keyword being when not if).

A more streamlined approach to this process involves setting up a few alerts. You will also want to register your business on a few review web sites if you’re not already on them. I’ll discuss these topics one by one in the near future. Till then!

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

Send Your Valued Customers a Happy New Year Message

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding!

Nothing beats a nice card sent through the mail with a short and personal hand-written note. If you have the time for that, wonderful. If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re short on time, and the idea of getting important things accomplished in a 10-minute window is very appealing to you.

On the other hand, we are all inundated with companies sending us holiday greetings along with pleas for sales of some sort. I would tread carefully so as not to join this unwelcome category. However, a text or e-mail with a nice graphic and a short, personal message can go a long way. . . . For example:

Thank you for another year of reading our blog. We are grateful for you and wish you the happiest of new years. From Carole and Bob at Brand Building for Small Business

(Feel free to use our graphic if you would like!)