How to Create a Successful Logo and Brand

What is a Logo?

A logo is your graphic identity online as well as in the real world. Well before the internet, and well before marketing, logos were a major part of human life. All throughout history, we have logos representing everything from traders to armies. The famous Golden Eagle of the Roman Legion was the ultimate logo of its time.

Logos help us identify a person, group, or concept. The more famous or popular the logo, the more recognized it becomes, and the greater the brand. Coca-Cola is a great example of a company that has a famous logo as well as its brand.

There is one major difference between a logo and a brand. A logo is a representation of a brand; a brand is a recognized leader or group of products in a market. Branding is not just a logo; it is a complete set of activities that enable a logo to become popular. There are millions of logos all around us, but only a few brands for each one. Caterpillar is a construction equipment brand, with a standard brand color, and CAT logo. The same goes for Bosch, Samsung, Makita, etc. These are all brands that have a logo to make them immediately and easily identifiable.

Colors and History

Creating your logo requires skill. It is not just about image; it is about color, it is about matching the logo to your corporate culture and vision. Colors have a great impact on how people translate the image, so too does the actual logo itself. For instance, the Swastika is, ironically, the Hindu sign for Peace; the Nazi party corrupted a thousand years of “peace” into a sign of evil and death. By using black white and red, three definitive colors when mixed together remind us of the harsh Nazi regime. The use of red white and black has become restricted since the second world war due to the psychological connotations. Other examples are: the Star of David, the Cross, the Crescent and all logos of religions.

When thinking about creating a logo, remember that colors emit different feelings for people. For example, red is typically associated with love, yellow is associated with happiness, etc. Also, depending on your customers, you should also look at what colors mean in different cultures.

Successful Colors and Trends

Colors tend to trend with fashion, so one decade might see the onset of vibrant colors and other decades will associate themselves with pastels or variations of grey tones. Companies must also factor in their target audience as well as their image. Are you selling to local buyers only or are you planning on being global? Do you know what white means in Asia? What does the color green relate to in the country you are trying to market to? All these questions arise when designing a logo and how you intend to brand it.

Branding

Branding is a major science and art form. It can be instantaneous, and it can take decades. Coca-Cola took decades to become a global brand, while iPhone took only six years to become a global legend. When Steve Jobs presented the first iPod in 2001 and then in 2007 came out with the first iPhone, Apple had become a household name. Within 6 years Jobs had created a new world. The small i and large letter following it were the logo for all Apple products from that day one, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iOS, etc. The colors were white and black. Two tones, simple, and supplemented the vision that Jobs created.

Branding is not just about logos; it is about creating a whole line of products that can support the logo as well as a whole set of campaigns that push the products into the public awareness. Branding includes five steps that are all quantifiable and have milestones and KPI’s (Key Performance Indicator).

Stage I: Development

A product is considered in the developmental stage when it has not yet been introduced to the market. The product has to be developed and tested before it is released. This is the developmental stage in the cycle of a brand. One of the main factors that must be included in the product costs are marketing costs. When combining the two, you receive the initial product cost before adding additional overheads and profit which will determine the price to the consumer.

Stage II: Introduction

The product brand begins its life cycle when introduced to the public. Advertising and online marketing can commence before a product is ready for the market. We have seen this done by iPhone and competitors that introduced the next model a few months ahead of the actual release date. A successful brand will hit the market with little or no competition. Sometimes a product is the same with different packaging, this is found in the hygiene and cosmetics industry. The introduction stage is usually prepared for a massive immediate release sale that will refund most of the developmental stage and set the stage for brand growth, this is seen with new Film opening days, where the opening days pay for the whole film, sometimes generating enough of a profit that leads the product into a growth cycle that includes by-products.

Stage III: Growth

A product brand will enter the growth stage once it starts to sell exponentially. SAP is an IT company that provides ERP solutions. Through smart partnerships, it created global growth and introduced new updates and products on a yearly basis. This fuels its continuous growth, since customers will prefer to upgrade their systems than replace them with something new. Successful growth generates more competition; for instance, with smartphones. Once iPhone hit the market, Samsung followed closely, and this opened the door to a massive influx of competing technologies. Usually, saturation leads to price wars, and in some instances, companies will maintain their prices by keeping their products unique and basing their pricing on returning satisfied clients. This explains why iPhone maintains a market leader with high-cost phones when compared to cheaper Android versions.

Stage IV: Maturity

Maturity means a particular model in a brand will become “old,” and a newer version with better features must replace it. This happens a lot in the electronic-based technologies niche, as well as in the entertainment industry. Films, books and songs mature very quickly, sometimes within weeks. Smartphones mature within half a year, vehicles mature on a yearly basis where models will remain, but new features will populate the newer models being released. Prices tend to stay the same for every new release and depreciate for older models. Following the competition and following trends is important in maintaining an edge in every competitive market.

Stage V: Decline

This is the point where the company stops manufacturing the old brand and concentrates on the new one. Prices drop dramatically and only spare parts are produced for service agreements. The decline can be alleviated by finding other market niches for the same product. For instance, rather than competing against a local supplier for a market share of an older product, you might introduce a new one into the local market and sell the old one in a less volatile market such as third world countries. Once a brand has declined completely, it is then time to remove it and concentrate on the new. Nokia is a prime example of a company that didn’t prepare a new technology to replace the old, and it killed itself when it refused to measure up to smartphones.

How To Create Content for a Website

Introduction

Web sites are the first line of presence for a modern company. Just as with body language, when a person looks at you and your company for the first time, they make a decision within .03 seconds, and that image influences how they envision you in the future. So too with websites, the look and feel of a website will either pull a visitor in, or will make them close the site and move on. This is where weaving graphics and words become an artform, and not just science.

Psychology is a major factor in creating a “near to perfect” site; in fact, some companies create a number of sites each giving a different image for different markets, this is usually found with international e-shops that deal with different cultures such as Chinese and American, French and Indian. Each culture has different colors and outlines that attract them, so what might seem wonderfully appealing to one group could be a cacophony of images that will detract from another group.

Global sites, such as Google, use a focused simplistic approach, where the site opens at their core feature, directing users to start from that point. Behind their one feature search page sits a myriad of options that users can access.

The design of your site depends on the market you are trying to reach. If you are supplying products and services to a technical customer, then you must concentrate on technical issues, and provide as much information that will attract the customer to your service or product. If you are selling a product to the general public, then you must include a lot of graphics and catchy phrases to “market” your product

Smarketing Defined

So what is “smarketing”?

“Smarketing is the process of integrating the sales and marketing processes of the business. The objective is for the sales and marketing functions to have a common integrated approach. This can lead to annual revenue growth of up to 20%, according to a study in 2010.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarketing

“The term "smarketing" refers to alignment between your sales and marketing teams created through frequent and direct communication between the two. The goal is to have measurable goals that each team agrees to hit, so there's mutual accountability. For instance, Marketing might have a mutually agreed upon leads SLA (service level agreement) to hit, and Sales must agree to follow up with a certain amount of those leads. Smarketing goals should be made together, and re-evaluated every month to identify opportunities for improvement on both teams.” https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/definition-smarketing-under-100-words

Website Smarketing

Before you can convert visitors to customers, where a customer is a visitor that buys a service or product online, you first have to attract them to the site. This is the job of a website developer and marketing expert. The design of the site must be such that it directs the visitor to the “purchase” page, and this is where the sales team get involved. Even the best of sites cannot force anyone to buy a product; they can only suggest purchasing the product. When dealing with a competitive product market and selling consumer goods, it gets easier since the consumer tends to fall for standard online marketing techniques such as coupons, sales, and other psychological tools that persuade the customer the product is cheaper, better and delivered faster with good CRM.

With manufacturing and engineering sites, it is harder, since the price is only one factor in a number of procurement factors. In fact, the difference between the two types of sites is vast. Providing a successful site, engineering and manufacturing companies must incorporate Porter’s Five Forces Model to define how their site will approach visitors that are potential customers.

Porter's Five Forces Model

In 1979, Michael Porter of Harvard University devised a model to evaluate the market factors that can be analyzed to make a strategic assessment of the competitive position of a given supplier in a given market.

This model was a key model for decision making in complex purchasing environments.

Basically: You would not use it for nuts and bolts, but would definitely deploy it for purchasing expensive equipment, special resources, special processes, and BPO.

Porter’s Five Forces Model is a tool for preparing a negotiation. It aims to give the negotiator information as to their strengths and the strength of the other side.

The five forces are:

1. Existing competitive rivalry between suppliers

2. Threat of new market entrants

3. Bargaining power of buyers

4. Power of suppliers

5. Threat of substitute products (including technology change)

Why is this model important when designing a website? The reason is due to the nature of the visitor, an engineering and manufacturing site visitor will most probably be a professional seeking a professional solution. They do not just look at the price; they look at the number of alternatives they have for a particular, and sometimes long-term solution. They seek quality, sustainability, and logistics competence.

Let’s take a look at the five forces in regard to your site:

1. Existing competitive rivalry between suppliers

Who is your competition and what do they offer that is identical to you? What are their prices in comparison to yours, how fast can they deliver, and do they offer more? For most industries, the intensity of competitive rivalry is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry.

Potential factors:

• Sustainable competitive advantage through innovation

• Competition between online and offline companies

• Level of advertising expense

• Powerful competitive strategy

• Firm concentration ratio

• Degree of transparency

When developing a website, you have to look at your competitors and beat them. Create a better website. Address all the missing issues that would help form a decision.

1. Threat of new market entrants

2. Bargaining power of buyers

3. Power of suppliers

4. Threat of substitute products (including technology change)

Profitable industries that yield high returns will attract new firms. New entrants eventually will decrease profitability for other firms in the industry. Unless the entry of new firms can be made more difficult by incumbents, abnormal profitability will fall towards zero (perfect competition), which is the minimum level of profitability required to keep an industry in business.

Your website has to evolve constantly; you need to maintain a market check to monitor emerging competition and meet them head-on with an online upgrade.

The bargaining power of buyers is also described as the market of outputs: the ability of buyers to put the firms under pressure, which also affects the buyer’s sensitivity to price changes. Firms can take measures to reduce buyer power, such as implementing a loyalty program. Buyers' power is high if buyers have many alternatives. It is low if they have few choices.

You have to provide an in-depth FAQ and technical page as well as provide an immediate reverse contact feature, where the sales team will contact a visitor that has viewed more than one page in the FAQ or technical specs of a product.

The bargaining power of suppliers is also described as the market of inputs. Suppliers of raw materials, components, labor, and services (such as expertise) to the supplier can be a source of power over the buyer when there are few substitutes. If you are making biscuits and there is only one person who sells flour, you have no alternative but to buy it from them. Suppliers may refuse to work with the firm or charge excessively high prices for unique resources.

No matter what the market saturation, you must maintain a leveled approach to potential online customers. This means that you have to expound on your advantages even if you are a local monopoly since a website is global and you can detract sales when being over-confident.

A substitute product uses a different technology to try to solve the same economic need.

• Buyer propensity to substitute: Can you substitute? Is it allowed?

• Relative price performance of substitute: What are the incentives?

• Buyer's switching costs: Will changing supplier increase or decrease costs?

• Perceived level of product differentiation: How much better is this?

• A number of substitute products available in the market: What else is around?

• Ease of substitution: Is the change easy for production?

• Availability of close substitute: How close is it to what was originally needed?

The introduction of alternatives is always an issue with technology-based products. Especially with materials. The development of a new material or process can change an entire industry as well as the way the world works. For instance, an extreme example, the smartphone. Nokia went out of business since it would not evolve with the smartphone industry, what was once a giant with great products became a paragraph in the history books. Your site must reflect alternatives to alternatives!

All these factors are considered when developing an engineering and manufacturing website, so you can see the level of expertise required to design a successful website is not just how pretty it might look, but how much information it creates and updates, as well as the words it uses to defeat the competition.

What is Inbound Marketing?

How Inbound Marketing Can Help Your Company:

What is Inbound Marketing?

There are four phases to inbound marketing. They are:

1. Attract

   1. You want people to come to your website who will become your customers

   2. You can attract them by creating blog posts, have a content strategy for what you create and post, and then have active social media accounts

2. Convert

   1. After you’ve attracted someone, you want to convert them into a lead

   2. You can do this through forms, meetings, messages, and CRM

3. Close

   1. Once someone has become a lead, you now want to make them your customer

   2. You can do this with pipeline management, lead nurturing, email, and lead scoring

4. Delight

   1. After a customer has experienced your product or service, you want to engage and delight them

   2. Smart content and conversations are two ways to delight your customers and keep them happy

These four phases allow strangers to become customers, visitors to your website, and promoters. This also allows for customers and promoters to attract others to you through word of mouth.

What Makes Inbound Different?

While traditional marketing focuses on cold calling, cold emails, ads, and are marketer-centric, inbound marketing utilizes SEO, blogging, attraction, and focuses on the customer. Instead of creating content that’s geared towards the company, inbound marketing creates content that helps the customer and makes them the center of the campaign.

Inbound marketing is effective because it’s much more economically efficient compared to traditional marketing, and it allows companies to create an experience that people want instead of spamming them. By using inbound marketing, you’re getting people to come to you instead of reaching out for them.

Remember, inbound marketing is about the content that you create. By creating blogs that are interesting to the customer, they more likely they are to use your product or service. You can bring strangers into your website with different forms of content such as: videos, podcasts, eBooks, etc.

Why Do You Need Inbound Marketing?

There are numerous benefits to inbound marketing. Some of these are:

• Shape a company

• Influence future purchases

• Generate social media shares

• Provide leads

• Increase customer awareness of a brand or company

• Encourage customers to communicate with you on a more personal level

Compared to traditional marketing, inbound marketing is built over time. For example, your company might create a blog post in a few hours, but then over weeks and months, that same post might get more traffic and more and more people will share it. Eventually, it creates better SEO and brings more people to your website and creates more customers. Remember to be patient with inbound marketing, it’ll pay off in the long run.

Types of Inbound Marketing

• SEO

  • Search Engine Optimization uses keywords from your posts or website to connect customers to you. You want to make sure when you’re creating content, you’re keeping SEO in mind. You want to use words that will make your website pop up when a potential customer is looking online.

• Blogs

  • Blogs are very effective in connecting with customers. They provide a conversational tone and allow a company to make the customer feel valued. With blogs, make sure the content you’re writing about helps the customer, and doesn’t strictly talk about how great your company is.

• Social Media

  • Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms can be very effective when used correctly. Create a social media calendar in order to plan out what you want to post and when. This will help you stay on track and create social media posts that align with your campaign.

• eBooks

  • These are informative materials that can also help you keep your customers or appeal to potential leads. They should be informative and help the customer out in some way.

Using these different types of inbound marketing will make your campaign much more successful. If you can incorporate multiple types of inbound marketing in your campaign, you’ll have a higher rate of success. For instance, if you can create a blog post with specific words for SEO, and then share that post through social media, you’ll get more attention and have a better campaign.

Start Your Inbound Marketing Campaign

So you’ve decided you want to start an inbound marketing campaign. How do you begin?

First, understand that the more you invest into your campaign, the greater the results will be. Make sure you have the time and the ambition to create a great campaign.

Here’s how to start:

1. Identify who your target audience is and begin researching them. You want to learn all you can about them in order to create content that pertains to them. You don’t want to go in blind or else you won’t get the full benefits of inbound marketing.

2. Create a compelling story for your customers. You want to be able to explain why they should choose your product or service above all others on the market.

3. Decide what platforms you’ll utilize to deliver content. Is this going to be a social media campaign? Is it going to be blog posts? Decide now so you can effectively create content.

4. Create a content calendar and stick to it. You might have to play around a little bit to figure out how often you should post, what time, and on what platform. There isn’t a magic date and time, you’ll just have to figure it out from your customers.

Keep in mind that with an inbound marketing campaign, all the content should be customer focused, not business focused. Don’t create content that only talks about your company and what you can do for your customer. That won’t be effective in getting their attention or convincing them to use your product or service. Create content that feels personal and makes them feel valued.

Lastly, remember to have a weekly review session. You’ll want to recap your efforts at the end of every week to make sure your campaign is effective. If you need to adjust anything, this debriefing session will be the time to do it.