Brands can thrive for years if associated products are reliable, the logo is instantly recognizable and the slogans are infectious. However, in a competitive marketplace where customers yield to mercurial tastes and shifting loyalties, a brand that once enjoyed devotion can be vanquished… like Brim coffee, Breck shampoo and Yugo cars. However, no brand has to die without a fight. Much like cats, brands can enjoy one, two or nine lives, depending on whether expert resuscitation is applied in time and with the right savvy.…
Microsoft has made it much simpler for us to migrate our SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint 2013. Of course, “simpler” doesn’t mean easy. If you’ve ever done a site migration, you know that a lot of work goes into it, and this is especially the case with a platform like SharePoint. Nevertheless, there are tactical ways to distill this intensive process.
Start with an Easy Inventory and a Plan
Before we look at the actual migration process, we need to get ready.…
Whether you’re a new e-commerce business or have been operating for several years, it’s time to re-evaluate your website. Internet Retailer reports that e-commerce sales in 2012 reached $225.5 billion, a 15.8 percent increase from 2011. Get your share of this revenue stream by making your website a place where consumers want to spend their money.
Start by Selling Socks (Figuratively Speaking)
If you are a new business, Venture Beat suggests you specialize in a few items and build a reputation before you expand.…
Along with the exciting prospects that come with running a small or medium sized business there is a heavy workload, and if you don’t plan your company’s direction ahead of time, you’ll find yourself struggling to balance your time.
However, with some strategic planning into the best way of marketing your products, services and brand, you can render many business dilemmas obsolete and concentrate on running a successful company.
Here are 5 tips that any small business should follow in their bid to find long-term marketing success. …
Companies spend huge amounts of money on branding. They fork out for banners and stands, for campaigns, for exhibitions, for promotional items, for gifts, for sponsorships, and for anything else that they think will make them more visible, more recognisable, and more attractive to consumers. Often, they forget one very important detail: Their employees.
You see, all it takes is one dissatisfied comment, one grumpy frown, one petulant tone of voice, or one broken promise from one employee and it won’t matter how eye-catching the banners, how creative the campaigns, how interesting the exhibitions, how exciting the events, how cool the promotional items, how lavish the gifts, or how generous the sponsorships – your image will be tarnished.…
There are seven basic plots used in storytelling. Here we look at how they are used in the world of advertising.
Overcoming the Monster
One of the all time classic story telling genres, dating as far back as Ancient Greece (if not even further). The premise is simple. Companies use their all-conquering brands to overcome something, either literally or metaphorically, monstrous. You will often see cleaning companies using this storyline – this Domestos advert being a great example – where pesky germs are vanquished once and for all by the all powerful, all dominating antibacterial cleaner.…
Small businesses have always struggled to stay afloat, but in today’s tough economy when corporations seem to be the only businesses that are actually doing well, it’s even harder to keep a small business running. That’s why a lot of business owners eventually end up giving up and closing up shop, no matter how much they would rather remain open. The struggle simply becomes too much to bear and impossible to overcome.
If you’re a small business owner who’s struggling to make ends meet and keep your company going, continue reading for some of the ways that you can pump a bit of extra money into your organization in order to make important changes to advance your business and stay open.…
Some believe success is a matter of luck or good fortune. Not so says DLA Piper’s Bob Bratt, COO and former Executive Officer of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Department of Justice. Bratt says incorporating key practices of other successful business leaders can be the catapult of growth for any business entrepreneur. Here are a few tips for others like Mr. Bratt.
Sheryl Sandberg: Hire Big
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook says one piece of good advice is when starting or growing your business not only should you think big, but hire big.…
Thousands of people set up their own company every day. Some do it so they can work for themselves; others because they have spotted a gap in the market, and there are those who want to make a fortune. If you want to get started in this, just wait – you would not bungee jump off a cliff without bringing the right equipment, so why start a business without being prepared? Taking some time to develop a plan will help you get ready for the risk and challenges to come, and help make your start-up business a success.…
Their apps and websites are familiar, and millions of us use them every single day – but how many of us really know anything about the entrepreneurs behind some of our favourite phone apps and websites? The massive popularity of their apps has taken the innovators by surprise, too.
Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger
Kevin Systrom studied at Stanford University and went on to do an internship at Odeo, the company Twitter originated from. After two years with Google, he met Mike Krieger, a Brazilian entrepreneur and software engineer, and in 2010 the pair went on to found Instagram, the photo sharing app for mobile phones that allows users to take pictures on their smartphones, customise them and share them on the app or via Twitter and Facebook.…
