VIA Idea #9: Branding Your Process or Service

Not to be confused with branding your company, branding your services provides a great point of differentiation and perceived value. Two examples of this type of branding are found with UPS WorldShip™, their international shipping process, and UPS Quantum View®, created to help customers manage shipping information. UPS brands most of their processes as proprietary—available only at UPS.

Giving a company’s products or services different brand names is referred to as individual branding. One advantage of individual branding is that each product or service has a unique image and identity. This also facilitates the positioning of each product by allowing a firm to market its various brands differently.

VIA Marketing recently used individual branding to help Challenger Learning Center of Northwest Indiana better publicize its programs and events. When we first met our new client, we took a look at each of their nearly 20 program flyers. Laying the flyers side-by-side, they didn’t look like a family of programs from the same organization. We went to work and created a separate brand for each category based on its target audience. Now each program area (youth, education, public, corporate) has its own logo. Flyers within each program area carry a cohesive look while publicizing different events and learning opportunities.

Another client, Vanco Construction Services, wished to bring attention to the proven, quality processes they use daily in their business. As this method favorably differentiates them from their competition, VIA created an individual brand and sales sheet for their process: Vanco Vantage 3D.

For more information about how we can help you brand your service or process, give us a call at 219.769.2299 or send an email.

Let’s talk about it.

VIA Idea #8: “You Have to Spend Money to Make Money”

I heard my father say this when I was six or seven; it puzzled me for days then but makes perfect sense now. Including the right number in your business’s budget for marketing communications is just as important now as ever.

Clients often ask me “How much should I spend on marketing?” There’s no one-size-fits-all. Do you offer a niche product with a loyal following? Are you one of three pizza restaurants on your block? Is your market local, national or worldwide? The figures below are ballpark numbers but give an idea of what your competitors may be spending.

When arriving at the dollar amount, take into consideration how you’ll spend the funds:

  • Developing and/or refining your brand and deciding how to best promote it (these include logos, websites, brochures, sales presentations, email campaigns, and more).
  • Promoting and advertising online, offline, through public relations and social media.
  • Educating your customer service people to be better advocates for your company.

Consider, too, the way that marketing is moving away from “push” toward “pull.” For example, instead of buying only traditional ads, you might add training articles or video clips to your website.

If you’re looking for direction in sorting through the best way to use your marketing communications dollars, email or call.

Suggested marketing communications budget for small to medium-size companies*

Annual gross income Marketing communications budget
Less than $5 million 7 – 8 percent
$5-10 million 6 – 7 percent
$10-50 million 5 – 6 percent
$50-100 million 4 – 5 percent
More than $100 million 3 percent

*Call VIA to discuss reviewing a report focused on your particular industry.

Via Idea #7: Partnering Direct Mail with Email

A client recently asked the question: Does direct mail or email marketing work best in reaching new and existing customers? Using both methods is often the best choice.

Consider that people receive less snail mail and more email than ever before. Even if you have a twenty percent open
rate from an email you’re still missing eighty percent of
that audience.

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Advertising is all about delivering the right message at the right time to those who want or need what you have to offer. The more times someone sees or hears from you, the more comfortable they’ll be with your product or service when it’s time to make a purchase.

Using more than one medium lets you target your message in different market segments as well. More mature audiences still prefer postal mail while younger audiences tend to respond to email, Facebook ads and other online messages.

Keep in mind that the ultimate success of any marketing effort depends on the relevancy and the offer. Tweak the offer and message to fit the audience. Track the results. Use what you learned to follow up with calls and additional email and paper mail communications.

Contact us for more ideas on reaching your target market.
Did you know?
We live in a mobile society!
• Every month, approximately three
percent of email addresses change.
• Approximately one percent of physical
addresses change every month.