Branding has been the "hot" marketing word for the past decade or so. So it's interesting how little the typical business person knows about branding. Despite hundreds of books and thousands of articles, even the experts disagree on what branding is and how to best do it. So what should a small business owner know about branding? I recently wrote a short article on that subject for the Logoworks Inside Small Business newsletter. If you're interested, click through.Here's a snippet of what you can expect:...great branding doesn't require deep pockets. But it does take thought, a bit of creativity, and a willingness to try different things. When Geek Squad founder, Robert Stephens, started his business, he needed a way to stand out from all the other guys providing a similar service. So he bought a unique car and wore a short-sleeve, white shirt and skinny, clip-on tie. And he focused on delivering one-of-the kind service (including little details like returning calls within a few minutes and taking off his shoes as he entered a home). There were dozens of other consultants offering similar services, but Stephens stood out. His customers remembered the service, the unique uniform, the black and white car, and-this is the important part-they called him again when they needed him. Today Geek Squad is a big business, but it wasn't too long ago that Robert Stephens was a small business owner with no budget and a creative idea for making his business stand out from the crowd.
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