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Logo Design Basics

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Samuel Baraza

Your company’s logo will go a long way toward defining your brand, so the process to create it shouldn’t be entered into lightly. Whether you choose to work with a design team or produce your logo yourself, you must be aware of how varying images, shapes, typefaces and colors will showcase your company.

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The interesting thing about many of the most popular–and memorable–logos is they don’t all rely on the same element to generate brand awareness. The golden arches of McDonald’s use color and shape; Apple Computer relies on an image; and Coca Cola’s logo is typeface-focused. What this means to you is, you’ll have some important decisions to make as you embark on the logo-creation process. And while there’s no strict right or wrong way to go, you must think about what you want your logo to say about your organization before making any design decisions.

Industry Guidelines
While there are no carved-in-stone rules relating to the types of logos that should be used by specific industries, some general guidelines do exist. At one end of the spectrum are high-tech logos; at the other are logos for service-oriented industries; and business-to-business logos reside in the middle.

High-tech logos are typically chiseled and angular–their intent is to create the perception that the company is innovative.
Service-oriented logos are typically smooth and rounded–their intent is to create the perception that the company is creative and friendly.
B2B logos can use components from both the high-tech and service-oriented ends of the spectrum–their intent is to create the perception that the company is stable and trustworthy.

As you determine where your company falls on the spectrum, remember your logo will be used for a variety of purposes-including company identification, marketing promotions and client development-so it must be attractive to a variety of audiences. And it must be innovative enough to provide immediate differentiation, making it memorable to your audience.

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Design Details
The images, shapes, typefaces and colors you choose to use in your logo will, in many respects, define your company, which makes it all the more critical for you to complete the required due diligence before coming to any decisions. Here are a few suggestions to help guide you:

Simplicity works. Your logo should be a clean symbol that’s easily reproducible. Stay away from logos that contain a lot of information, gradation or fine details; these will be more difficult for people to recall and for you to print in smaller sizes.
Use color as an embellishment. A well-designed logo should look good in black. That doesn’t mean you can’t use color, but the color itself should not be relied on as the major design element.
Study the science of color and typeface. If you choose to employ color in your logo, you need to determine the appropriate color for your company. The same goes if a typeface is used in your logo; be sure the one you choose communicates the appropriate message.

During the design process, remember that you want your logo to be an element that doesn’t change. It’s far easier to modify your marketing message than divert from an image that’s come to represent your company. If you design a logo that’s unique, strong, appealing and suitable for your business, you should be fine.

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How to Create a Marketing Plan

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Samuel Baraza

Firms that are successful in marketing invariably start with a marketing plan. Large companies have plans with hundreds of pages; small companies can get by with a half-dozen sheets. Put your marketing plan in a three-ring binder. Refer to it at least quarterly, but better yet monthly. Leave a tab for putting in monthly reports on sales/manufacturing; this will allow you to track performance as you follow the plan.

The plan should cover one year. For small companies, this is often the best way to think about marketing. Things change, people leave, markets evolve, customers come and go. Later on we suggest creating a section of your plan that addresses the medium-term future–two to four years down the road. But the bulk of your plan should focus on the coming year.

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You should allow yourself a couple of months to write the plan, even if it’s only a few pages long. Developing the plan is the “heavy lifting” of marketing. While executing the plan has its challenges, deciding what to do and how to do it is marketing’s greatest challenge. Most marketing plans kick off with the first of the year or with the opening of your fiscal year if it’s different.

Who should see your plan? All the players in the company. Firms typically keep their marketing plans very, very private for one of two very different reasons: Either they’re too skimpy and management would be embarrassed to have them see the light of day, or they’re solid and packed with information . . . which would make them extremely valuable to the competition.

You can’t do a marketing plan without getting many people involved. No matter what your size, get feedback from all parts of your company: finance, manufacturing, personnel, supply and so on–in addition to marketing itself. This is especially important because it will take all aspects of your company to make your marketing plan work. Your key people can provide realistic input on what’s achievable and how your goals can be reached, and they can share any insights they have on any potential, as-yet-unrealized marketing opportunities, adding another dimension to your plan. If you’re essentially a one-person management operation, you’ll have to wear all your hats at one time–but at least the meetings will be short!

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What’s the relationship between your marketing plan and your business plan or vision statement? Your business plan spells out what your business is about–what you do and don’t do, and what your ultimate goals are. It encompasses more than marketing; it can include discussions of locations, staffing, financing, strategic alliances and so on. It includes “the vision thing,” the resounding words that spell out the glorious purpose of your company in stirring language. Your business plan is the U.S. Constitution of your business: If you want to do something that’s outside the business plan, you need to either change your mind or change the plan. Your company’s business plan provides the environment in which your marketing plan must flourish. The two documents must be consistent.

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The ABCs of Business Cards

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Samuel Baraza

Many people overlook the value of having a professional business card that accurately reflects your brand image, yet this small piece of paper can be an important part of your collateral package. It’s often the first item prospects receive from you, so it’s your first opportunity to make a strong, positive impression on them.

The preponderance of do-it-yourself online business-card printing companies is an interesting and somewhat troubling phenomenon. With limited exceptions, it’s fairly easy to spot an inexpensively produced card. When you choose to “go cheap” on your business cards, what message does that send to those with whom you wish to do business? Are you really doing yourself any favors by missing out on the opportunity to start building a positive brand image right from the start?

Cheaper isn’t always better when it comes to first impressions. Give clients a great first impression with these tips and tactics:

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Design Tips

Tip #1: Enlist the help of a professional designer unless you have the requisite skills to design your business card yourself.
Ideally, this person’s also tasked with designing your other collateral (letterhead, brochures, website, etc.), so it’ll be intuitive to carry your brand image through from those pieces to your card.

Tip #2: Keep it simple.
Business cards are typically just 3.5″ x 2″ (except when they’re not–see below), so you don’t have too much space with which to work. Don’t make your logo too large, don’t make the type too small to be comfortably read, and don’t be afraid to use white space.

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Tip #3: Keep to the standard business card size–unless you’re the adventurous type.
There are things you can do to a 3.5″ x 2″ card to differentiate yourself (e.g., rounded corners), but going with an unusual shape can be tricky. A round card, for instance, is quite memorable, but it certainly won’t fit in standard business-card holder devices. You must be willing to trade convenience for memorability if you choose an unconventional shape or size.

Content Tips
Tip #4: Be deliberate in choosing the information to appear on your card.
What’s most important? Your name certainly needs to be there, along with the name of your company (via your logo), your phone number and your e-mail address. Space permitting, you can add your physical address, fax number, cell-phone number and company website address, if desired. Don’t clutter things up too much–as with the design, simpler and cleaner is always better.

Tip #5: Keep the back blank, or use it for non-critical information.
How often will people see the back of your business card? Traditional card storage modes assume that side is blank. If you do wish to put copy on it, be sure the information is of a supplemental nature: e.g., your company’s mission or tagline. While business cards should promote your brand identity, they shouldn’t be confused with advertising.

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The Bottom Line
Think about how you use other people’s business cards when you make decisions regarding your own. Do you get frustrated when you can’t quickly find the information you need? Or the type is too small to read? Or printed in a font that’s hard to decipher? Do cheaply produced cards make you think less of the person or company represented? Does it take you a while to realize whose card it is, or what company that person works for?

Don’t make those same mistakes when designing your business card. Make sure it’s a positive reflection of both you and your company, and it mirrors your well-defined brand identity.

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How to Value Your Startup

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Samuel Baraza

It’s commonly said that business valuation is more art than science. If this is true, then the practice of valuing a startup business is squarely in the domain of the artist.

Nevertheless, entrepreneurs need to put a value on their startups in order to raise money, and investors need to put a value on their investments to generate liquidity. Since neither entrepreneurs nor investors are known for right-brain artistic thinking, this article aims to provide some tips for left-brain thinkers to make sense of startup valuation.

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1. You are what the market says you are. If investors are telling you that your startup is worth $1 million, then that’s what it’s worth. You might think it’s worth more. You might even know it’s worth more because your company may have more than $1 million is liquid assets, or more than $1 million in receivables, or more than $1 million in sweat equity. But if you’re unable to raise money for your startup with a valuation above $1 million, then you’ll have to accept the market valuation.

However, this isn’t always true. If you raise money from relatives and friends rather than professional investors, it’s possible that your company has been overvalued or undervalued (more likely, overvalued). For example, if you persuade your father and your rich aunt to purchase shares in your business at $20 per share, it doesn’t mean that future investors will pay more than $20 per share-even if your business grows and prospers.

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2. But you can also tell the market what you’re worth. Although this might seem to contradict the point made above, it’s possible to tell the market how to value your company. After all, if investors think your startup is worth $1 million, it’s usually because of something you’ve told them. By definition, startups don’t have a history of financial performance on which to base a valuation. Therefore, it’s up to the entrepreneur to develop a process for valuing the company based on comparables and financial projections.

Comparables: Find out how much similar companies in your industry and geography are worth. You can use sites such as BizBuySell and BizQuest to determine how much businesses are selling for in your industry. If you have a high-tech or high-growth startup, accountants and lawyers are among the best advisors to help you determine the market rate for comparable companies at your stage. In my experience, attorneys tend to overvalue startups, and accountants tend to undervalue startups, so you may want to talk to both before making a decision.
Financial forecasts: Although it’s notoriously difficult to forecast revenue at a startup, you’ll need to do this to determine value-and eventually to defend your valuation. For example, if you’re starting a pet food store, your valuation and financial projections will likely be lower than if you’re starting a speculative biotechnology firm.

3. You’re not really worth anything until you’re profitable. If you’re not profitable, your business probably isn’t worth very much. That is, it doesn’t have as much liquidity as it would have if it were profitable. Many businesses cannot be sold, since there aren’t enough business buyers for every seller. Almost all unprofitable businesses cannot be sold for the same reason.

This makes valuation particularly challenging for a startup. Since young businesses take time to become profitable, the trick of valuing startups is to focus on the future. First, determine how many years it will take to be profitable. A business with a long road to profitability will usually be worth less than one with a quick path to profitability. Next, determine how much comparable companies have been valued at when they reached profitability. A company that could be worth $5 million at profitability will be worth some fraction of that number at the startup stage, based on factors such as the likelihood of success, the time frame to exit and the quality of the management team.

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It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of valuing your company at the highest amount possible and forget that you’ll one day have to deliver on the expectations of investors. It’s also tempting to adapt your business model to maximize startup valuation. Be careful about overvaluing your startup with faulty assumptions; it will only make your life more difficult-particularly if your investors have governance rights, such as positions on the company’s board.

Much like artists, entrepreneurs need to use creativity in valuing their startup businesses. Traditional approaches to valuation based on book values and P/E ratios are akin to painting by numbers. If you want your startup to be a masterpiece, you’ll need to use the right side of your brain as much as your left to determine value.

Stop Worrying About Sales and Build Relationships

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Samuel Baraza

When was the last time you saw a billboard, TV or a print ad and said to yourself, “Wow that brand really cares about me and I am going to buy that product?” Let me guess: Never. What is stopping brands from reaching out to consumers personally and actually helping them out?

Most big corporations are generally risk-averse and like to play it safe, when it comes to engaging with customers in public. Giant billboards, TV/radio ads or print ads on newspapers/magazines are all safe ways to market to people. It does not involve any direct interaction with customers and hence very little chance of a negative reaction, but the problem is consumers of 2013 are all blinded by traditional ads. Revenue from traditional advertisement channels are at an all time low.

It’s important to not only look at social media as a channel to get your message out there but also as a way to truly build meaningful relationships with potential and existing customers. Here are two ways that your company can make the most of your social media marketing efforts.

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Look beyond direct brand mentions.
Instead of simply monitoring and taking a passive approach to social media, businesses need to start being aggressive. Everyday there are thousands of people inquiring about potential purchases on Twitter but the brands are overlooking these conversations.

Watching for brand mentions and measuring sentiment is great but it doesn’t always lead to results. For example, in the U.S. alone there are about 6,500 posts on Twitter everyday where people are talking about buying a car and asking for suggestions about car make/model. This statistic shows a significant number of opportunities for every single major carmaker.

Unfortunately, most brands are currently happy to only listen to their brand mentions and respond to customer service issues, which significantly limits the potential of the brand.

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Start a conversation naturally.
Many brands simply do not know how to start the conversation. They think that because a person did not mention the brand specifically or the company’s Twitter handle that it is not proper to start a conversation. An important thing to keep in mind is that sparking up a conversation on Twitter is sort of like dating. The first thing you say to someone you find attractive or somewhat interesting isn’t going to be “will you marry me?” Instead, you’re going to enter that conversation with a sincere smile and start to nurture the relationship with some meaningful conversation.

Sparking up conversations as a brand works the exact same way. Brands should avoid seeming too pushy so the best bet is to engage with people without going for the immediate sale. In some situations a customer will be further down the buying process and in those cases, it’s perfectly fine to go in for the sell. But when that’s not the case brands need to focus on establishing trust and validation. If you look at the network structure of Twitter it is indeed ideal for having a conversation and not just “pushing” one way content to your followers.

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Related: A Social-Media Marketing Primer Even Your Mom Can Handle

For example, if a potential customer tweets “Thinking of getting a car this summer. Any suggestions?” This person is not talking directly to any specific car company, but if a representative from any major car brand reached out to him and just offered a suggestion, it might be well received. The best case is he will engage back and go into a local dealership of the brand that engaged with him. The worst case is he or she will ignore the Tweet. But even if it doesn’t result in making a sale, that person might broadcast the conversation to their followers by retweeting or liking it.

This type of interaction is known as “earned media” and is an extremely powerful form of “word of mouth” marketing. The power of engaging with your customers is endless, but the core lies at simply getting closer to them and genuinely helping them out. Yes, it will take time and effort to engage with people one-to-one, yes you will not start counting the dollars from the first engagement, but what you’ll do is set an everlasting impression in the mind of the consumer, in a way no TV/Billboard/Print Ad ever could. What are you waiting for? It’s time to get into the game.

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Source: Entrepreneur

The Key Ingredients to a Winning Mobile Content-Marketing Strategy

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Samuel Baraza

When you think about the different ways customers land on your company’s website, mobile is most likely a growing driver of traffic. According to the latest statistics from Pew Research, 56 percent of Americans own a smartphone and 34 percent own a tablet. Then consider that 63 percent of smartphone owners use their devices to go online.