Branding Archives - Page 9 of 42 - McLellan Marketing Group

How to create an iPhone or Droid app for your business

February 28, 2010

Last week I announced that the Drew McLellan iPhone and Droid apps were available. I also promised that I’d walk you through the process I went through to create the apps.

To give you the kind of detail I want to share, this is going to end up being a few blog posts, rather than one novella of a post! Today, let’s focus on who I was going to partner with to get the app done.

Exploring the options

Once I decided that I had better jump on the mobile bandwagon, I sought out Mike Sansone — who many of you may know, was my blog coach when I got started and is still my Go-To guy when I need to learn something new in the space.

I asked Mike to take me on a tour of the potential vendors and help me gauge the pros and cons of each. (A side note… there are many brilliant app designers out there but I knew I didn’t need or want something that custom. So I wanted an off the shelf solution that I could customize a bit to make it my own.)

Mike showed me the following sites:

iSites (http://isites.us): This is a new player to the space.

Pros:

Price was right… One time $25 fee if they got to choose the ads that appeared in your app’s footer banner (all family friendly) or $99 a year if you selected the ads you’d allow.
They’d do all the work of submission to Apple etc.
Also would build a Droid version
Allowed the app user to share your content via Facebook & Twitter
With the $99 version, you could monetize your app if you wanted

Cons:

You had to have ads on your footer banner
They are new in the space…not a lot of feedback (good or bad) about them yet
No push (send messages to app subscribers) yet

Mother Apps (http://www.motherapp.com/)

Pros:

Clearly vetted — Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan among others use them
Free if you allow ads (which you can share in the revenue), $99 a year for the no ad version
They’d do all the work of submission to Apple etc.
fast — you could have your app in the Apple Store within 7-10 days of submission

Cons:

Not a lot of customizing can be done — pretty much your blog feed, your Twitter feed and one other option (most use YouTube it seems)
No push (send messages to app subscribers) yet
No Droid or Blackberry versions yet (but their site says they are coming soon)

AppMakr (http://www.appmakr.com/)

Pros:

Lots of big names are using them (Inc., Seth Godin, AllTop)
Very fast turnaround (Could be available in a day or two)
$200 one time fee
They’d do all the work of submission to Apple etc.
Phone tech support available ($120/hour)
Can customize the app’s tabs

Cons:

No push (send messages to app subscribers)
No Droid or Blackberry versions yet

Mobile Roadie (http://www.mobileroadie.com/)

Pros:

Vetted and used by people like Dan Pink and Ashton Kutcher
Incredibly easy interface and content management tool
Publishes with built in multi-language support
Has push capabilities
Already building Droid apps too
They do all the work of submission to Apple, Droid, etc.
Lots of viral features — users can share your content via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail
No ads

Cons:

Most expensive of the bunch — $500 set up fee ($200 more if you want push)
$29/month fee

I’m sure there are other vendors out there — these are just the ones we looked at. As I learned more about what was available, I was also able to sort out my own priorities. Here’s how they shook out:

Ease of use — I wanted a content management system that I could handle on my own
I wanted to be able to share more than just my blog feed and tweets
I didn’t want to be limited to iPhone users so I wanted to publish for other platforms like the Droid
I wanted the push functionality
I wanted to be able to customize the navigation (both labels and order)
I wanted users to be able to share (Facebook, Twitter etc.) my content from the app
I wanted to be able to link to my books (with easy access to buy)

In the end, despite the higher cost — I decided on Mobile Roadie. They offered more customization and the ability for me to really include a wider variety of content in my app. But it was their content management system that really won me over.

In another post this week, I’ll give you a tour of just how easy it was for me to add content and create the look/feel of my app.

A marketing tip from Tiger Woods

February 22, 2010

The world is abuzz about the Tiger Woods apology. It seems like the big question is…"was it sincere?"

What a remarkable marketing reminder for all of us.

We're going to mess up with a client, prospect or employee. It's inevitable. Whether it was the result of a bad but conscious choice or human error — for this conversation, is irrelevant. Let's just nod and agree, sooner or later, we're going to screw up.

Now we can write or verbally deliver the most eloquent apology known to man, but that alone doesn't cut it. Words are lovely but you know what they're waiting for….a behavioral apology.

Otherwise, it was just gratuitous lip service. (Which by the way, only compounds the problem!)

What do I mean by a behavioral apology? It can come in several forms but basically, they want to be able to trust you again. Being sorry is swell but what they really want is to know it won't happen again. After all, isn't that the implied promise in any apology. Not only are you sorry about what you did…but that you're also going to fix it and prevent a repeat occurrence?

So there's the real marketing (and perhaps human) challenge. How do we genuinely demonstrate our apology and our pledge that we'll do all that we can to prevent it from happening again?

Change a policy/process: If something in the way you do business caused the problem — then why not learn from the mistake and make an adjustment. The key here is communicating back to the disgruntled customer that their experience triggered an internal audit and based on what you learned — you've made a change.

Fix it x 2: You delivered the flowers to the wrong address or on the wrong day? Don't just re-send what they ordered — up the ante. If they ordered a dozen roses, deliver two. Or offer to correct the problem now with an accurate delivery AND say you'll deliver a dozen red roses on Valentine's Day to the person of their choice. This is about going above and beyond so get creative.

Follow up: After you've made good on whatever your mistake was — pick up the phone or drop by their office. Demonstrate that days/weeks later — you are still concerned about having done them wrong.

Thank them: I know it sounds weird but it's good manners. You might thank them for helping you discover a flaw in your process. Or you might thank them for their patience in letting you work out the proper solution. You might say thank you for how they handled their complaint (no yelling, biting or kicking) or that they gave you a second chance.

While the reason for doing any of these is to truly impress upon the other person that our apology wasn't just fluff, it shouldn't go unsaid that when you craft a meaningful behavioral apology — you can also generate remarkable buzz and good will.

Our clients and employees will forgive our humanness and mistakes but they will celebrate and talk about our heroics when we rise to the occasion and craft a behavioral apology of note.

How do you evaluate your brand?

February 16, 2010

At McLellan Marketing Group, we live and breathe branding. We believe that branding is the cornerstone to a small business' success or lack thereof. You either brand yourself or you become a commodity. And a commodity has to compete on price.

If you want my views on why branding matters…check out these posts:

But let's assume you agree with me — branding matters. If you think your company has a brand…how do you evaluate whether or not it's a good one?

Here are some criteria we use with clients when helping them either discover their brand or critique the one they have in place.

It's evergreen (this is not something you'll need to change on a regular basis. It will always be true about you.)
It's not a duh (if consumers already assume this about everyone in your category — it can't be your brand.)
Memorable (If it doesn't stick, it won't work.)
The flag to rally around for your employees (Will they be excited and proud to help you achieve this brand?)
True – inside and out (You can't be one company to your customers and another to your employees)
A why or a how – not the what (how you create widgets differently or why you do it builds a brand..not that you make widgets. Everyone in your category makes widgets.)
Makes you a little nervous (A brand needs to be a bold promise to get noticed and to matter.)
Emotion based (We buy everything based on emotions. If your brand doesn't trigger an emotion, it will also not trigger a sale.)
Differentiate you (Isn't that what a brand is all about. It sets you apart from everyone else.)
Should dovetail with your mission/vision (Your internal goals and your public brand should be aligned or else one of them is off base.)
From the consumer's point of view (it's about them after all!)
I can tell — it matters to me (the consumer has to be able to recognize and evaluate your brand promise. If you make the promise but I can't figure out if you kept it or not, we have trouble.)
Big enough to trigger a buying decision (your point of difference has to be significant enough that I'd open my wallet)

If you can say "yes, that's my brand" to most of these criteria — you have a brand that will endure and that your employees, customers and community will embrace and support. But if you can't get a 10 out of 12 on this little test (it requires quite a bit of candor) then you know it's back to the drawing board.

Want a PDF of our brand criteria to keep handy? Click on the words brand criteria to download.

We have a Colfax Mainstreet logo winner!

February 12, 2010

Wow…the process of getting the community of Colfax a new logo has been a winding road! In a nutshell, here's what happened:

If you want to follow the saga, here are the links.

We now have a winner!! (check out all 23 logos here) The Colfax Mainstreet team selected #13 (see above) designed by Heather Haaland. #11 was their close 2nd choice.

Many, many thanks to all 6 designers:

Heather Haaland (design 13)
Jim Hill (designs 1,3,5 and 6)
Alvin McCoy (18-23)
Cyndi Wiley ( designs 7-9)
Dan Lester (designs 2 and 4)
Robin Blake (designs 10-12)

But the work is not done. Now Heather and the Colfax Mainstreet team need to work through decisions like color and usage in things like letterhead, business cards etc. So stay tuned. We'll share their results in the near future!

Are you playing your competitor’s game?

February 10, 2010

I'm not good at sitting idle. So if I am stuck waiting for some reason, I get antsy. To kill that time, I'll fire up my smart phone and play a game (or two) of Hearts. In the game, by default I am player south. (4 players sitting around a table, each designated by a direction.)

My arch nemesis is player north. He is the shrewdest of the computerized players and if anyone is going to beat me, it's him. (Stay with me, I promise there is a marketing message in here!)

I have played Hearts (usually with real people so don't feel too sorry for me!) for many years and I'm pretty good. I have a sound strategy that has been time tested so I rarely need to vary from it. But…the fact that north is good and is my most worthy opponent throws me off that track.

I find that I play differently when I am overly-conscious of trying to beat him in particular. And in fact, the more I purposely change the way I play to thwart him….the more I lose. If I stay disciplined enough to play my own game my own way — I rarely lose.

(Did you notice the marketing message I snuck in there?)

We all run the same risk in running our businesses and planning our marketing. Way too many businesses invest too much time and energy worrying about what their competitor is doing. Then, they change their own game plan to chase after the other guy — emulating or trying to outdo.

It's a game you are destined to lose. One of three things is going to happen.

Your competitor is doing something in their sweet spot and you can't really compete so you look second rate.
Everyone recognizes that you're reacting/copying your competitor and you look like a 'me too" brand.
You spend so much of your time and money executing their tactics that you never have the resources to do what you know will advance your business.

The only way to win marketshare, customers' love and brand dominance is to do it your way. All the time. Regardless of what the competition is doing. Reacting to the other guy rarely plays out in your favor.

Look at the recent TV commercial war between Verizon and AT&T. (watch their commercials by clicking on their names) Who do you think is winning? AT&T looks like they're whining and making excuses. Why? Because Verizon sucked them into their game.

Should you know what your competition is up to? Yes. But only if you can then be disciplined enough to stay your own course. If you can't resist playing their game…you're actually better off staying in the dark.

Always play your game. That's the only way companies like Apple, Zappos and Southwest Airlines won. Same goes for you.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Have you built a rock solid foundation for your personal brand?

February 5, 2010

Whether you work for someone else, are a serial entrepreneur or anything in between — in today's world, you can't afford to ignore the idea of personal branding.

A generation ago, employees often stayed with one employer for the lion's share of their career. Today, most professionals will not work for several companies — but they will most likely change their entire profession.

And even in the unlikely case that you do find the employer of your dreams right off the bat — you still want to distinguish yourself by standing out from the crowd.

Enter personal branding.

By the way, I don't think personal branding came about thanks to the internet. It's been around for generations. Abe Lincoln certainly created a personal brand. So did Hitler. But, the internet certainly makes it easier for an average joe or jane to create a credible, spreadable personal brand.

But to do it right, I believe it takes intention.

When I speak to college classes, I warn them. What you put out into the world via Facebook, blogs, Twitter, MySpace, FourSquare and whatever comes next — stays out there. And it's incredibly findable.

Two relevant facts:

No matter what we want to know, we Google it. (So imagine what the next generation of managers, business owners and reporters will do).
Google never forgets anything.

So given those facts…how do you intentionally build your personal brand?

Decide what you're all about.

Note I did not say…create your brand. Just like with a company — a brand comes from your heart and soul. So dig deep and figure out who you are — that is relevant to the world. (We're many things, some private and some for public consumption — your brand is the world's view).

There are lots of ways to figure it out. Write your own obit, do Strength Finders, Myers Briggs or put together your own little brand task force who knows you well and loves you enough to be honest.

Determine what your personal brand looks like — off-line:

No matter who you are or what you do, odds are that you spend more time off the computer than on. So be sure that you can live the brand in your daily life, 24/7. How does it come to life (remember, this is from other's perspective).

If your brand is that you're a developer of others — how would a developer behave? Think of all the touchpoints you have with other people — meetings, networking, on the phone, in an employee review, etc. How does the developer brand come to life?

Evaluate your existing on-line presence:

Google yourself. Does your brand show up? Is it the most prevalent message? Scan through your old Facebook updates. Is your brand there? Are the other themes complimentary to your brand or do they feel off? What types of things are you retweeting? What do your recommendations say on LinkedIn?

Don't just look at the subject matter. Look at language, tone, replies to others, what you do and don't talk about, play, share with others and the online/social media tools you do and don't frequent.

Step back and be as objective as you can. If a stranger Googled you — what would they think and know about you? Does it align with your brand?

And don't forget your traditional old website. It may be the most content rich place for your brand to live. Do you own your own domain (like www.drewmclellan.com). If not — grab it quick if it's still available.

Decide where you need to be online:

Depending on your brand, your presence might be expected on a certain social media tool. Should you be writing guest blog posts for a specific site? Is tweeting resources a part of who you are/want to be perceived to be? If you're the developer of others…how does LinkedIn figure into your plans?

Don't overdo this. Most people do not have the time or patience to establish a deep presence on every social media site, so don't try. Be active where you want to invest the time and where it makes sense.

Live it:

Off line, on line. Be your brand. Think about your choices. If your brand is about being the consummate, buttoned-up professional, should you be playing mafia wars or farming on a Facebook account that links you to your customers?

If your brand is about being very intellectual and deliberate — should you be firing off emotional responses to negative comments on your blog?

If your brand is about being gregarious and generous, should you be the wallflower at the networking event?

Like most things, if you did the prep work — it shouldn't be difficult to live your brand, once you've gotten in the habit of keeping it top of mind. If you find that you can't live your brand consistently or it feels fake — you probably have to go back to the drawing board and dig deeper.

Be consistent and be patient:

This isn't going to happen overnight. The more consistent you are, the quicker your brand will not only rise to the surface but stick. But it takes time to influence opinion and influence Google. Remember…we're living in the age of cynics. Don't try to be something you're not. Don't try to force it.

Your genuine brand will come from within. All we're trying to do is make sure that brand stays in the spotlight so you can do and be all that you're capable of.

Social media = letting others in

January 18, 2010

Over the past few months, I have been delivering quite a few presentations on social media to groups (conferences, conventions etc.) of business leaders.

One aspect of embarking into the waters of social media that seems to give most of them some sort of tick is the idea that you have to relinquish some control.

You can't take advantage of the connectivity, reach and viral nature of he beast without also being willing to connect, reach many people and let others share. It's like wanting to enjoy the sensation of flying over the water in a boat at high speed but without the engine noise. It' the "other people" part of social media that provides its power.

Here's what I think of as social media's price of admission:

You have to be willing to spotlight and amplify other people's voices:

Many business owners seem to want to mute their employees and customers. That doesn't work in social media. Not only do you need to "let them" talk but you need to invite it. You have to allow comments. You are the topic of conversation somewhere. This is just about allowing it to happen (and encouraging it) in your digital home.

You have to be willing to be imperfect:

You need to be willing to be imperfect (like Dominos). You need to be transparent and that takes some courage. But let's be honest here. Everyone already knows you're not perfect. And…will actually respect and love you all the more for just admitting it. It's not how or whether you screw up. It's what you do next that matters.

You have to be willing to let others change your direction:

Viral means letting go. It means tossing an idea or program out into the social media space and inviting other people to pick up the ball and run with it. Sometimes, they go where you think they'll go…and sometimes they'll surprise you.

I'm pretty sure the FourSquare folks (a location based social network) hadn't anticipated that Marcus Brown would create the International Day of the Toilet — and encourage his worldwide network of friends to all create "water closet" venues on Foursquare. The interesting thing is — will FourSquare shudder at the news or help promote the idea?

There are plenty of other things you need to do to create a successful social media presence. But…if you can't swallow these three, don't even get started. Social media is nothing if it's not about inviting other people into the party.

Which of these three is toughest for you?

Is it in your kiss?

January 8, 2010

Remember the song that Cher sang in 1990 called the Shoop Shoop song? (here's a link to a YouTube video that I can't embed…by the way, check out her boots!) The song asks the age old question — how you can tell if he loves you so.

According to the lyrics, it's not in his eyes, his charms or even his warm embrace — it's in his kiss.

In other words… there comes a point in time when you just can't fake it. Apparently in romance, it's in the kiss.

But in business and marketing, it's when things get screwed up.

It's easy to fake customer love when everything is going well. The money is flowing, the product is selling and love abounds. But, when your back is against the wall — your brand's true colors show. You just can't help it.

It's like Martin Luther King said (and I am sure he was referencing marketing/branding):

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

As we launch the new year, I think every business leader should ask these questions:

When things go wrong….

What do my actions teach my employees?
What do my actions say (loud and clear) to our customers?
What do our policies reinforce in our clients?

Because let's face it…our own actions, how our employees act (after all, they are mimicking us) and our policies are a direct result of our choices. Conscious or not.

If you don't like the answers to any of the above, the time to correct that is right now. Before something goes wrong.

Could you become a category of one?

January 3, 2010

As many of you know, there are two books I wish I had written. Steve Farber's Radical Leap and Joe Calloway's Becoming a Category of One.

Joe's book originally came out in 2003 and when I read it…I was astonished at how brilliantly he laid out the rationale for branding. So when he put out a 2nd edition in 2009 I knew it was going to be worth the re-read. I was right. I highly recommend this book. (You can buy it by clicking here)

Recently, I had a chance to chat with Joe via e-mail and ask him a few questions about the new edition. Here's what he had to say:

What prompted the update — what of significance has changed that would require you to add to the already excellent book?

It's amazing how quickly information can become outdated. Just look at the classic by Jim Collins "Good To Great." One of the "great" companies in that book – Circuit City – went from good to broke! They're out of business.

In my book, I had referenced examples like a very successful internet campaign by BMW that, a few years later, probably no one would remember, so I took that example out. A lot of the updating was of that nature – taking out dated material and replacing it with fresh examples.

When the book originally came our, Zappos.com didn't even exist. Now they're a prime example of a Category of One company.

I also added two totally new chapters. "Tiebreakers" is an entire chapter devoted to ways great companies differentiate themselves from their competitors. "The Future Category of One" is a great new chapter that's made up of what twelve thought leaders in business think it will take to be a Category of One company in the future.

How do you think social media impacts how a company can/should become a category of one? What’s your favorite example of a company harnessing social media for this purpose?

I think that the business world is still figuring out how to harness social media. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds. To this point I think that some of the most effective social media marketing is being done by companies who have customer comment sites that let customers say what they think – uncensored and unfiltered.

To create a truly honest customer feedback site builds tremendous credibility in this marketplace. Lego is a pioneer in letting customers actually have a huge say in new products, etc. through their web site. That's not social media, per se, but it's using the idea of free communication to build customer interest and loyalty.

A micro version of tremendously successful use of social media is the mobile restaurant in Los Angeles (their names escapes me) that serves Mexican-Korean food (that's not a typo) from a truck that moves around LA. They put out their next location via social media, i.e. Twitter, and people show up in droves. Here's an important lesson, though – you have to have a great product or service to start with. All the brilliant social media marketing in the world won't make up for a second rate product.

In your opinion, why don’t more companies truly brand themselves/become a category of one?

Well, to brand yourself as a Category of One company, you have to be able to deliver on that promise. Most companies will say they're "better" than the competition – but they can't prove it. It's just lip service.

To me, the ultimate Category of One company is probably Apple. They not only invent new products – they invent new categories of products. Their Apple Stores have created a whole new way of doing business in retail.

The key question is this – what are you willing and/or able to do that your competition is not willing and/or able to do? Until you can answer that – you're no Category of One.

Most of your examples are retail in nature. How do your ideas apply to the B to B sector?

The reason I use so many retail examples is that everybody is a retail customer. Everyone can relate to retail because they experience it. What's interesting is that the exact same principles apply to B2B.

The top factors in B2B buying decisions are "be easy to do business with" "understand our needs" and "be trustworthy." NO different than retail. No matter what business you're in, if you can fulfill those three customer expectations better than your competitor – you win.

Finally — if a company leader reads your book and knows they need to do some work to become a category of one company — what advice would you give them, in terms of actually getting it done?

Don't make it complicated – it's not. Take action. Assign responsibility, accountability, put a deadline on making it happen then GO. The problem isn't not knowing what to do. Everyone knows what to do. The problem is in not DOING what we know will work. Of course there's more involved, primarily having to do with building a culture and a mindset of excellence. That takes time. But there's magic in taking action. Stop thinking about it and do it.

Oh. And feel free to bring me in to help!!

Drew's Note: The FCC would like you to know that I received Joe's new edition as a free review copy and that if you click on the links to Amazon, I'll make a few pennies as an affiliate.

What’s your marketing lagniappe?

December 28, 2009

My blogging buddy Stan Phelps has always preached the word of having a "marketing lagniappe." He wrote about it in a guest post back in April and now he's decided to write a book on the topic.

In short, lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap) is a creole word, originating in Louisiana and literally translated means 'the gift.'' It refers to a small unexpected extra gift or benefit presented by a store owner to a customer at the time of purchase. The people of Louisiana have embraced the term and have broadened the definition to include any time a little something extra is given.

Stan's point is that every company should have some lagniappe in their culture, brand and marketing efforts.

Here's the recipe for creating a marketing lagniappe:

Here are the four main ingredients:

Unexpected – the extra benefit or gift should be a surprise. It is something thrown in for good measure. Think 'surprise and delight'.
Relevant – the item or benefit should be of value to the recipient. Make sure that the item or service is a true benefit. It shouldn't be a one size fits all proposition.
Unique – if it's a small token or gift, try to select something that's rare, hard to find or unique to your business.
Authentic – many times it comes down to the gesture. It becomes more about 'how' it is given, as opposed to 'what' is given. The small gift or extra communicates that you care about your client and you appreciate their patronage.

Let me give you a few examples from the McLellan Marketing Group culture:

Fresh baked cookies: If you come to a meeting at MMG, you're going to be served warm (fresh from the oven) M&M cookies. An added dash of double lagniappe — the M&Ms in the cookies are only the three colors (purple, green & orange) from the MMG logo.

Who Loves Ya Baby Day? For years, we've had an internal celebration for Valentine's Day called Who Loves Ya Baby Day (think Telly Savalas for those of you old enough to remember Kojak). Now — we share that celebration with our MMG clients. On Valentine's Day — each client receives a special Valentine's treat with a note from us — telling them how much we love them. Yup — love them. If we don't love them, we don't want to work with them.

Charity Adoption: Every year, as an agency we put out an RFP (last year we have over 50 applicants) and adopt a charity for an entire year. We ask some of our vendors to join us and in total, the charity will receive over $100,000 of marketing counsel, design, help and stuff.

Marketing lagniappes can't be artificially manufactured. They need to come from the heart (see #4 from the list above). It's about actually wanting to go above and beyond. It works because it's genuine.

Stan is looking for some examples to put in his book. And I'm betting that many of the Marketing Minute readers (that's you!) have either done or seen some great examples of marketing lagniappe.

Check out this PPT presentation (be sure to watch the short video embedded in the middle as well) and then if you have some examples — reach out to Stan and share.

Marketing Lagniappe – "In Search of Your Purple Goldfish"

View more documents from Stan Phelps.

Why not tell the world what you're up to? Or give someone else some props for their marketing lagniappe? And as you've been reading this, if you've realized that you can't point to something that you're doing to give that "little gift" — I'm hoping that's making you feel a little uncomfortable.

If you won't make your clients feel special and appreciated…someone else will.

Meanwhile…why not tell us here in the comments the best marketing lagniappe you've ever received? I'd love to hear some!

P.S. By the way…I think you can and should have some marketing lagniappe tricks up your sleeve for your employees as well.

Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

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