Small Business Marketing Guide - DIY (do-it-yourself) BRAND MARKETING STRATEGIES to HELP YOU GROW YOUR BUSINESS

In this Web 2.0, user-generated, Open-Source, social-networking world, it’s so easy to forget that just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done. All branding, no matter whether it’s on a billboard, blog, website, or Twitter, should adhere to these simple principles. Here are nine keys to the art of branding.

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There are few more useful books for understanding sales and marketing than Influence—Science and Practice (Allyn & Bacon, 2000) by Robert Cialdini. In this book, he outlines the six key principles of influencing people. As you build your brand, keep them in mind:

1. Reciprocation. When you receive something from someone, all but the most socially inept feel an obligation to give something back. This isn’t limited to gifts and goods; it also includes treatment. If someone treats you with kindness, you are likely to treat them back in the same way. Example: Charities giving gifts when asking for donations.
2. Scarcity. When people perceive something as popular and in short supply, they will seize the opportunity to possess it. This explains the potency of limited time and limited quantity offers when there’s little reason for limits of either. Example: the “limited” number of people could sign up for Google’s Gmail.
3. Authority. You can persuade people if they perceive you as having knowledge and credibility about a subject. This effect includes not only celebrity endorsements but the reliance of people in a social circle to believe the group’s “experts.” Example: I know this is ridiculous, but Dennis Haysbert is effective at selling Allstate Insurance because he’s The Man in “The Unit.”
4. Commitment. If you can get someone to commit to an order or request, she is likely to go through with the commitment. This is especially true if you sign a pledge document or publicly declare your intentions. Example: Signing a petition to support a cause.
5. Liking. The more people know you and like you, the more likely you can influence them. While people you dislike may bludgeon you into doing something, it’s certainly not “influence” in the way that we’re discussing it. Example: my daughter asking me for anything anytime anywhere.
6. Consensus. If everyone around you is buying a product, you’ll be more likely to buy it, too. Doesn’t food taste better at restaurants with long lines? In many instances, saving time and thinking is a benefit of following the wisdom of the crowd. Example: the lines of people waiting to get a new model iPhone.

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In my last post, I discussed how to get the golden touch by producing a DICEE product or service. This advice was at the 2,000-foot level. Now I’d like to take you up 48,000 feet and provide a higher-level view of innovation by discussing the business of ice.

Ice 1.0. Did you know that there used to be an ice harvesting business in New England during the late 1800s and early 1900s? It involved “Bubba” and “Junior” cutting blocks of ice from frozen lakes and ponds. This was no cottage industry—in 1900, people harvested 10,000,000 tons.

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This may surprise you, but “Guy’s Golden Touch” is not “whatever Guy touches turns to gold.” If only that were true. Instead, Guy’s Golden Touch is “whatever is gold, Guy touches.” The concept is that something that’s gold is easy to brand and sell, so the task is simple: find or create something gold.

This recommendation may impress you for a second but probably not much longer. It’s really a duh-ism as in “Duh, of course I should create something great. I had to read this blog post to learn this?” What I need to do is take you from this 50,000 foot strategic view right down to a 2,000 feet tactical view.

For this, I invoke the acronym DICEE. It stands for deep, intelligent, complete, elegant, and emotive. These are the five salient qualities of stuff that’s made of gold.

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