Make Your Next Move Your Best Move - Now It's On You

There is no greater mistake than when a young man or woman believes he or she will succeed with borrowed money. Why? Because every man's experience coincides with that of Mr. Astor, who said, "it was more difficult for him to accumulate his first thousand dollars, than all the succeeding millions that made up his colossal fortune." Money is good for nothing unless you know the true value of it (understand that money is merely a form of currency - and there are several forms of currency. Also, money as we know it is Fiat Currency . Which means it only has the value man assigns to it. It has no intrinsic or inherent value and no commodity-backed value ).

You’ve read about the importance of being courageous, rebellious and imaginative. These are all vital ingredients in an effective advertising campaign. However, they must be tempered with the most important ingredient of all—strategy. As long as the advertising industry has been in existence there has been debate about whether advertising is art or commerce. Quite frankly, this kind of divisive argument is a waste of time and has only helped to diminish what little respect the industry has earned through the years. Besides, the answer is simple. Advertising is the art of commerce. It can’t be pure art because pure art won’t engage the consumer on behalf of the brand. Art can certainly get people’s attention, but it rarely causes them to take action. If the consumer is not actively engaged, the brand won’t grow. If the brand doesn’t grow, the company won’t profit. And if the company ceases to make a profit, it dies and takes its brand with it. On the other hand, advertising can’t be mer...

In order to get consumers (whether they are retail or service customers or business-to-business audiences) to notice an advertising message, many companies resort to loudness and one-upmanship. Neither of these tactics works in the long run. If your competition is talking loudly and you decide to yell louder, what do you think they will do? Yep. They’ll start to scream. Nobody wins a shouting match when it comes to advertising. And usually you’ll find you even lose a few customers in the process because they can’t stand the noise. It’s the same with one-upmanship. If you have to compete on more and better coupons or more and better discounts, giveaways or incentives unrelated to your core product, your revenue per sale decreases as well as your number of sales. Customers see these types of games as gimmicky, fake and disingenuous; and they leave. The ones who do stay now view you and your competitors as commodities with no difference except your price. That is a dangerous place for a ...

The fundamental nature of PowerPoint makes it an ideal selling tool. You have a group of people, stuck in a room, listening to a speaker for an extended period of time -- anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour or more. This enclosed environment exists only for the presenters to sell something, whether it is a product, a service, or an idea. However, many presenters, especially those with a corporate interest in mind, fail to capitalize on that environment. Think about it. You have a hundred people in a room. They are all listening to you, but they are also watching the giant screen behind you, staring at the messaging, absorbing the graphics. Make the best of their fixed attention by creating brand reinforcement in every slide. ---------------- Using Your Brand ---------------- "Brand" is admittedly an ambiguous term. It encompasses and summarizes everything about a company that makes them unique, better and memorable. Elements of the brand can be broken down into various b...

At a retail store in Hernando not long ago, the owner and I exchanged business cards. I looked at his logo, and he studied the name on my card. "I know that logo. We've been in touch in the past," I said. "That's right. I know your company name," he said. Although we weren't able to pinpoint when or why we'd exchanged mail previously, we guessed it had been at least five years back. Neither one of us remembered any details. Rather, he had created a distinctive visual identity for his store, and I had devoted effort to linking my name with creative marketing. For at least five years his look and my reputation had lurked in the other's memory banks, while thousands or hundreds of thousands of other business identities had come and gone without leaving a significant trace. Why? Memorability. It illustrates a key element of successful branding. What is Branding? Branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable imprint in the minds of consu...

Free business logo design can be found in a variety of areas. There are many logo design companies that will design your free business logo design if you purchase other products from them.  Some logo design businesses will provide the free logo design with website design, stationary design and web hosting.  For example, you purchase your website design and hosting through them and they will design a free business logo design for you.  The price you pay for the website design and hosting depends on your needs in those areas but you are able to lump your free business logo design in the package as well for no additional cost. Many logo design businesses will also provide you with discounts on products if you purchase your stationary and envelope design through them.  You may not receive a free logo design but you will be able to save a little money on other business necessities.  You may also find packages that offer other free services if you purchase your logo d...