It’s been eight+ months since we started doing our weekly referral networking meetings over Zoom. For some, it’s comfortable and natural. For others, we’re either still finding our way or getting pretty tired of doing this virtually.
With social distancing becoming the norm, networking has moved to online platforms, but it is still an essential tool for building relationships. To be successful, you must have the right mindset, where you focus on how you can help others, not how they can help you. This approach builds mutually beneficial relationships, which is the goal of networking. You can start by nurturing existing relationships, checking in on close friends, family, and colleagues. To meet new people, you can target specific groups or be open to random connections. Allocating just 30 minutes a day to LinkedIn can be an effective way to network online by skimming your feed, commenting on relevant articles, and sending personalized messages to your connections.
Mission, vision, values, and positioning statements are the most widely recognized strategic tools used to define a company’s business, strategic objectives, and overall approach to reach those objectives. Another less frequently recognized strategic statement that many companies neglect to employ is the Purpose statement.
A follow up email or call isn’t about trying to sell additional products or services. The best follow-up is one that adds value to the recipient.
Branding is long-term focused, rather than special promotions or a discounts. The tactics for staying top-of-mind 6 or 12 months from now are different than getting them to notice you right now.
Since so many people are working from now, and Brenits Creative is a 100% remote-work team, I wanted to share the four things that I have been doing consistently for 20 years.
To remind us that names have only as much power as we give them, Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, says (and I'm paraphrasing) "would not a rose by any other name, smell just as sweet"? Um, no. Shakespeare obviously didn't have to worry about branding. Naming...
Use elements of a consulting mindset to take your department from order-takers to creative problem-solving rock-stars! By not assuming that what the client wants is what they need, in-house creatives can create unique and effective solutions to the client’s challenges. Additionally, in-house creatives should work towards shared goals with their clients and include a measurement of success in their creative briefs.
In-house creative teams often face stereotypes, and one of the most annoying and damaging ones is the belief that they can’t produce inspirational results. While the benefits of a steady job and regular paycheck may lead to complacency, it’s ultimately up to the individual to take responsibility for their professional development and seek out inspiration. Employers also have a responsibility to invest in their employees’ development and increase their value to the company. Creative leaders can inspire their team by leading by example.
Join us for a brown-bag lunch and interactive workshop on Thursday, January 24th that will help each you figure out just what your own “It” is that makes your businesses so special. Moreover, once you know your “It,” you’ll be able to attract the right customers to your business.
Human beings have base fears such as the need for protection, for reassurance, for status, for achievement, recognition, and so on. Addressing these fears is the basis for many brands’ positioning and their marketing. But how successful is fear as an emotive driver...
Sometimes it feels like there’s a lot on my plate. I run my own business, sit on two boards, serve as leadership for my referral networking group, and I teach. Most importantly, I’m a husband and father. I have a lot of stuff that needs to get done every day. But I’m never overwhelmed enough to say, “my plate is overfull.”
Meetings are a necessary evil in our business. Between staff meetings, project planning and review meetings, vendor meetings, and of course client meetings, its any wonder we get real work done at all. But one thing I have learned in almost 25 years in the creative...
From Netflix's "Ba-Dummm!" to the "ba-da-DA-Dum" of Intel, or even the three roars of the MGM lion we associate certain sounds with brands in the same way that we do their visual logos. These "audio-logos" are so recognizable that you probably heard them in your head...
No business can afford to rest on its laurels. While your company may be keeping up with economic and market changes, is your brand keeping up? Does your website communicate to your target audience how you’re keeping up?
You may be trying to decide if you should rebrand your business, or just update your website. Here are 10 factors to consider helping you make your decision.
By the end of 2015, after being an in-house creative director for nearly 8 years and working in this field for over 20 years, I found myself self-employed for the second time in my career. Now, as I enter my fourth year as a brand and creative strategy consultant, I attribute some of my success as a business owner to my experiences and the lessons I learned by working in-house. Reflecting on that time being in-house, I can also say that my consulting mindset, and teaching instincts, also attributed to my success leading in-house creative teams.
Many small business owners I talk to already understand that branding is essential to their business, but a surprisingly high number of them don’t really know why.
I think maybe people get hung up on wording. If you were to replace the word “branding” with “reputation” instead, I think I might get your attention. You care about your reputation, right?