Why Marketing is Difficult Without Branding I recently engaged with a small business owner regarding some of his challenges with marketing his business. His business was doing well but he wanted to grow even more. This business owner was starting to explore more outbound ways to market his business, but was running into a few…
How Understanding Humans Helps You Understand Your Brand I recently gave a presentation about branding to a cohort of small business founders as part of a business accelerator training course. It became clear to me that one of the best ways to get them to understand how brands are structured was to relate it to…
Why Simple Logos Work: A Guide for Small Business Owners I recently spoke with a business owner who was trying to decide between two concept designs for their logo. The two logos were similar, but one had an additional graphic element that was purely a decorative element. This particular decorative element was large and overpowering…
A Beginner’s Guide to Website Analytics By Mark Harbeke, Owner, Harbeke Marketing If you’re like most small business owners — especially if you’re a first-time owner — you’re running your website on one of the big platforms like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify. You know how well you’re doing for sales, and you can…
5 Tips for Boosting Your Credibility Through Branding Your brand is a series of promises. Credibility can be thought of as the confidence customers have that you will fulfill your promises to them. It is something that your customers believe you are and believe you have. Credibility is a matter of perception and reputation, which…
Grow Your B2B Business with Brand Positioning: A Guide Brand Positioning = Brand Potential According to protocol 80, “77% of B2B marketing leaders say branding is critical to growth.” The article also points out that consumers are more likely to conduct business with organizations that showcase personal values, because business values are not as distinguishable…
4 Steps to an Effective B2B Rebranding Strategy Businesses often neglect to update their brand because they think what they have works. But just because something works doesn’t mean you should stick with it. Think about your car that you keep taking to the repair shop. Or those clothes that you love, but are a…
How to Raise Awareness for Your Email Newsletter Email newsletters are one of the most common, cost-effective marketing tools at your disposal to create and foster relationships with your clients, eventually leading to sales and leads. It is a way for you to extend your brand, show off your expertise, as well as genuinely help…
B2B Branding Mistakes Branding is a key asset to B2B business growth. It is a great tool to implement within your marketing strategy, but branding is also its own mountain to climb. It is key to fostering a human connection with your audience, being easily remembered and accessible, and eventually generating leads. With a stronger…
Features vs. Benefits and Why it Matters In my 10 years of experience building brands and creating marketing collateral for businesses and organizations, including my own, I have observed that, in general, small business owners understand and talk about the features of their products and services really well. We love the nuts and bolts of…