Dialogues, Not Diatribes: Tips for Successful Brand Communication The internet runs on opinions and conversation. From the newest restaurant to the latest blockbuster, every experience is instantly reviewed, rated, and debated. News, tourism, food, music, sports—you name it—there’s a constant tidal wave of voices shaping what’s worth your time… and what’s not. In this world,…
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Make Your Brand Familiar, Not Forgettable In a busy, and constantly changing landscape, small businesses must do a lot of work to stand out from the crowd and serve their clients and customers well. It’s easy for businesses to be overlooked—especially when they may not have access to the latest tools, tech, teams or budgets.…
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Branding is Not About the Deck—It’s About the Decisions Recently, I ran across a social media post from someone frustrated that brand strategy has become more about production and pitches than purpose. I understand their lament. Brand strategy is supposed to guide decisions and drive action. Too often, however, it’s reduced to “the deck”: a…
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How Your Brand Helps Your Business Grow When Change is Happening We’re almost exactly five years from the first few weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, which unraveled so much of the world we knew. Those early days can best be described as chaotic and confusing. Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves in a…
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Let ‘Em Cook: Think Like a Chef to Build a Better Brand The slang phrase “Let ’em cook” means to allow someone to do what they do well. It can also be an expression of the desire for someone to have the freedom to do something. I enjoy cooking, and I do most of the…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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