Are you working on branding?

A few years ago some advertising people came to visit me. I was promoting my restaurant and working hard to bring in new customers. They saw that as an opportunity to talk about branding. To them, it seemed, my advertising should focus on presenting my unique selling proposition - we entered a lengthy discussion about what differentiates us from our competition.

To me, building your brand goes way beyond that. Your brand is the experience your company provides to customers throughout their relationship with you. Every customer touchpoint is a brand moment. Those promoting branding say that a solid brand is the foundation upon which your corporate culture and future growth is built. To me, that is putting the cart before the horse. Your brand is how people react to how well you live and breathe your values and your vision. It’s not how your company wants to be perceived in the marketplace, but how it actually is perceived by customers. When there’s a misalignment between these perceptions, your brand is broken.

So when you set out to work on your brand, focus on 3 things http://toughbusiness.ca/page/Branding/


Norm www.normanbain.com

Looking for your next gig?

Job Seekers
Think you have what it takes to be a part of our growing team? Learn about our culture, benefits and unique work from home program.
Click Here for more information

There are ONLY 7 ways to make money

Some thoughts to share on how to earn an income, doing what you love.

I’m not an artist, or a musician. Perhaps that’s a good thing because there are plenty of starving artists and musicians looking for a job to pay the bills.

The hardest thing for most people is figuring out how they are going to earn a living. When it comes down to it, it’s not really that hard. When you boil it down to its simplest form, there are only 7 ways to make money, be it on line or off line;

Continue reading at http://normbain.com/page/7-Ways-To-Make-Money/


Norm www.normanbain.com

Help: Inventory 101

Here is a quick overview of inventory basics and terms used in managing inventory. This information will give you a foundation in how to set up your inventory system.

Click Here To Read More

Norm www.normbain.com

5 costly mistakes that business owners make

There are five costly mistakes that business owners make when running their business. I know because I’ve made them. Dropping the ball on just one of them can hurt your profits. Dropping the ball on all of them is why businesses fail http://normbain.com/page/FiveMistakes/

Tracking the interrupts

Perhaps the most powerful and least utilized visual management tool is the an-don. Toyota is a master of this philosophy - stop production so that production does not stop. Yet outside of Toyota, I have not seen this powerful tool used to its potential.

If you only have one meeting each day, make it an interrupt meeting. Initiate a 10 minute stand up meeting on the production floor at a specific time each day (I'd recommend 2 hours into the shift). Leaders from each line (or station depending on your process) get together with support personnel at this MANDATORY meeting. Use a baton (or microphone in noisy areas). The person with the baton is the only person allowed to speak. In rotation, each leader reports on ...

continue reading at: http://normbain.com/page/TrackTheInterrupts/

Norm www.normbain.com

Email is Dead

If you could earn $47 Dollars for every dollar you invest in marketing, what would your marketing budget be?

According to a press release in February by the Direct Marketing Association in the UK, that is the ROI that marketers are seeing. Why would you kill a medium that has those returns. Yes, folks, to borrow a phrase from Mark Twain; the reports of my death have been wildly exaggerated. Email is far from dead.

Read more: http://normbain.com/page/IsEmailDead/

Norm www.normbain.com