The xMarketing Newsletter from NeoNexus
August 28,2007
In This Issue
Company News
Marketing Yourself Better
Tech Tip
Customer Spotlight
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Company News
Search Engine Optimization
NeoNexus Corporation has been asked to present a workshop on Seach Engine Optimization/Search Engine Marketing for your website on September 10 in Wilmington, NC. The workshop is put on by ActionCoaching, the worlds’ largest business coaching company. Action’s goal is re-educating business owners so they learn how to prosper, and improving a business’ web presence is one of many strategies that can help achieve that goal. Thanks to ActionCoach, Reggie Shropshire, for giving NeoNexus the opportunity to assist other businesses.
A challenge at all workshops is to get audience participation. We are addressing this challenge by doing live website assessments. Business owners in the audience will volunteer to have their websites assessed by NeoNexus personnel in real time on the overhead screen, so it will be a lively discussion with practical advice on the spot.
If you are interested in attending the workshop, please contact Reggie Shropshire at reggieshropshire@actioncoach.com.
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How To Market Yourself Better
The “Brand Your Company” Myth
How many times have we heard about branding? Advertising and marketing people just LOVE to have you spend money branding your company. “You are a new company….spend some money to get your name out there!” or “Make sure your company logo is in all your advertising…make it big!” Those same marketing people have been paid a LOT of money to do that, but how many companies can show a return on their investment from branding? The answer to that question is NONE!
Shocked and dismayed are you? Before you hit delete on your keyboard, let’s investigate. First, what the heck is branding? Branding is the idea that customers choose your product or service because you are a recognized brand FIRST before they consider any other reason. My humble opinion is that NEVER happens.
I am not suggesting that people are not brand loyal: they clearly are. There are people that only buy Fords, only drink Coke, and only use Kodak film. The question is, WHY are they brand loyal? They are not loyal to the brand, they are loyal to the perceived value BEHIND the brand. Most Coke fans think Pepsi is too sweet and they buy the Coke because it tastes better to them. whatever the reason, they have a reason, and that reason is NOT because the logo is cooler or more memorable than the others. Think about it…do you think Coke makes money because they have a big sign up at the high school football game with their brand, or because they purchased the right to the be the sole supplier of beverages at the concession stands? Do people stop at McDonalds instead of Burger King because they like the big M better, or because they think the fries taste better and the kids want the Happy Meal?
Its a proverbial “cart before the horse” scenario. Big companies like McDonalds, Ford, and Coke have brand loyalty, but they didn’t achieve that through “branding”. They achieved it through successfully delivering the value FIRST, and THEN, once enough customers experienced the value, they stuck with the brand.
This is VITALLY important to small businesses. We don’t have $100 million dollar marketing budgets like Coca Cola. We have to see a return on our investment from our advertising, and it will NEVER come from just getting our logo out there. The most important thing to be known for is the problems we solve, and that should be the goal of our advertising. Just to show how many graphic designers and advertisers don’t get this, I challenge you to open up the Yellow Page directory nearest you. Glance through the ads, and count how many ads have the company logo as the biggest part of the ad. It will probably be over 90%. Now ask this question: its 3 am, you have a pipe leak in your house, and you need a plumber now. When you crack open the Yellow Pages, do you give a frell about the logo, or do you care about “OPEN 24 HOURS :: WE TAKE VISA/MC/AMEX”? Obviously, you want the ad that is addressing your immediate problem. Solving your customers problems is the goal of your advertising because that’s what the customers care about.
Next week, we will discuss how to make a good advertisement, but as a first step, get rid of big logos in your ads. If you have room, make them small and put them at the bottom. When your graphic designers argue with you, remind them that the ads that win awards don’t make their clients any money, and the ads that make the clients money don’t win any awards….would you rather be right or rich?
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Tech Tip- Supplied by Category 5 Networks
Backup
Natural disasters, hardware malfunction and human error are all that threaten data stored on our PCs and Servers. A routine backup plan can help reduce the risk of losing data forever. Depending on how rigorous the routine, data can be restored within minutes of the last save time.
Backups are preformed using a conjunction of software and hardware and can vary greatly based on need. For the single PC environment, Windows comes with a built in backup utility that will run according to a schedule or initiated manually and is called NTBACKUP. All that’s needed is a place to store the backup output such as an external hard drive or CD/DVD. For more complex backups a contingency plan should be thought out to ensure coverage. In a Server / Client setup, software such as BackupExec from Symantec offers a more detailed and comprehensive backup routine that will traverse networks and gather/store data from/to remote locations.
Data backup is crucial for every environment and should be thought through to ensure appropriate coverage. As always, contact a professional for assistance to ensure the accurate coverage.
Category 5 Networks
http://www.categoryfivenetworks.com/
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Customer Spotlight
Painters Union District 53 wanted their website to match the design of the international union website, but still have their local information. NeoNexus was provided the code for the international website and used it to recreate a new one specifically for District 53. We used our GIS resources to build a map showing the locations of the various local unions, by county, and the map is shown as an image and as a downloadable printable PDF file. Since we inherited the code, we had to do a lot of programming cleanup to bring it up to W3C standards, but we got it done.
The District is also using their position to help their customers’ websites by linking to them. Many of the contractors that use union personnel are listed, and linking the contractor name on the District website to the contractor’s own website is one of many SEO techniques that improves website traffic. Check it out at www.paintersuniondistrict53.org
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Don’t forget about NeoNexus’ referral awards program. For every successful referral you send to NeoNexus, you get a $50 gift certificate to one of your favorites restaurants, such as Cracker Barrel, Chili’s, or Macaroni Grill. Also, existing customers can save up their referrals and cash them in for free website options instead of dining out. Website options include free hosting, 15 second flash animation, and free contact form added to your website. So, get those referrals coming, and let’s all share in the fun!
Sincerely,
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Kim Kuzan
Marketing Director, NeoNexus
NeoNexus Corporation
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