Steven – Page 21 – Altitude Branding

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Select The Right Type Of Loan For Your Next Business Project!

Steven on May 22, 2021

“Every decision that you make for your business has a financial consequence.” – Barbara Vrancik.

The life of an entrepreneur is very simple. They start a business with the help of an idea and finance; once the company is established, they begin to earn money, and then they use the same money to expand their business. And this circle goes on.

So, if we eliminate money from the entrepreneur’s life, they are left with an unexecuted idea. Was it an excellent idea or not? We don’t know, and we can never know. Confused? Okay, we’ll explain it clearly to you. What we want to say is that without money or finance, a business can not survive.

Arranging money for the startup is the most crucial yet challenging part. And if anything in this part goes wrong, its direct impact can be seen on the startup idea. However, along with arranging capital deciding its source is also essential. Generally, people take the help of banks or money lending institutions to borrow a loan. And it is the correct approach.

But, what type of loan should be taken is the question of primary concern. You see, there are numerous types of loans available for an entrepreneur, but selecting the right option is vital. Therefore, in this article, we’ll guide you through the different types of loans available for small business entrepreneurs.

You can read them thoroughly and then can decide the best for your business. So, let’s dive right into the article! Let’s go!

Term loan

These are the most basic types of business finance, which are repaid over a fixed tenure with interest. The amount is generally paid in a lump sum, and the repayment principal amount is also fixed. It is just like a personal loan that you can use for any purpose. You can use it to pay company overheads, payment to creditors, invoice payments, or employee salaries. To be specific, it is flexible to use.

Equipment financing

Not every organization works to sell products or services. Some organizations are involved in the manufacturing process as well. And to manufacture something large heavy-duty equipment, machinery, vehicles, etc., is required. Needless to say that this equipment is expensive, and an organization can’t afford them with the capital investment.

In such a situation, you can use equipment financing. It’ll also help improve business credit and not forget that the asset can also be used as collateral to get more finance.

SBA loan

SBA loans are federal government agency-backed financial borrowing options available to small entrepreneurs. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that Small Business Administration Loans are one of the best types of financing options available to budding entrepreneurs. Why? The reason being is that the rate of interest is comparatively low, the repayment terms are also favorable to the borrower, and it is flexible.

If you think that’s all, then our dear reader, sorry to say that you are wrong. It is just a glimpse of the benefits of SBA loans. These loans are further also divided into different types. As per your requirement, you can select any of the following types and avail yourself its benefits:

SBA 7(a) Loan
SBA express
SBA Disaster Assistance Program
SBA International Trade
SBA 504
Community advantage

You can read about each of these and decide which financial assistance will help you achieve your company goals.

Invoice financing

Sometimes a company needs money to balance the current cash flow. There are several types of company overhead that need to be paid daily, such as payment to suppliers, employee salary, and other daily operations. To make these payments, the company needs positive cash flow. But sometimes circumstances are not in the favor. In such situations, invoice financing can help companies overcome the cash crunch.

It is a great option when an entrepreneur is sure that he/she will receive the payment in some time and, in the meantime, use this financing to mitigate cash flow emergencies.

Merchant cash advances

To say that is a business loan would be incorrect. It is a cash advance that you can get on your future credit card sales, just like the old times. In simple terms, you’ll get a lump sum amount as a cash advance and have to repay it from the money earned from sales. It is a good option if you need fast cash because, as compared to others, the interest rate is relatively high in it.

Note: This financing option is only available to those businesses that use credit cards for payments.

Microloans

As the name suggests, it is a type of small loan that ranges from $500 to $50,000. This option is suitable for those who are starting their company or don’t need much investment. These are generally offered by the federal government and non-profit organizations such as CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions) to underserved startups to get the capital amount they need. Nonetheless, the repayment terms and interest rates are reasonable in this type of borrowing, and there is flexibility for using the amount as entrepreneurs want.

Business line of credit

Also known as “revolving line of credit,” this type of borrowing is perfect when the borrower doesn’t know about the amount required. Getting confused again? No worries! We’ll explain it in easy language! Generally, few organizations face the issue of seasonal fluctuations. So there is a possibility that for a month or two the sales will be lower than expected. To survive those times, organizations can take the benefit of the business line of credit.

However, you’ll be able to receive this amount only when the lender evaluates the creditworthiness of your business. And, for that, they will get information regarding the time in the industry, annual revenue of the company, cash flow situation, credit score, and others. When the lender is satisfied, they will give you the money.

To sum it all up!

All these types of credit borrowing options are available to the company, and you can select among these as per their requirements. It will help the company to stay in the competition race and grow its business.

So what are you waiting for? Take your company to heights!

Legal Branding

4 Things to Outsource in Your New Law Firm

Steven on May 21, 2021

As a lawyer just starting in your own law firm, you already know that time is money, especially in the legal profession. In your profession, you’ll be wearing many different hats to help you get established, bring in clients, and make your new law firm successful.

There are some things that you can do yourself, and some that are just more manageable and wiser to outsource. If you’re considering outsourcing specific tasks but aren’t sure which ones, we have some tips that will help you decide.

Your Branding

If you want your law firm to be successful, then you have to have a brand that people can recognize and trust. Branding is vital in any business but critical when you’re a lawyer who’s just starting out. It’s best to outsource your branding to a marketing firm, especially if you know nothing about creating a brand and getting it out there to possible clients.

Many firms out there specialize in branding, some in legal branding only, so that’s one thing that you can take off your own plate and be sure it’s being done the right way.

Legal Research/Writing/Deposition Services

You’re tired, your junior associates are tired, and you still have to do your own legal research and writing. On top of that, you’re paying a full-time employee for deposition services and court reporting when you really can’t afford to pay full-time benefits, full-time pay, vacation and sick leave since your firm just started. Take the initiative and outsource not only your deposition services but your legal research and writing. Find a reputable company that will cost you much less than hiring full-time employees and working yourself and your junior associates to the bone.

Your Marketing

From social media marketing to SEO content, there’s a lot more that goes into marketing a law firm than there used to be. In the past, it was simple for lawyers to get the word out there about their business. Spread the word, slap your name, face, and phone number on a billboard, and leave some fliers on cars in the local Walmart and be done with it. Today, there’s the internet, social media, and many, many different ways to market your business. So many ways, in fact, it can get confusing and a bit overwhelming.

If you don’t know anything about digital marketing, social media, or even SEO, then it’s time to outsource your marketing. It’ll save you time, money and ensure the word gets out there about your law firm at the same time. However, there is one marketing strategy that is tried and true and still works. That marketing strategy is word of mouth, so make sure your clients are happy and the word will spread.

IT Services

Everyone has been there. You’re in the middle of something crucial to a case and the Wi-Fi goes out. It’s not your internet company, and you have a deadline. For the life of you, you can’t figure out what the problem is, and you can’t afford a full-time IT department to take care of IT problems for you. Outsourcing your IT services means that someone will be available to fix problems when they happen, and it’ll save you money in the end as well.

These are just a few of the things you should outsource when starting your own law firm. As a new business owner and an attorney, you have a lot on your plate already. Outsourcing your marketing, IT services, and court reporting, among others, can do a lot to relieve stress and make your law firm successful. And then you can focus on what’s really important — your clients.

SaaS Branding

Best Practices to Drive Productivity

Steven on May 21, 2021

Nothing is more important to a small business than its people. Thus, employees’ productivity will rise if they are happy, which is just what business owners need to drive their company towards growth and development.

Minor modifications in the workplace can dramatically boost a company’s production and efficiency. With this, companies can complete more high-quality work in less time and spend less time on non-essential tasks, a win-win situation for both business owners and their stakeholders.

With that, here are the best ways to boost business productivity:

Focus on Employee Satisfaction

While increasing employee satisfaction is not a cure-all pill, it can have some remarkable effects on a company. Specifically, a happy, engaged, and motivated employee contributes to the company’s success, positively impacting the rest of your team.

The most important advantage of ensuring high employee morale and overall satisfaction is that people rarely consider quitting their current positions. Veritably, employee satisfaction is critical for employee retention. For long-term growth and guaranteed success, companies must drive to retain deserving and skilled personnel, that is, by upholding employee satisfaction.

Communication is Key

Communication is essential in every aspect of a business. It is also critical that an organization’s internal communication and their employees’ communication skills are effective, particularly now that the economy has driven a rising number of people to work from the comfort of their homes.

Furthermore, a united company attempts to build strong communication among its employees. When everyone understands what their coworkers are working on, they may better assist one another, achieving a common, shared goal of increasing productivity.

Get the Right Equipment

Nothing is more inefficient and frustrating than wasting time waiting for important documents to print because a company lacks quick printing technology. Thus, it is critical to provide employees with the appropriate tools and equipment to do their tasks efficiently and on schedule.

Not only do high-quality, current programs and equipment benefit employees, but they also improve how a company gets perceived across different lenses. Companies should seriously consider investing in the correct equipment.

Examples of this are a production printer or an upgrade to the payroll software. Ultimately, you do this by getting equipment that will save employees time and effort.

Become as Efficient As Possible

The best possible utilization of resources is what efficiency is all about. Efficient businesses optimize outputs from limited inputs while lowering expenses. Furthermore, you can reduce a company’s costs and its competitiveness improved by increasing efficiency.

For one, automation minimizes the amount of paper that passes through a company and allows employees to be more strategic in their job. As employees get rid of mundane, tedious tasks, they become freed to devote themselves to higher-value duties essential in company growth.

Positive Reinforcement Goes a Long Way

Every day, small business owners get challenged with their employees’ actions. Thus, it may be time to join the legions of behavioral experts who believe that creating a pleasant workplace — one that encourages positive reinforcement — is just as important as writing a business plan in terms of business success.

Positive reinforcement is an effective, evidence-based method for increasing workplace productivity and morale. Moreover, positive reinforcement always leads to better behavioral results. Bosses must deliver positive reinforcement correctly and immediately to be effective.

Set Realistic Goals

Setting realistic goals will provide companies a firm, clear direction. Business goals provide a tight framework for business owners, preventing them from straying and keeping them focused on a specific path. Moreover, it is common among successful businesses to have started from setting realistic goals that are:

Specific: The objectives should be specific, clear, and devoid of ambiguity. You must define the goals in a concise and detailed manner.
Measurable: The objectives should be quantifiable. Setting a goal such as “greater revenues” or “better quality” is not a good practice and may not help companies. Rather, goals should be measurable and scalable to allow for progress assessments toward them.
Timely: Efficient goals are time-bound, having a clear start and finish date. Company objectives may become redundant if there are no time constraints, and their achievement may never even come to a realization.
Simple: There should be no jargon in the goals. They should be simple enough for everyone working in a company to understand, allowing unity to work on a shared goal.

Undoubtedly, it is pleasant – although sometimes ignored – to show employees how much a company appreciates, respects, and values them on a personal level. Thus, if employers want their employees to work to their full potential, they may consider and use a couple of these suggestions and prepare to reap a wealth of benefits.

Legal Branding

5 Lucrative Ways Photographers Can Promote and Sell their Works

Steven on May 21, 2021

Marketing and advertising are a bit challenging for the photography profession. You probably mastered your skill right and practiced it. However, you cannot make enough money without a selling platform. As a photographer, you may wonder, “how do I sell my work?”. You probably came across several ways online but never get the suitable one for you. The secret is not in many options, but the best working option.

In this guide, there are five most popular lucrative ways you should consider. As you read further, you will discover strategies to put them to use and profit with.

1. Sell your Work Online.

If you want to attract target customers, here is a strategy you should consider.

An average person goes online every day. Either people accidentally or intentionally come across your work, there is a bigger chance of selling than keeping them in stores.

You can choose a less expensive method by using an online seller platform. All you need is to give a commission from the profit, and you are good to go.

2. Creating a Getty and Flickr Images

These platforms help build upcoming and professional photographers by showcasing their works to the public.

After creating an account on Flickr, you can let people pay for your work before using them by licensing with Getty Images.

Whenever a person requests for your work, Getty images would contact you for permission and pricing. Hence, ensure you upload your best photos on Flickr.

3. Share your Stories

People believe stories more than facts or statistics. Many people assume that every picture has a story behind it. This is especially true for travel photographers. If you love to travel, it becomes a plus for you. You can sell while having fun at the same time. A convincing and relatable story would attract just the right audience.

4. Create a Photo Book

Photo books allow you to customize your products and people with your photos will be able to decorate the walls. You can add a text or quote of your choice. It is also a good deal for clients that want to save family and friends memories in a book. This may sound traditional, but creativity wins people’s hearts.

5. Try Other Photography Niches.

If you are stuck with a particular photography type, it is high time you moved on. You can explore the trending and most selling photography options.

Getting involved in wedding photography to promote yourself.
Club photography can spice your selling point. Also, you are likely to meet potential customers at this place.
Try real estate photography and get yourself rich gigs. Housing and estate are the fastest selling industries in the world today.
Collaborate with a real estate agent or interior designer and get your works out there.

Summary

Your personality determines the best-selling point for you as a photographer. For instance, serving under another photographer, allows you to build your portfolio. Also, being a good photography teacher can fetch you some money. Gather interested students, and use the referral approach to attract customers and sell your works.

Digital Branding

Best Practices To Retain Customers On Your E-commerce Store

Steven on May 20, 2021

Customer retention is the skill of maintaining your existing customers for an extended period. It implies converting your current customers into regular consumers. Once a person has purchased from your e-commerce site, establishing loyalty in them prevents them from going towards your competitors.

How does customer retention benefit you?

If you want to have maximum profit for your e-commerce store from a single consumer, building their trust in you is very important. The more they acknowledge you, the more they will buy from you.

Preserving your existing customer and maximizing their business with you is sevenfold more profitable than chasing new leads and customers for your e-commerce store.

There are different marketing tools available like SMS marketing tools, email marketing services, and social media marketing platforms through which you can engage and retain your old customer on autopilot.

Once the customers become trustworthy about your company, they explore your products further, which becomes more beneficial for you. Moreover, they promote your product to their colleagues and private groups.

Best practices for customer retention on your online store:

Reward existing customer

Everyone admires rewards in the form of gifts and prizes. So why not reward your customers for buying from your e-Commerce store?

Rewarding your customers makes them feel gratified and creates an urge to buy from you again.It makes your relationship with customers stronger. Reward acts as an extra motivator for your business.

You can reward your customer in the form of an additional deal or bonus on their purchase. Extra few percent off on a specific product from another online shopping site.

Tell your customers exactly why they are being rewarded; it shows that you value them for their loyalty.

Send Relevant Email campaigns.

An email campaign is the best strategy to stay in touch with your customer. It is one of the most practical ways to keep an existing customer for the longest time. It enhances their experience with you and your reputation.

You can send different types of emails such as:

Welcome Email: This email tells your recently joined customers who you are and simple steps that they must follow next.

Reminder Email: A simple, generous reminder email about some items they have left in the cart or any new suggestions for them.

Giveaway email: Short email telling them about ongoing or upcoming offers and rewards on their favorite items.

Though there are varied email campaigns, you must remember one thing: you should never send multiple campaigns simultaneously. Use different email campaigns at relevant times with some intervals between them.

Expand Customer Service Channels

You should have outstanding customer service to retain your customers for a longer time. It is essential to be available for your customers whenever they have difficulty purchasing, payment methods, availing offers, etc.

In this era when everything is going digital, people are more and more engaging on social media. You should take advantage of this and use your official social media accounts to engage with your customers.

You can assist the customer in solving problems publicly on social media. For Example, on Twitter; You can upload a story asking about your customer’s problems and give a solution to them on the social media stories. It will build the trust of your existing customer as well as generate new customers.

Use Personalization to engage customers.

Customers appreciate it when you keep it personalized. When you email consumers, make sure to start the subject with their first name, it makes them feel that you know them.

Send deals on their birthday and anniversary. Send them an email to wish them and then tell them about special offers on their wonderful day. Also, you can send an email a week before their anniversary and birthday and show options to buy gifts.

Tell them about the newly released products of their concern based on the last purchase. This level of personalized emails and contents encourages the customer to return to your e-commerce site and purchase again.

Get Regular Feedback and Suggestions

Companies need suggestions to know where their customers are facing problems and so that they can improve customer experience.

Ask for customer feedback and suggestions after the purchase. Ask them: How was their experience shopping with you? If a customer unsubscribes your company’s email, ask them the reason for unsubscribing.

Conclusion

I am sure the strategies mentioned above will be able to maintain your customers lifelong and generate good revenue. Implement these strategies and retain customers in your E-commerce store.

Infographic created by Clover Connect, a payment integration solutions company

SaaS Branding

Employee-Directed Branding

Steven on May 19, 2021

We all know how important customer directed branding is, but few businesses pay enough attention to internal brandings. Employee-directed branding, or “employer branding,” is becoming more necessary than ever. This is because it is becoming more and more difficult to hire talented workers, and this, in turn, also makes it hard to retain the talent you have. It is now a business necessity to build a strong culture and great atmosphere in which to work. Here we will explore some of the ways that successful corporations are branding themselves to their employees.

What you can learn from successful corporations

If a company is highly successful, it makes sense to analyze what it has done to contribute to that success. With that in mind, there is a lot to learn from the ways that large corporations brand themselves to current and future employees. One way to do this is to examine a successful advertising campaign. While a large-scale advertising campaign is off limits to all but the largest corporations, it is worth taking a look at what large corporations are trying to accomplish when they launch such campaigns. For instance, in GE’s famous “Owen” campaign, the company is sending a simple, clear, positive, and repeated message: Owen is changing the world just as you are changing the world by working at GE. This campaign shows the importance of having a clear and repeated theme to your internal marketing. Ideas such as specific ways your company helps others or the ways employees are supported are good because they are a clear and simple message that can easily take root. Whatever that message is, it needs to be reflected in reality in order to succeed, and some of these examples below should help get you thinking along the right lines.

Updating the work environment: Given that most people will spend nearly half their waking hours at work, it makes sense that people would be greatly impacted by the nature of their work environment. A drab, cramped, and old office will not only increase turnover, but it will also decrease the quality and efficiency of the work being done. Happier employees stay longer and are more productive, so it is a worthwhile investment to update your offices. There are a number of simple changes you can make right now:

Add a water cooler system: Water coolers make employees feel cared about, increase employee health, and provide a good place for natural team-building to occur. Ideally, you can even step it up with a more advanced system such as a reverse osmosis system – this will multiply these benefits.
Re-decorate: This can be something as simple as changing the furniture, all the way up to a complete overhaul with new paint, light fixtures, and art. Given the enormous impact changes like these can make, they are usually well-worth the comparatively small investment it takes to implement them.
Add fun areas: Some of the classic communal areas such as break rooms and water coolers can be easily turned into a point of pride if you replace them with activities that encourage team-building. Even something as simple as a foosball table can help make work a far more pleasant place to be. If you really want to make an impression, many of the most dynamic companies have gone so far as to install entire game rooms and coffee shops.

Conduct an employer brand audit: You cannot craft an employer brand if you do not know what your brand currently is. To accomplish this, it is vital to use an employer brand audit. You are trying to find out the answers to two questions: how does my company present itself to employees and candidates? And how do employees and candidates actually perceive the company? To do an audit, first gather up everything that an employee or prospective employee might come across: internal communications, job postings, onboarding materials, social media profiles, etc. You can use these materials to determine how you currently present yourself to employees and applicants. Next, interview current employees to ask how they perceive the company and provide applicants with exit surveys. This information will give you information about how your message is received.

Attracting and retaining talented employees has never been more important than it is today. Unfortunately, it has also never been more difficult. Most businesses are used to cultivating a brand image when dealing with customers; however, it is now a business necessity to also cultivate a positive brand image within a company itself. The future of every business that has ever existed depends upon the employees that conduct business on a day to day basis. Take the time to review some of these ideas and develop an employee directed branding plan that will help take your business to the next level.

SaaS Branding

Benefits Of Starting Your Own Business

Steven on May 19, 2021

Have you always dreamed of starting your own business? Have you had an entrepreneurial spirit for as long as you can remember and prefer to be your own boss? Well, what’s getting in the way? Maybe it’s fear of the unknown or fear of failure. On the other hand, you could be unsure of where to start. Many small business owners will tell you that they were very fearful in the beginning, but that it’s part of the journey. If you are thinking about starting your own business, the best thing you can do for yourself is research and weigh the pros and cons. In this blog post, we will give you some benefits of starting your own business and why it can be life changing if done right!

Work/ Life Balance

One of the biggest benefits to starting your own business is the ability to create your own schedule. Although it takes dedication and diligence, working for yourself allows you so much more flexibility than if you were to work for an employer. From working wherever you want, to setting your own hours, to wearing whatever you want while you work–who could complain! If you are someone who enjoys going to morning yoga at 10 am or you must pick up your son from school at 3pm, working for yourself allows you the flexibility to plan work around your priorities. Not only that, but if you plan a 2 week vacation in the Bahamas, you can bring work with you or even take a pause without having to consult anyone about it getting approved. Overall, the work life balance is spectacular if you start your own business!

You Can Follow Your Passion

Many entrepreneurs say that the long hours they invest in their own business don’t feel so bad because they are having fun while doing it. If you are passionate about what you are creating, it won’t feel like work. Not only that, but it will be like raising your own baby. You will see it grow, change, and evolve as time goes on. If you find something you’re passionate about and start a business around it, chances are it won’t feel like work!

You Get To Choose Who You Work With

Unlike walking into a work environment where you may not like everyone you work with, when you own your own business, you get to choose who you employ or hire. The greatest thing is, you can work with friends, family, or other business owners who you have previous connections with. You deserve to surround yourself with people who give you the optimism and encouragement you need to move forward. Weed out the people who have a negative vibe, because let’s face it, who needs that?

Financial Security

When you are successful in business, chances are you will be shocked at how easy it is to make money and create financial security. Given the circumstances of the 2020 pandemic, we all understand how quickly things we love, like our jobs, can be taken away from us. If you have your own business, you don’t have to worry about these things. Given, your business becomes successful, you can spend the extra money giving back to the community or shopping without the guilt. For instance, you can invest in the fine estate jewelry you were dreaming about for so long. Or, buy yourself a new wallet that you have been putting off for a while now. Point is, with more of your own money and success, you have additional financial security and freedom to spend as you wish, and as much as you want to be financially secure, your business need security like Krywolt Insurance as well.

You Can Challenge Yourself

No more doing the same mundane daily tasks at your office desk! If you start your own business, you can challenge yourself to take the risks you want. It will be filled with new opportunities to challenge yourself, sometimes without your consent! Starting a business will be difficult in the beginning, especially when you’re coming in without experience. However, human beings grow when challenged and you will learn so much about yourself through the process. You will learn something new everyday by simply having your own business!

Legal Branding

Five Ways to Finance your Rebrand

Steven on May 18, 2021

If you’ve been thinking about rebranding your business, there has never been a better time. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an indiscernible impact on the economy. Both individual businesses and specific fields at-large are having to pivot and change their trajectory.

Rebranding isn’t always cheap, however. Changing the name of your business, the graphic design associated with it, and all the associated products can be incredibly expensive. Still if it is time to rebrand your company, it is worth the cost. Below are five ways to finance the rebranding of your business.

Find New Investors

The first thing you need to decide is whether or not you are going to partially or fully rebrand your business. A partial rebrand is popular for companies who want to keep some of their clientele and attract new customers or clients. You can find new investors before a partial rebrand, but it might be easier to get people interested in investing by conducting a total rebrand. While it depends on what the goal of your rebrand and new version of the business are, if you are fully pivoting new funders could be interested in the new direction. It’s only natural that different people are interested in different things.

Cut Down Overhead

Another way to fund whatever kid of rebrand you have in mind is to cut down the overhead. There are a variety of ways to do this, one being to minimize your staff. You can move to new offices or inventory warehouses. Change how much of a product you are manufacturing or a service you’re providing. Move your business rebrand and marketing online. With many ways to decrease your overhead, there are probably ways to fund the rebrand that you hope will make you and your company more money and provide the ability to expand.

Take Out a Loan

Of course you could take out a loan. Loans come in a wide array of forms. Everything from low-interest business loans to one hour payday loans can be used to fund a business, but the larger the loan and higher the interest rate will modulate the risk.

Any business-owner should take into account risk and if you keep your risks low you will be able to keep going forward despite any failures. However, big risks may lead to big rewards. Loans are effective, but it’s vital to know what you are getting into before you agree to particular loan agreements.

Ask for Support

Is your business small? Are you beloved by a local community? Do you have a team that is passionate about your work and rebrand? Well then you might think about asking these people for support. Keeping your audience in mind will reap benefits. If you’re worried about the cost of rebrand, speak out about it. Be clear what’s at stake. When people truly care about what you are doing and are loyal to the management, they will likely provide their support in any means they can. Support doesn’t just come in the form of money. Think about what needs to be done and ask talented people if they can contribute to the process.

Do-It-Yourself

Which parts of the rebrand can you do yourself without hiring someone to do it? What don’t you need to buy? What can you make? You’ll be surprised how much you can save by doing-it-yourself. Put your team to use in new ways. Ask around about what they can offer the rebrand possible. Who knows what your staff is capable of? You might even find someone who can take hold of the graphics, art, and visual rebrand or someone who can reorganize your business and promote it to investors and new customer demographics.

Rebranding isn’t easy, but it just may be the best thing you can do for your business. If you’re finding yourself in a position to make a pivot, expand, and invest in the company, the process could be the difference between toiling in obscurity and taking the business to a whole new level.

The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over but there is a light at the end of this long tunnel. The economy will fully reopen, making now a great time to get your rebrand done and be ready for when people have more money to spend on your product, service, or investing in the new version of your company.

SaaS Branding

These 3 Writers Help Your Business Stay on Brand

Steven on May 17, 2021

Writers are essential for your brand. They share the heart of what you do and who you are with your audiences. Talented writers help every aspect of your business. While you may understand that marketing writers are valuable, did you know that technical writers and content writers are also critical for keeping your message consistent on all platforms?

There are different kinds of writers who have different goals. The goal of a copywriter is to help sell your products. Content writers communicate information that can inspire or educate your audience. Technical writers create technical documentation to help others understand and learn. Each of them are an important piece of your brand writing and can help your brand in distinct ways.

The key is to make sure all your writers are on the same page. You want them to understand the company goals and the brand voice that they should speak in depending on the types of writing they will produce. It’s also important to note that different writers have different strengths. Just because someone can write amazing copy, does not mean they are right for creating technical documents. And vice versa.

Copywriters

If you’re in marketing, you know all about copywriters. These guys help your company sell. It’s critical that they write in a consistent brand voice whether they are creating Facebook Ads or writing an email sales series. Your products won’t sell themselves, so you need a skilled and talented copywriter to help you create sales copy that connects with your audiences in real and genuine ways.

Copywriters know who they are writing to, they understand the things that will connect with them, and they tell stories. Let’s face it, a good story can keep anyone engaged, simply because they want to know what happens in the end. Copywriters weave stories that lead customers through the sales process so that in the end your company sells more of its service or product. They are one of the many front-faces of your brand. Their messages need to be consistent.

Technical Writers

While your copywriters might be your rock stars in the company, the technical writers are critical to help the company succeed. They take complex information and data and make it more useful. If you need to create a brand manual, their skills are invaluable. Technical writers break down processes and tasks into bite sized pieces to make them simpler to understand.

If you want to create a bridge between your IT department and marketing, often your technical writers help create that connection. During a re-brand, these writers help communicate changes internally so that everything flows seamlessly. Re-brands often impact multiple departments simultaneously so it’s important to have writers who can clearly communicate those changes. Additionally, these writers would be your go-to’s for creating courses, user guides for customers and so much more. Your brand depends on good technical writers to keep the information and documentation consistent.

Content Writers

Lastly, your brand needs content writers. While the technical and copywriters have a unique niche, content writers carve out their own space too. If you want relevant, helpful, and fascinating content, these are your writers. Content writers produce pieces for websites, social media, and online stores. The explain and describe things. They understand WordPress, SEO, hashtags, and so much more. Their skills help you connect to your audience. While the goal isn’t to sell, a content writer also weaves in an element of story to help audience stay engaged.

Your brand needs content writers who can produce pieces for social media and your blog. Need a piece about writing on brand? Ask your content writer. Need a piece talking about the company history? Use your content writer. Their pieces are the connections in between the sales pieces that help audiences know, like, and trust your brand.

You know writers are valuable for your business. Your brand needs writers in each area who understands the heart of your brand and can communicate it through their words. They are the messengers and can share how your brand can make an impact. With the right technical writers, copywriters, and content writers in place, your brand will have all the writing it needs to succeed.

Legal Branding

Digital Product Development from a Marketing Perspective

Steven on May 17, 2021

Successful companies tend to departmentalize their operations to maximize productivity and improve management efficiency. With that said, businesses can’t function if their departments can’t find ways to work together. It’s especially true when it comes to the marketing and product development divisions of an enterprise.

While it’s true that marketing and product development should function separately for the majority of the time, the two departments cross paths at critical moments. Both sections will fall short without collaboration, causing the entire operation to struggle.

With this in mind, marketing professionals need to understand their role in the digital product design and development process. Likewise, developers, designers, and product managers need to embrace the insights and expertise provided by their sales-minded colleagues.

Customer feedback

The most helpful information a marketing team can provide product development staff is an insight into the customer’s mind. A company’s marketing department will have the data and experience to fill in the gaps about customer wants and needs. Development teams that lack these crucial resources are at a significant disadvantage. Meanwhile, marketing personnel that can’t relay their findings are failing to reach their full potential.

Competitor analysis

Marketing professionals tend to be well-versed in what the competition is offering. That information can prove vital to the development of a popular product. While many digital product developers are understandably cautious about getting too wrapped up in what competitors are doing, that doesn’t mean that information isn’t useful. It establishes a baseline, encourages creativity, and drives ingenuity. It can also teach lessons on what not to do going forward.

Built-in allure

What company doesn’t want to sell a product that drives consumers wild? While not every business will develop the next iPhone or other revolutionary product, they can take steps to make their products as enticing and exciting as possible. More times than not that involves collaboration with marketing professionals with insight into what customers want.

Life cycle refinement

Quality products are designed with their entire life cycle in mind. Given the inevitability of obsolescence, it’s easy to see how marketing plays a vital role in mapping out the life of a digital product. When the marketing and product development teams work together, the product life cycle can be refined to transition to new generations. That way, customers aren’t blindsided by the need to upgrade. They’ve been briefed courtesy of the marketing department. Meanwhile, the product development team can incorporate marketing insights into their life cycle planning.

Elevated excitement

Designers and developers need a hype man in their corner. Otherwise, some of the most incredible innovations and improvements can be lost on the consumer. By getting the marketing team involved with product development, companies can develop more exciting ad campaigns. Companies should also consider the benefits of having marketing personnel participate in the product testing phase. That way, the marketing strategy stems from user experience rather than customer expectations.

Broader horizons

Products are geared towards the target customer. But what if the target market could expand to include a wider swath of consumers? The sales increase would justify the necessary tweaks during the product development process. However, the potential for market expansion is something developers will likely need marketing pros to explain. In doing so, they help shape future products and grow company revenue at the same time.

It’s clear that large companies perform best when tasks and responsibilities are divided amongst several departments. However, these various sections need to come together from time to time. That’s because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

With this in mind, product developers and marketing experts must understand the importance of working together. When it comes to launching successful products, you can’t have one without the other.