Category: Local Branding

4 Brick and Mortar Stores That Prove Physical Retail Isn’t Dead

Steven on January 23, 2019

Many people nowadays believe that retail is dead or dying. Since most consumers shop online, there’s really no need for brick and mortar stores, is there? That’s quite wrong actually. Sure, shopping online is more convenient and oftentimes cheaper but there are factors online shopping simply cannot provide. For instance, you’d want to try on the clothes or the shoes to make sure they fit and look good on you before you actually buy them.

What’s more, you’d want to see and try out a product to make sure it suits your needs before you order it. People tend to take things for granted. Just because people prefer to shop from home doesn’t mean there’s no need for retail. As a matter of fact, the retail industry is still pretty much alive and kicking with no signs of going out of business any time soon. In addition, people still prefer to visit brick and mortar stores whenever they can. That being said, here are a few brick and mortar stores that prove physical retail isn’t dead.

T.J. Maxx speed to market

T.J. Maxx or TJX is an American retail store that specializes in selling products at generally lower prices than other competitors. That alone is a unique selling proposition but that’s not the key feature TJX has to offer. What is it that makes TJX retail stores so appealing? It’s speed to market and empowering consumer decisions. As a matter of fact, TJX allows customers to cut deals on the spot.

What’s more, TJX renews its inventory as often as every 24 hours, meaning they constantly have a new assortment in the stores every day. TJX has well-over 3,800 physical stores in place with a goal of reaching 5,600 stores worldwide. Furthermore, their profits and revenue have been on the rise for the past 33 quarters in a row. The key takeaway here is that customers know that if they find something good in the store, it won’t be there tomorrow, so they buy on the spot.

A unique experience from Apple

Apple’s takeaway on consumers experiencing the product before buying it has led this company to open more and more retail stores. As a matter of fact, two-thirds of Apple’s revenue comes from its retail stores with the highest sales-per-square-foot in the retail industry. If you visit various Apple store locations, you’ll quickly realize as to why this company is betting big on retail.

That being said, Apple designed its in-store experience and trained their staff to provide mobile check-out with a focus on building relationships with customers and adding value to their lives instead of just sell them a product. Apple has over 500 stores worldwide but they also continue to innovate. Apple plans on improving its in-store experience by improving the hardware, software and architecture of its stores. Some stores now include a boardroom for the community and even a town square for bigger stores. Apple also plans on replacing around 35 stores with new ones each year.

Kuwaii’s strong values

Kuwaii is a fashion retailer based in Melbourne, Australia. They are focused on developing and designing top quality attire and footwear that’s made to last, which is the opposite of today’s fast fashion trends. Kuwaii’s first location opened in Brunswick, Melbourne in 2012 and the company doubled its size. They later opened yet another store in 2014 and doubled their business once again. How did they do it exactly? According to the Kuwaii’s owner, Kristy Barber, the secret lies in strong values and the local community.

Kuwaii’s key takeaway is that their items are created by hard-to-find artists and creators. Kuwaii supports and collaborates with artists and other brands by hosting sales and other events for them. Kuwaii also prefers to tell stories behind individual pieces of clothing and how they came to be. The fact of the matter is that you can attract consumers who relate to your values but only if you stick to your values at all times.

Books@One’s sense of community

If anyone can prove physical retail isn’t dead then it’s a retail bookstore. With the rise of digital formats, such as eBooks, people would think that hard-copy books will soon die out. However, every true book fan knows that nothing can replace paper when it comes to books, no matter how convenient eBooks might be. Books@One, a brick and mortar bookstore based in Ireland, is very well aware of how important books are.

Their goal is to not just sell books but create a sense of community where people can participate in events or simply sit down and enjoy a book while they sip coffee and chat with others. Their community-based initiative has the potential to change Ireland according to The Irish Times. For their takeaway on customer experience, Books@One owners Brid Conroy and Neil Paul said: “We’re creating an atmosphere where people engage with books in a communal way again.”

People are social beings, which means they need human interactions every now and then. Retail stores are there for when you want an experience you simply cannot have in the online world. That reason alone proves that brick and mortar stores aren’t going to die anytime soon.

Local Branding

Why Is 360 Degree Appraisal Tool Important?

Steven on January 17, 2019

Many people talk about the round 360 degrees appraisal these days, but if one looks back, this very concept began much earlier in the 1940s. This particular method is mainly used so that each and every employee of a particular company can get the equal opportunity to get a good performance feedback from the staff members, managers, supervisors and colleagues.

This is also a kind of multi-source feedback process and it is used as a proper assessment tool which is completely based on the performance of an individual. It can thus easily gather up all the feedback from the ones who are affected the performance of an individual in a particular job. So, it is very much essential to do this round about thing every year.

There are many companies which try to avoid this 360 degree employee evolution because this tool and process has a lot of complexity. There are a few chances that in case of 360 degree feedbacks there can be some misunderstandings. If that happens, then it is not a good thing. But at the same time, this 360 degree performance appraisal is a very powerful tool which can be used by a company so that the employees who work there can enhance their performances depending on the feedback they get.

There are some practical ways to do this thing so that the company or a business can benefit from this particular 360 degree feedback.

The primary thing is that, it easily opens the channel for more communication. When a company goes for an annual practice of using 360 degree feedback program on their employees, it also opens the passage of some rich communication problems and as a result of it, the problems that have been questioned and addresses can be easily resolved. As a result, the companies end up communicating effectively with the employees and bring out the best in them.
Also the employees can get some major feedbacks from their managers, supervisors, fellow colleagues and even from the subordinates by which they can rectify themselves. As a result of getting this peer feedback every year they try to better themselves which in turn brings profit and good to the organization.
Due to this feedback process, the team members can easily talk about each other and give their personal feedbacks and so in turn it creates a sense of accountability. This brings in some honest and open communications which clears up a lot of misunderstandings and the team can work as a transparent group which is very important for a company to flourish.
The company can also look after the feedback results and then decide how and on which field an employee needs to work more so that they can become more efficient. The company can introduce some training sessions as well if they see they need some in particular areas so that it can do more good to the company.

Why this is very powerful?

This entire feedback thing might sound complicated, but it is actually a very powerful process as it helps the leader of any team to get aligned with their subordinates. It caters in authentic team work and keeps the process going of continuous learning. It also develops the personal and company awareness at many levels. It helps one in continuous learning and the company discovers some truths in this process and can have a clear idea on where they stand in the market as an organization.

Find the right tool

This particular tool is very easy to fill and one requires very minimal technical skills in order to fill this up. The company can very easily set up the survey in the employees computers and from there one can fill up the things that ate needed to be filled up. But just like any other tools, this particular thing also has to be installed with the help of some trained professionals in order to stay away from any kind of technical glitch and complexities.

Once all the appraisals have been submitted, the company can easily get out the printed reports. These detailed reports are the thing that the company needs every year to bring improvements in the organization.

Many people may think that this appraisal process is a kind of performance review but that is not the fact. This particular thing has to be done mainly for the benefit of the company. This 360 degree performance appraisal is definitely not a way to measure the objectives and performances. It is also not a way to determine whether the employees are doing their hob correctly or whether they are meeting the basic requirements. This is not a tool which is focused on some job specific skills and basic technicalities. If this can be carefully implemented then this process can give the company and very proper and refreshing lift. It also adds to the advantage of the company’s competitive mode in the market. But the company has to be very clear when they are implementing this tool so that the experience remains hassle free and so that they can get all the proper feedback accurately.

When a company is thinking of implementing this 360 degree feedback process then they have to make sure that they have a proper and a very strong management system. A proper 360 degree performance reviews can also be used as a conjunction with one another for a powerful development of the company.

This is a much-tested tool and when a company is thinking of installing this particular tool, they need to go for the ones which are tried and tested. There are many formats available when it comes to these kinds of round appraisal things and one needs to pick the right one for their company. If the tool is not tested well then it can create much complications and problems which will not be good for the sake of the company. So one needs to do proper research before installing the right tool and use it.

Digital Branding Local Branding

Importance of Protecting Your Brand

Steven on January 15, 2019

As a business owner, nothing is as important as protecting your identity. In a world where competition can be fierce, you can’t afford to let your guard down. Businesses spend a lot of time and money on developing their brand that they’re willing to fight tooth and nail when they see their branding being used without their consent.

Like any business asset, your brand is something that needs protecting, too. Here are the reasons why it’s important for you to protect your brand:

Increases Your Value

A brand that’s treated with importance will reflect in its value. If you fail to protect your brand, it loses its value, and any entrepreneur knows that a brand with a low value is perceived to be cheap and unreliable. For example, when another business uses your brand identity such as your logo on a subpar product, customers will eventually associate that product to you. If you didn’t secure your brand such as trademarking your logo, you could potentially lose your business because you don’t have any legal standing over that logo.

Here’s how you can protect your brand and its value:

Trademarking – One of the best ways to protect your intellectual property assets is by trademarking them. You can trademark your logo, slogan, designs, and even words associated with your brand as this will give you legal backing. It will also enable you to use the trademark symbol “®” in your assets.
File a patent for your products – If you’re in the US, you can file for a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The application will take a few months and will be examined by a lawyer for compliance. Before submitting your documents, be sure to check the USPTO database if you have similarities with other applicants. Different countries have different copyright laws; register where your company is located. If you’re operating internationally, prioritize which territory you want to register in.
Include an intellectual property clause on your website agreement – This clause is essential if your business operates mainly on the web or if you have a mobile application. A provision on your Terms and Condition Agreement (T&C) protects your brand from users who are looking to copy your brand or use your content elsewhere. Always remember to add a copyright notice and use the copyright symbol too.

Increases Brand Awareness

With millions of companies vying for consumers’ attention, your brand needs to stand out. Advertisements are everywhere from search engines and social media and even while playing games. Consumers are bombarded with promotions on a daily basis, which is why it’s crucial for your business to stand out. However, when you don’t take care of your brand, how can you expect other people to care about it?

Here is how you increase brand awareness while still protecting your brand:

When partnering with influencers or other businesses, make sure they have a stellar reputation. Someone with a bad reputation will tarnish your brand, and it may be difficult for you to recover.
Be vigilant on where your branding materials are being used by using intellectual property management software.
If you can afford it, hire intellectual property lawyers who can effectively draft contracts and policies for you.
Know when to walk away when an existing partner no longer shares the same brand principles as yours as this can lower awareness in the long run.
Be sure to put your branding in every piece of content or product you produce.

Sets You Apart

More than having increased brand recognition, protecting your brand can help set you apart from competitors. Moreover, it will help consumers attach a specific feeling or experience with your brand. In essence, your brand is the personality of your business.

Take, for example, luxury brands. These brands intentionally make their slogans and promotional materials seem exclusive because that’s how they want people to see them. They are always careful with how they present their brand and they offer a distinct experience. The mere possession of these luxury brands can let people know the product owner’s social status. This is the reason why the knockoff business is a billion-dollar industry.

If you protect your brand, people will intentionally associate a certain level of distinction with your business. Although, in some cases, the association can be unintentional, such as the case of online customer reviews on blogs and other websites. However, if you’re always on top of your branding and you treat your brand as a valuable asset, you can remedy any negative association with it.

Conclusion

Your brand is your image to your customers, and establishing a recognizable brand is a road that’s long and full of challenges. The best way to ensure your business succeeds is by protecting your brand from infringement and thieves looking to capitalize on your reputation. Legal battles should always be your last option as these things can drag on for years. Being proactive in protecting your brand and understanding its importance to your business is the best way to secure your success.

Local Branding

5 Tips to Hiring The Best Promotional Models

Steven on January 5, 2019

Are you looking forward to boosting sales in your store? Perhaps you’re to take part in a tradeshow. You’ll definitely have to find a way to drive traffic to your booth. In both circumstances, hiring promotional models is a great idea. These can work alongside your executive and sales staff to promote lead generation and make presentations more exciting and engaging. To make the most from your hires, it requires grasping these 5 tips to hiring the best promotional models.

1. Check out their photos

Filters can make images misleading. Therefore, ensure to request the models for their photos. This should be a professional headshot plus a ¾ industry standard body shot. You can as well request for dated candids to preventing models from submitting older photos. This will ensure that you get the real impression of the person you’re about to hire to represent your brand.

2. Experience matters

After reviewing the photos, ensure to check their experience. it pays to hire models with experience handling your type of work. Staff with previous experience is a guarantee that the models have the poise and communication skills required to convey your brand message and intricacies. More experienced models have higher chances of meeting expectations on the actual day.

3. Get models from a staffing agency

Perhaps you’re too taken up with other tasks for the show. A great idea is to look for a professional agency with UAE female models. This will eliminate the tough job of selecting the right models for you. The agency will handle the job of selecting the right models to meet your requirements. These are usually experienced and have an interest in your industry. staffing agencies handle interviewing, screening, onboarding, and managing models.

4. Choose models with interest in your industry

Avoid working with models who just came to make some quick cash. Look for enthusiastic and genuine people with interest in your industry. These will be easier to work with. The agency can help identify models with an authentic interest in your industry, services, or products. Their knowledge and excitement will be invaluable when handling customers.

5. Look for trainable promotional models

Good promotional models should have more than looking the part. Ensure to find knowledgeable people about your industry. Consider a briefing session before the function or offering a script offering insight into your company. It will make the models understand the features and benefits of your products or services before the event. This is very important because the models are likely to answer questions from customers. Possession the right knowledge will lead to better results.

Bottom line

Your staff can make or break your marketing effort. A wonderful ideal to attract hordes of customers to your trade show booth or store is to hire some beautiful female models. These will answer customer questions, receive customers into your store, and give out promotions material about your business. The right staffing agency will come onboard to provide the right models to help enhance your marketing efforts. These have the right experience, are easily trainable, and have some knowledge about your industry.

Local Branding

5 Signs You’re Losing Customers to Competitors

Steven on December 14, 2018

This is a guest post by Sander Riya Image via Pexels

It’s important to nurture your customers every step of the way in every way you can. Unfortunately, a lot of companies make costly mistakes that cause customers who could easily have followed through with sales to fall through the cracks far to often. You want to not only land sales with leads, but also follow up with existing customers so that you get more out of your efforts to find them with repeat sales down the road. The number one thing you need to be aware of to optimize your relationship with leads and existing customers is know how to recognize when you’re losing them unnecessarily. The following are five signs that you’re losing your customers to your competitors. Understanding the following information about why companies lose customers will help you to better nurture customer relationships.

1. Your website is too confusing to navigate

A website needs to be user-friendly above all if it is going to encourage customers to follow through to making a purchase. A lot of companies make the mistake of valuing aesthetics over user friendliness, and this can often lead to the intense frustration of prospective customers. Remember that not every customer out there is going to be particularly savvy with using the Internet, and Internet users are notoriously impatient these days. If website visitors run into frustrations on your site, they’re simply going to head back to a search engine and find your competitors. There are many ways you can focus on making your website more user friendly. Just go through the process of making a purchase on your site yourself. If you think that process could be more simple, you need to look to your web master or web hosting services to find a way to simplify purchases.

2. You don’t reliably follow up with prospects

A prospective customer or past customer may quickly forget about your company if you’re not following up properly. You need to check back in before not too much time has passed after a customer’s initial inquiry. This will remind your customer you’re there. It will also give you a chance to acquire more information on what your customer is looking for. You can use SEO to stay in the picture by making it so that your company’s website comes up pretty reliably in search engine results. Beside email marketing, you can also use content marketing to send out information that’s useful to those in your target market. The biggest thing you need to work on developing if you want to be able to follow up practically and effectively is an email list that will allow you to conveniently keep in touch with those interested in your company.

3. Your website speed just isn’t cutting it

The simplicity of navigating your website is not the only important factor when it comes to online customer retention. Another important factor you need to be aware of is how fast your website is working for visitors. The more website visitors you have, the more demand there is that’s placed on your hosting capabilities. For this reason, you need to compare web hosting types over time and make sure that you’re using a package that offers enough memory, storage, and bandwidth for your needs.

4. You’re out of stock on many items

When it comes to E-commerce websites, customers will quickly become frustrated if they’re trying to buy things from you and you’re constantly out of stock. If this is a common situation, it might be time to start putting more effort into ordering inventory in advance so that you don’t run out. If the problem is with your supplier, it’s probably time to start looking for alternative suppliers who can keep you readily stocked on what you need. Customers aren’t just going to you for the quality of your products, but also the selection you offer and the reliability with which you carry items shown on your website. Obviously, your customers will quickly look elsewhere if your company is unable to supply them with what they’re looking for.

5. You haven’t put any effort into making your website mobile-friendly

More and more consumers are doing their online shopping using a smartphone. As consumers become more comfortable with smartphone shopping, you need to make sure you’re accommodating your customer’s desires. If you’re never paid any attention to how your website looks on a smartphone or if you’re not sure your site is responsively designed or not, you should really look into it. It’s important to realize that a lot of people don’t even use a computer at home these days and use their smartphone for website browsing. If your site is difficult or impossible to navigate on a smartphone, there’s no doubt that you’re missing out on a lot of customers. As a business owner, you need to examine whether or not you see any of these signs at your company. If you do, you need to start putting more effort into how you can retain customers. By making some tweaks to your online presence, you might be able to not only ensure better statistics with following through with leads, but you also may be able to win back old customers who missed buying from you and appreciate the helpful changes you’ve made.

About the author: Riya is an inspired writer writing in several areas of expertise. With spending her years working marketing communication, Riya is delighted to work with aspiring small business owners. Apart from her marketing expertise, Riya always enjoys reading pocketbook, cooking, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter, @sanderriya.

Digital Branding Local Branding

How Technology is Maximizing Output in Industrial Efficiency

Steven on December 10, 2018

A logo is the first thing customers notice and remember. It’s the face of a business. Designing a logo can be as challenging as coming up with a business name. A successful logo design is the one that sticks even when the name is forgotten. It should speak to people even without any words. Just like that of McDonald’s – people crave for burger and fries whenever they see the big Golden Arches that resembles an M. The logo is what makes you as a business.

To make sure that the logo you create will stand out and be as effective as that of the top brands right now, here are the dos and don’ts in creating your business logo.

Simplicity

Do
Make your logo simple and clear. Most of the best companies have the simplest logos. Take Nike, for example. When you see their logo printed on something, you’ll know it’s Nike, and you’ll know that it’s a quality product. Let the logo do the talking for you. It should express your business’ quality and philosophy without saying a word. Do ask for a design proposal from your designer and show it to a few of your people to see if it’s appealing to the majority.

Don’t
Putting too many images or details make the logo difficult to understand and remember. They defeat the purpose of having a logo, which is a representation of your company; you should’ve just written an essay if that’s the case.

Uniqueness

Do
If you want to stand out, you have to be different from the rest. For instance, if you want to start a burger business, you know that there are so many burger joints out there and they all have burgers in their logo. If you make your logo a burger too, you can’t say that your burger is any different from theirs. Think of something that will say burger without the actual burger. If you pull that off, your logo will surely click and will be remembered among the rest of the burger logos.

Don’t
Making a logo after another similar business isn’t going to work and may put you into trouble, so don’t bother making it. Creating a logo is your chance to show that you’re different, so don’t try to make a logo that looks the same as another just to show that you’re at par. You’ll just be ridiculed and laughed at, and your business will not stand a chance with the big ones. Your logo is not just a marketing tool. It’s going to be your brand’s image, and you’d want your image to be unique. So, squeeze out your creative juices and come up with a logo that’s original and one of a kind.
Font

Do
Make a logo that is easy on the eyes. A clear and straightforward logo utilizes fonts that are not too complicated. If you are creative enough, you can use a custom font – this will make your logo even more unique.

Don’t
Don’t make it hard for your customers to read what your logo is saying. If your logo is too complicated and unreadable, people will stay away from your products too, and that’s something you don’t want to happen.

Colors

Do
You may combine colors, but it’s best to stick with only a few. Three colors are acceptable depending on the design and concept, but two is ideally the maximum. Research the meaning of each color before you decide on which color you want to use for your logo. For instance, you wouldn’t want to use red or black if your business is about organic products. Colors also have emotional effects, so make sure that the logo’s colors stimulate the right emotions.

Don’t

Using more than two colors is an art but not particularly helpful for a logo. Colors that don’t convey the meaning or essence of your business are not the right ones.

Consistency

Do
Make sure that when you’ve come up with a logo, you’ll stick to it. This is how your brand will be recognized and remembered. Hence, when you create a logo, try your best to make one that you can live with for the rest of your business’ life.

Don’t
Changing your logo often will confuse your audience. You’re not promoting a good image and you will lose customers. No one will remember your company if your logo keeps on disappearing for a new one.

Meaning

Do
Create a design that has a meaning. You can’t just create an image without knowing what it’s for or what relevance it has for your business. There may be times that you’ll be asked by clients about the significance of your logo design, so you should have an explanation for it.

Don’t
Not knowing your logo will mean that you don’t know anything about your business. Don’t let your logo fail you. It represents your business and what you want your audience to feel about it. It’s your identity, so don’t make one that doesn’t have any relevance or meaning to your business.

Keep these tips in mind and always remember that your logo will define your business. Make it simple and understandable for people to remember. The most successful logos are the ones a child can recognize. Opt for lesser words and focus on just the logo itself. You will see the benefits of a well-designed logo to your business in the long run.

Local Branding

How To Create An Eye-Catching Exhibition Stand For A Tradeshow Or Event

Steven on December 4, 2018

Participating in trade shows or exhibitions is a great way to get the word out about your business. Unfortunately, however, it can be a little bit hard to stand out at these events, simply because there are so many other businesses participating. That is why it is so important to put a lot of careful thought into your exhibition stand. To create an eye-catching display that attracts a lot of attention, try using these seven tips:

Make The Design Of Your Stand As Noticeable As Possible

Creating a showy, noticeable display is the best way to grab the attention of people as they walk by and any good exhibition stand designers will help you achieve this. This is one situation where you definitely don’t want to blend in with the crowd. From a design standpoint, there are plenty of different ways that you can set your stand apart from those of your competitors. For instance, you can choose a stand that has a tall wall where your logo is prominently displayed. Bright, vibrant colors also do a great job of drawing the eye of anyone who happens to be walking by.

Create A Well Lit Area

The right lighting can make a big difference in the appearance of your stand. Use LED strips or spotlights to draw attention to key features that you want people to notice. Avoid going overboard, however, since bright, glaring lights can wind up driving people away. The key is to position your lighting in such a way that it enhances your booth rather than detracting from it. The right lighting design can make a real difference in how people perceive your stand and in how easy it is for them to see your products.

Take Advantage Of Social Media

Showcase your exhibition stand online through the use of social media. If you make it eye-catching enough to stand out at the show, it most likely will also get a lot of attention online. Best of all, social media makes it easier than ever to reach your target market. Sharing photos of your booth is especially important if you participate in a lot of different trade shows or events throughout the year. The more often you display your booth online, the easier it will be for people to recognize it when they see it at a show. Social media offers a lot of unique opportunities to connect with potential customers, making it a great marketing tool.

Consider Offering Refreshments

When people go to trade shows, they typically spend about five hours checking out all of the displays. By the time they reach your booth, they may be starting to feel a little bit tired. Offering refreshments is a great way to draw them in. You don’t have to go overboard. A simple drink or a small snack is usually enough to get people to stop and check out what you have to offer.

Create A Theme For Your Booth

Designing your booth around a central theme can be an effective marketing option. If you have an existing marketing campaign going, you can use that as your theme. Alternatively, you can come up with a new theme that is based around one of your new products or a new service that you are offering. Every time you create an exhibition stand, you have an opportunity to share your marketing message with the world. Choosing a different theme for each exhibit is a great way to get the word out about the products or services that you are most interested in promoting.

When creating an exhibition stand, it is all about paying attention to the small details. If you are hiring a company to build your stand for you, it is important to talk with them about your business so that they get a better idea of exactly what you are trying to achieve. Participating in trade shows is a great way to not only reach new customers but also to connect with other businesses. To get the most out of the exhibitions you participate in, it is well worth building a stand that you can be proud of.

Local Branding

5 Ways Promotional Models Will Boost Your Sales This Holiday

Steven on December 1, 2018

With the festive season around the corner and I’s a wonderful opportunity to boost sales. Every business owner is looking for ways to beat the competition. It’s high time you went on a creative streak to find a way to boost your sales. A wonderful idea to consider is to consider using promotional models. These can do a wonderful do of promoting your products and leaving a lasting impression on customers. Apart from boosting sales of existing products, the models are also essential when launching a new product. Take a quick glance at these 5 ways promotional models will boost your sales this holiday.

Image credit: uaestaff.com

1. Boosting your brand

It pays to create a lasting impression on the minds of customers. You have to have innovative ideas on how to create brand awareness about your products. Using promotional models will provide the right exposure to your brand needs. Additionally, your brand will get the promotion it requires. People will get to know about your products and develop the desire for them. So, professional models from an agency are a wonderful idea to introduce your products to the market.

2. Enhancing sales

The role of the marketing department in a business is to see a boost in sales. Innovative marketing ideas are required to make people get carried away by your promotional ideas. This is a wonderful idea to boost sales. Using promotional models is the trick to create a lasting impression on the market. This will make your brand gain immense popularity leading to growth in sales and better ROI.

3. Grabbing attention in the market

It’s a great idea to contact modeling agencies in Dubai for a male for promotional this festive season. These will help promote a particular product to target a specific audience to make market segmentation easier. This will ensure that your products grab the attention of people who need it. Additionally, marketing to the right market segment will help make our product gain popularity. The models can distribute fliers and give direct information about your products. These models will significantly make you a leader in your niche.

4. More successful product promotion

Regardless of whether you’re to sale in an exhibition or discount sale in your store, it pays to invest in promotional models. Attractive models are a wonderful idea to make people come to your store. These models capture the attention of people and help highlight your products and services. Having welcoming models at your entrances is a simple and innovative way to grab customers’ attention. This will significantly increase traffic to your store and more sales.

5. Offer an extra hand

Another way of investing in promotional models can enhance your sales this festive season is by giving your staff the chance to focus on core activities. The festive season is bound to be very busy. Therefore, you have to plan for ways of handling the huge number of customers. Apart from hiring regular staff that might not know what to do, hiring promotional models is a smart idea.

Wrapping up

The Christmas season is when businesses record the highest sales. To ensure you make the most from this period, hiring promotional models is a smart idea.

About the author

Ashly William is a freelance writer, with years of experience, creating content for varied online portals. Her content is published on many national and international publications. She has expertise in writing about Arts & Entertainment.

Local Branding

What Is an RTO and What Would You Need to Start One

Steven on November 27, 2018

The education industry is a vast and diverse one, however, not all of its beneficial aspects are intellectual and altruistic. By becoming an RTO (registered training organization), you can provide an invaluable service to those who desperately need it while making a profit for yourself along the way. RTO is an organization that provides vocational education and training (VET) to students in order to prepare them for their specialized careers later on. Now, even though there are over 5000 RTOs in Australia, most of which are in specialized niches, there’s still some room for growth and advancement.

1. TAFE vs. RTO

Before we proceed to discuss this important issue, it’s important to mention that there are a lot of people who mistake the term TAFE (technical and further education) with the term RTO. While on the surface, these two terms may sound somewhat similar, the fact is that TAFE is government owned and RTO is privately owned makes all the difference in the world. Other than this, TAFE is less niched than RTOs, which are mostly oriented towards equipping one to deal with a very narrow, specific set of services. As for the popularity and the issue of how widespread both of these organization types are, last year about 2.4 million students enrolled in various RTOs across the country, while only about 739,000 did so in various TAFE organizations.

2. RTOs in the business world

One of the greatest differences between RTOs and the traditional, formal, education, lies in the fact that RTO has a great application in the business world. First of all, an RTO expert can make an estimate of skills that are in the greatest demand by your business, as well as compose a development of training program that will allow for it to satisfy its needs. Other than consulting and planning, an RTO can provide training equipment, personnel and reliable RTO materials that are necessary for this task. Most important of all, sometimes knowledge isn’t enough and, in that case, RTO can produce a nationally-recognized qualification or a certificate. In other words, the RTO system isn’t just an element in the present-day business world, it’s one of its supporting pillars.

3. Steps to start an RTO

In order to launch your own RTO, you need to apply for a registration and fulfill several vital steps. First of all, you have to complete the application, pay all the fees for initial registration, go through an initial annual RTO registration charge (right away) and, of course, meet data provision requirements. Keep in mind that this organization isn’t just educational but also financial, in nature, which is why it’ll have to undergo a thorough audit. Later on, if necessary, you’ll have to make certain changes to registration and renew it year after year. Australian Skills Quality Authority is in charge of this and their decision is final, yet, their decision can be contested and changed, provided that you manage to persuade them otherwise. Still, the body reviewing your registration usually tends to be fair and unbiased.

In conclusion

Regardless if you’re someone with an aspiration of starting your own RTO or merely aim to collaborate with one (individually or as a business). Knowing how they work, why they are relevant and what types there are may help you understand them better. As for the registration process, getting familiar with the organization in charge of their approval and supervision might help you trust them substantially more in the future. Either way, all of the above-discussed is a common knowledge that’s more than worth possessing, even though a lot of people still remain oblivious when it comes to specifics of this topic.

Local Branding

6 Ways to Improve Brand Positioning (Fast)

Steven on November 1, 2018

Brand positioning is essential for any online business these days. It refers to the way your brand is positioned in your customers’ minds. It occurs whether or not you have a strategy in place because your customers will always have an impression of your business.

But you can help to direct your brand positioning by creating a distinct impression on your customer and ensuring they associate your brand with something desirable.

So, how can you set about improving your brand positioning? There are many ways, but here are six to help you get started—fast.

1. Determine Your Brand’s Personality

The first thing you need to do is determine your brand’s personality. Your brand already has a voice, whether you have made an effort with this or not. Customers will encounter this whenever they land on your website, see your social updates, or click your ads.

You should start by deciding what you want this voice to be. Should it be funny, strict, youthful, serious? Your voice will play a large role in your brand’s personality and how your brand is perceived by your customers. If you do not have a clear brand personality, you are increasing the chances that you will be forgotten all too easily by your customers.

Your personality is determined by the words you use, the design of your website, the types of social updates you post, the ads you run—everything that you do.

So decide what you want your brand personality to be. Create a firm idea of your brand voice, then write down exactly what you are going for and share it with all the stakeholders so they can use this to influence their activities.

2. Decide What Makes You Special

Why is your business different? Why would people want to choose you over your competitors? You need to know this if you want to stand out, and that means you need to know your unique selling proposition (USP).

This will help you to differentiate yourself in a competitive environment. Once you know what makes you special, you can communicate this to your customers.

This can be surprisingly tricky, but one good way to start is to look at your competitors and see what they are doing. As you look over their products, can you pinpoint ways in which your products or services are better?

Perhaps your products have something special about them, or maybe the way you do things is superior. If you were trying to convince someone to choose you, what negative aspects would you highlight about your competition? Do they take too long to deliver orders? Do they charge too much?

A fine example can be seen in the chocolate brand M&Ms. Claiming to melt in your mouth rather than your hand is a simple USP that appeals to a consumer desire that they might not have acknowledged themselves. The chocolate market is one that is heavily saturated, and yet this USP lifts M&Ms above the fray.

Create a list of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and determine what it is about your business that would make your customers want to choose you. Once you know, you can start making sure your customers know about it.

3. Know Who Your Customer Is

You also need to know exactly who your customer is. You may think you know, but do you really? You cannot position your brand properly until you know this; you have to position it at someone.

Create a marketing persona, or a few of them, and determine everything about your target customer. This should include their interests, dislikes, hopes, fears, the movies they watch, and more. See what they do on social media and work out what is important to them.

This can have a huge impact on improving your brand positioning. If you know who they are, what they want, and what matters to them, you can position your brand more effectively.

4. Tell Your Brand Story

Tell your brand story based around how you came into being, the problem you solved, and how your product or service was the solution. You will probably have one main product or product line that determines who you are and how your business came into being. Perhaps this is the product that you started your business around.

Telling your story can help to form a bond with your customers and highlight your shared values, which makes you come across as more trustworthy.

You see this all the time with nascent ecommerce businesses looking to get ahead of competitors in the digital space. For example, electronics websites are a great investment for entrepreneurs. There will always be a market for the latest gadgets and tech, but in such a saturated market it can be tough to stand out.

By creating a unique brand story that resonates with customers, brands can position themselves as more than simply a business. Brands can become relatable, friendly, and human.

5. Create a Positioning Statement

When you have done all of the above, you’ll be ready to create your positioning statement. This is a short statement, just a sentence or two, that communicates your value. It should include details of who your business is targeted at, why it is special, how you meet their expectations and how you fulfill their wishes.

This is an internal state for your business, so don’t worry about how snappy it is. Simply use it to influence your decisions, especially when it comes to marketing.

Your tagline is a shorter version of this that is more customer-focused. This is an external statement that you can use on your website or packaging. It’s usually punchier than a positioning statement and more memorable, and it can help you to quickly communicate your brand value.

6. Connect Emotionally with Your Customers

Finally, focus on connecting with your customers emotionally. You will only reach your customers and have an impact on them with an emotional connection.

One of the best ways to do this is with content, which provides you with an opportunity to go more in depth. Use content on your blog, for example, to engage. Don’t just promote, and instead use your content to educate and inform to connect on an emotional level.

These six tips will help you improve your brand positioning in no time at all. But don’t forget one of the most important things of all: consistency.

You need to be consistent with your brand positioning if you want to maximize its effect. Once you have determined your voice and your values, ensure you remain consistent everywhere, including your blog, advertising, social media, customer support, design, use of words, images—everywhere.

This way, you will help to make your brand more memorable and avoid confusion, creating a stronger connection with your customers that will last.

Patrick Foster, Ecommerce Enthusiast, and Entrepreneur

I’m a freelance ecommerce expert & serial entrepreneur. I love to write articles on ecommerce branding and content marketing for ambitious online sellers and hope to share some useful insight that will help to grow your business.