SmartBiz Marketing Blog is Moving!
I am proud to announce today that the Smart Biz Marketing Blog has been moved to my own domain
I appreciate every single read I’ve gotten from you on here and I will continue the tradition of the SmartBiz Marketing Blog providing useful articles for small business owners looking to improve their marketing position and gain more new business. If you have enjoyed my posts here, please go and subscribe to DarrenJDeverux.com and leave me a comment.
Thanks for the interest.
Darren J Deverux
The Meaning of Colors in Your Small Business Logo
When designing a logo for a small business one of the first things that needs to be discussed is the color scheme of the logo and the rest of the business’ brand. Colors are psychologically ingrained in us to mean different things and cause different emotional responses. Colors are powerful elements in any design. Different colors trigger a variety of feelings in those viewing it and it’s important that you understand the natural response that different colors cause in consumers when you’re deciding on what colors you’d like in your business.
Meanings: Alert!, Aggressive, Danger, Love, Passion, Action/Adventure, Drive, Energy, Excitement, Blood and Strength
Red is an intense color for humans. It causes passionate emotional responses spanning both sides of the spectrum (from alert and danger to passion and love.) It’s an exciting and dangerous color that attracts attention and raises blood pressure and can also cause us to get hungry.
Examples of Use in Logos: Coca-Cola, Red Bull, McDonald’s, Shell Gas Stations
Meanings: Femininity, Appreciation, Gentle, Delicate, Gratitude, Innocence, Floral, Girly, Romantic, Tranquil and Soft.
Pink is a feminine color that triggers feelings of innocence and delicateness. Stirring up thoughts of soft things like cotton candy and bubble gum, pink is commonly used for “girly” or feminine products and services and also is closely related with the cause of breast cancer awareness.
Examples of Use in Logos: Barbie, Victoria Secret
Meanings: Authority, Security, Confidence, Loyalty, Power, Dignity, Established, Calm, Success, and Trust.
Blue creates feelings of security and authority (such as with Police and Security services). Possibly the most popular color in corporate logo design. Blue is used in a number of Fortune 500 companies as well as law enforcement and other Governmental organizations.
Examples of Use in Logos: IBM, ADT Security, Ford, HP, Wal-Mart, GE
Meanings: Affordable, Creative, Youthful, Fun, Jovial, Enthusiastic, Lighthearted, and High-Spirited
Being a mix of red and yellow, Orange can encompass elements of both of those colors. It is not as intense as red but still attracts attention and is commonly found in logos meant to convey playfulness and other happy emotions.
Examples of Use in Logos: Amazon, Nickelodeon, JBL Speakers, ING Banking, Harley Davidson
Meanings: Nature, Renewal, Crisp, Fresh, Environmental, Health, Money, Harmony, Healing, Inexperience, and Tranquility.
Green is a soothing color that conveys feelings of nature and tranquility. While being a symbol for renewal and life it can also represent inexperience and jealousy. These days green is used quite a bit by companies wishing to show themselves to be eco-friendly.
Examples of Use in Logos: Animal Planet, Starbucks, Whole Foods, John Deere
Meanings: Cheerful, Positivity, Warmth, Sunshine, Cowardice, Curiosity, Happiness, Joy, Caution, and Playful
This bright and highly visible color can send some conflicting messages. While conveying feelings of warmth and positivity, yellow can also represent cowardice and caution for the viewer. Yellow is most often used to convey playfulness and to draw attention.
Examples of Use in Logos: McDonald’s, Subway, Shell Gasoline, Best Buy
Meanings: Fantasy, Regal, Justice, Royalty, Spirituality, Ceremony, Expensive, Mystery, Nobility and Sophistication
Purple can be found in many logos from companies wishing to convey luxury or mystery. Hotel chains, musicians, and religious products and services often employ the use of purple because of it’s ability to trigger feelings of nobility, sophistication, and ceremony.
Examples of Use in Logos: Yahoo, Hallmark, Cadbury
Meaning: Earth, Nature, Calm, Depth, Woodsy, Rough, Simplicity, Rich, and Serious.
Often used in construction related products, Brown conveys feelings of woodsy roughness. Brown is an earthy and natural toned color that conveys feelings of simplicity and seriousness while being natural and earthy. Any product or company involving wood or nature typically employs the use of brown.
Examples of Use in Logos: UPS, Timbertech Decking, Coach, Louis Vitton
Meaning: Formal, Bold, Authority, Tradition, Classic, Distinctive, Secrecy, Conservative, and Serious.
A lot of companies use black in their logo design for its boldness and simplicity. Black is devoid of color and it conveys feelings of authority and formality but can also imply secrecy . A classic choice that corporations and other traditional companies use possibly more than any other color.
Examples of Use in Logos: Nike, Goodyear, Ferrari, Adidas, Caterpillar, Microsoft
Meaning: Stability, Practicality, Somber, Respect, Corporate Mentality, Dullness, Humility, Authority, and Moody
Grey is used as an element in logos often because it is considered neutral and goes well with most colors. It has a cool element that will accentuate whichever color its used with. Also used for products related to steel, chrome and metal such as automobile companies.
Examples of Use in Logos: Dell, GM, WordPress
Meaning: Purity, Simplicity, Refined, Cleanliness, Truth, Innocence, Peace, and Sterile
White has always represented purity and peace. Another shade found in logos a lot as an element working with other colors. Also can be used as negative space or reversed text.
Examples of Use in Logos: Puma, Volkswagon, Swarovski, Harley Davidson
Additional Note about Logo Design: No matter which color you use in your logo. It should be designed in a way that can be use as an all white or all black vector image. This is important for times when you want to place your logo on material outside your own such as in sponsorship or other branding situations where you are giving your logo to somebody else to use. (See example below)
It’s important to understand the meaning of colors when designing a logo for your small business. Combinations of these colors also can produce different meanings and feelings and thinking about those concepts will help you create a logo that is in-line with your company message, goals, and objectives.
Show Me Your Logos! Did you create your company logo using any of the above color concepts or did you employ your own strategy? Please show me your logo in a comment and share your strategy for the design. Long live the small business owner.
How to Survive in Tough Economic Times – Small Business Winning
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Not sure if you’ve heard, but the economy isn’t doing so good these days (a newsflash I know) and now more than ever it’s important for small business owners to manage their costs as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately for small businesses across the country, the budget for marketing efforts are (sadly) one of the first things to get cut in a down economy. But I’m here to tell you that not only should your marketing efforts not be lessened in a time of economic downturn, they should be increased!
But how do I increase marketing when my business is earning less money?
When times get tough, it’s important to be resourceful if you want to survive. The way that you increase your marketing efforts without increasing your costs is to start shifting from traditional marketing methods such as TV, radio ads and print advertising and begin focusing on more affordable (but possibly more time-consuming) electronic marketing methods such as general online, local, social, and viral marketing. In this day and age there are so many things that you can do to advertise or bring attention to your business for low to no-cost.
If there was ever a time to be experimental with your marketing, even if it means spending a little time learning some new tricks, now is that time. Please take advantage of these articles below for a few ways on how you can tap into the global internet market of over 2 billion users.
General Internet Marketing
4 Things You Should Do For Your Business Right Now
8 Things Your Small Business Website Must Have
Local Marketing
Why Local Listings are Crucial to Your Small Business
How to Get Positive Reviews Online For Your Small Business
[INFOGRAPHIC] The Importance of Local Listings for Small Business
Social Marketing
The 4 Social Networks Your Business Should Be On
It’s your turn – Got any posts that could help small business owners market their businesses for low to no-cost? Post them in a comment and I’ll add them to the list.
7 Elements of a Killer Business Blog
Blogging has become one of the most effective ways for small businesses to connect with their customers online, spread their company message, and build trust and credibility with their consumers. Blogs a great way to retain and energize your customers and they’re also an effective way to interact with customers and drive website traffic. Blogging can increase your sales, leads, and optimization online but if you want to maximize the success of your business blog. It’s important that you implement these 7 crucial elements of a killer business blog.
1. Consistency (Schedule) – Keeping up with a consistent schedule of posting will probably be the biggest challenge for most beginning bloggers. It’s important that you post on a set schedule (once a week minimum) so customers can rely on getting information from you in a consistent way. A consistent stream of articles will encourage more people to read and subscribe to your blog.
2. Design – Staying on the topic of consistency, you want to make sure that the design of your blog meshes with the color and design of you company’s logos and website. The layout doesn’t have to match your website exactly, but the color scheme should be correct and all logos and branding should match. You also want to make sure your design is professional and eye-grabbing. Remember, you’re one of millions of blogs out there and you want to do what you can to stand out while still appearing credible.
3. RSS Subscribe Button – When people want to be notified every time your blog has a new post, or if they want to include a feed from your blog in their “reader” program, they need to subscribe to your RSS feed. You want to make it as easy as possible for readers to do this so make sure that your blog has a prominent RSS feed button somewhere on the front page. If your blog is missing that orange RSS Feed button it’s not going to be as successful at gaining subscribers as it should be. This is important.
4. Social Media Info – There should be clear and easily navigated buttons that let users follow, like, bookmark or friend your company on their favorite social network site. Make these buttons appear on your front page and encourage customers to connect with you on social sites they use. This way they can stay updated with your company blog using the social network site they’re most comfortable with.
5. Social Share Buttons – One of the best ways to get more views for your blog and build an online following is by having social share buttons at the bottom or top of each post that allow the reader to share your articles on the social site of their choosing with just one click. (See the buttons at the bottom of this post marked “Tweet” and “Share”)
6. Authors – You want to put a face behind the content you’re providing. Build professional online profiles of your contributing authors (even if it’s just one) and put it on it’s own page within your blog. (The “about” page is usually the best place for this)
7. Optimize Your Posts – Another important part of business blogging is making sure that your articles are optimized for search. This means that they are full of relevant keywords and properly tagged in the “tags” section of your blogging program.
It’s Your Turn – Do you have any other key elements of a company blog that should be added to this list? Leave us a comment or contact us with your key element to a successful business blog and we’ll post it in a follow-up blog.
[INFOGRAPHIC] The Importance of Local Listings for Small Business
To build on a previous post of mine Why Local Listings are Crucial for Small Businesses, I thought I’d compile a few pertinent statistics from surveys like the Brightlocal Local Consumer Review Survey into a nifty little infographic. The numbers that grabbed my attention were:
• 7 out of 10 online consumers trust reviews that they read on sites like Yelp, Google, and Yahoo Local
• 69% of online consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation
Feel free to use this infographic on your blogs and pages, I’m going to try to do more of these as I think up statistical groups that apply to small business marketing. If you have any ideas about infographics you’d like to see, leave it for me in a comment. Thanks for looking.
Importance of Local Listings Infographic - Small Business
The Art of Starting Today: How to Shun Complacency and Get Things Done
It’s common to reach a point as a small business owner where you know you have to do something to improve your marketing. You realize that your logo needs to be redone. You feel like your website looks like one of those homemade websites (because you made it at home). Your business cards have a different color scheme or design than your logo and it doesn’t even have your website address on them and don’t even start on your advertising efforts that you haven’t paid attention to in months or the thousand other things you’ve thought about but just didn’t have the motivation for.
Why aren’t I Motivated?
Maybe you don’t really “get” why these things are important. It feels like there’s always something that could be done, but hey, you’re not going out of business. So you don’t need to do those things today, right? Ab-so-frickin-lutely WRONG!
First of all, the reason you feel like you need to improve your marketing, is because you do! The problem is, for whatever reason, you don’t want to start what feels like is going to be a long process today. The major problem with that way of thinking is if you don’t start today it will get perpetually put off until tomorrow, which means it will never get done. The trick is just getting started on tasks that you don’t want to do.
A Real Trick
Well I’m here to tell you that 50% of getting those little tasks done is just starting on them. Starting is quite often the hardest part of a journey. Once you’ve gotten started on a task, such as upgrading your website, it has a way of building on itself and motivating the person doing it. Make it up in your mind that you are just going to start today. You’re not necessarily going to finish the task but at least decide that you are going to get the ball rolling today. Make a list of the things you need to do and start taking them on one at a time. Each item might break down into several smaller tasks, make another list for those and start knocking them out. The point is to make the decision that you are not going to waste another day just knowing you need to improve your marketing, you’re going to start today.
The magic of “starting today”
The real magic trick for motivation like this is to make up your mind to take on each task one at a time. Get excited about new and fresh ideas and lay out tasks to turn those ideas into action. Know that if you don’t ever take on these seemingly small tasks, they will never get done. Try not to look at the tasks as a great big group of things, instead just make a list and take them on one thing at a time. Try not to set goals that are larger than needed. Lay out tasks for one day at a time. Remember, starting today really is the key. Once the ball gets rolling on these various goals it will become easier to motivate yourself to finish them.
Overcoming Barriers
There’s always a reason not to do something if you look for it. We are good at setting up barriers for ourselves for things we really don’t want to do. We say “that won’t really help” or “it’s not worth it” but we know it will. Solidify in your mind the idea that you will not let barriers be the reason you don’t start something. Understand that this is a natural human reaction and let those negative thoughts come and go. Do not let barriers take you out of the mind-set that you are going to start today on improving your business. If it doesn’t work, so be it, but its better to try something with a noble cause and fail than to never have tried at all.
Read material on avoiding procrastination, such as this article: 11 Practical Ways to Avoid Procrastination
Breaking out of your routine and taking on new tasks can be challenging, but for small business owners it is an absolute must. After all, if you would’ve never opened your business in the first place, where would you be now? It was the act of starting today that got your company going and it will be the art of starting today that will advance your business onto the next thing it needs to stay relevant and profitable. Shun complacency! Make a list of things you can do to improve your marketing and start today.
Is Small Business Important to the U.S. Economy?
The US economy is going through what might be the slowest recovery in its history. Unemployment rates are sky high and people want answers as to why these large companies aren’t hiring more people. News and media stories have spent plenty of time covering the shortcomings of wall street investment firms, oil companies and automobile corporations. But what about the importance of small business?
Did you know that small businesses in the United States make up 99% of the employers, yet they account for only 30% of the total annual payroll? Companies with less than 100 employees make up half of the country’s employers. Those numbers mean that helping small business owners is going to be critical to lowering unemployment and growing our economy n the coming years. Small businesses currently employ over a third of our population and if it is able to grow then employment will grow with it.
Check out this infographic with more info about how important small business is in the U.S.
6 Elements of a Killer Logo for Your Small Business
It’s time to create (or upgrade) your company logo. You want something new, fresh, relevant, and you want it to scream:
“I am here, I am new and you should trust me and think I’m cool!”
So what goes into making a killer logo for a small business? One easy part about answering that question is: it’s the same stuff that goes into making a killer logo for a BIG business! Yes, your logo is an area of your marketing where you can absolutely compete on the level of any business. I’ve seen large corporations spend tens of thousands of dollars coming up with logos that weren’t as impressive as some start-up mom-and-pop logos I’ve seen. And there are plenty of stories of big companies using a logo that was drawn up by the owner on a napkin or something.
Whether you decide to hire a designer to create a logo for you, or you try to make one yourself, if you implement these 6 elements of a Killer Logo, you will increase your odds of making an effective graphic representation for your business that will instill confidence in buyers and hopefully improve your brand awareness and appreciation.
Memorable – A great logo is a symbol that sticks in a person’s mind for some reason. It is typically a combination of shapes and text uniquely positioned to express the company’s message in a simplistic symbol. If you can design a memorable company logo, it will be recognized more easily the next time a consumer sees it, and more easily the next time, and the next time, so on and so forth.
Professional and Clear – Perhaps nothing is more important about your logo than that it be professional looking and clear. The in-house, do-it-yourself design can work if you understand some key elements of graphic design. However, a professionally designed logo that is clear in its purpose adds credibility to your brand and generates more appreciate from your consumers.
Equally Effective in Black & White – Colorful logos must also be equally effective without color at all. It should be versatile enough to have the same exact impact if illustrated in all black or all white. Your logo will potentially be used on all sorts of mediums and you want to make sure it presents the same message when used without color.
Scalable –Another thing to be mindful of when developing your logo is that is be scalable for use at any size. Think, how will your logo stretch out on a billboard? Will it be equally effective in a smaller size such as your brochures, letterheads, and business cards? The logo should be clear and understandable from the smallest to largest scale.
Relevant – The colors, imagery , and symbolism of your logo will tell the story of your business to consumers. It’s important that these elements sync up with what your target market is thinking about when they’re looking for company’s like yours. For instance, if your in some sort of all-natural health organization you may choose to use colors that are relevant to that niche, such as earth tones (greens and browns). A good way to learn the relevancy of symbols and colors used in your industry is to research your competition and see what common elements are used in the logos of other successful companies in your sector.
Unique – Needless to say, if your logo looks similar to another logo it won’t have nearly the impact as a completely unique and original logo will. So roll up your sleeves and start creating ideas, symbols, colors and font that will create a brand new from scratch image that will represent your company and send the message you want it to. No clipart, no common font types, get creative, and make something special.
Timeless – Coca-Cola, Nike, McDonald’s, ABC all are great examples of timeless logos that have been able to last for decades without much updating. Part of what makes these logos timeless is that they followed the first 5 parts of this article. They’re memorable, professional, effective without color, can be used in all sizes, relevant, and unique. These clear and easily understood logos have stood the test of time because they effectively encompass a number of successful elements to produce a clear, concise, and memorable logo.
An effective logo takes a lot of thought, time, and sometimes money to create. The meaning of the logo should represent the purpose and mission of the company and it should be a unique design that can be used in multiple mediums. Ultimately, the goal of the logo is to connect the consumer with your brand through symbolic imagery. It’s the badge that represents your organization and should express the message you want it to.
Market Your Small Business Like an Octopus
It’s not uncommon for a client to ask me “What is the one thing we can do to improve our marketing right now?” I always make sure I’ve got a good ten minutes to go into the inevitable discussion that will come from my answer to this question. Because the answer is: there is no one thing. You’re not going to shoot a commercial, put it on local cable, and your good. You’re not going to offer one or two new promotions, and you’re set. Nope, doesn’t work like that, and trying to figure out that one thing you need to do is the wrong way to think about your company’s marketing plan.
You Must Be Like An Octopus
When you look for that one big knockout punch to market your company, you’re thinking like a human being, with only two arms. But if you want to develop a successful marketing plan, you need to think more like an octopus, having many arms out into the marketplace sweeping around for food (or customers). A successful marketing campaign is not led by any single effort but is, in fact, an accumulation of many different marketing efforts all coming back to one thing, your business, or the mouth of the octopus.
Because there is no one thing that is going to make all the difference in marketing your small business, you should develop a plan that lays out multiple things that your company is going to do to market itself. A successful marketing campaign does not have a single flagship item for which all the other items play second fiddle to. A successful marketing plan lays out a group of efforts that essentially bring the octopus food back to the mouth of the octopus (or customers to your business.)
Small Business Owner Mentality
Small Business owners are entrepreneurs, and successful entrepreneurs are typically very talented jugglers. They can often be master-jugglers of the highest sort in-fact and what they juggle is the thousands of different moving parts that go into making their company operate and profit. These people are great at focusing on a single issue, making a quick decision, and moving onto the next issue with equal focus. It’s a very efficient way to be. But it can make for a lack of creativity when it comes to developing an effective marketing plan. Be sure that you’re marketing plan is a group of efforts and you’re not gambling your entire budget on any one thing. It’s a culmunation of a bunch of different things that are going to help your business generate more leads, retain more customers, and gain more new clients.
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