October 25th, 2009 by Bruce

Your enterprise needs to create a good picture in the minds of customers. Contrary to what many people think, branding isn’t just a logo. Your enterprise goal, focus, and image all unite to establish your brand. Why should you make this effort? The following are a couple of positives:

Company Image Branding

*Branding gives recognition. It’s tough to remember a firm with a generic name. You may not be able to distinguish their goal and business’s focus. And why would you call up a company if you couldn’t tell what they did? Branding your business makes consumers be familiar with what your business is all about.

*You get consumer loyalty. The fact is, people build familiar bonds with brands. Consumers want quality products they can believe in. So, your company should have an uniqueness that your consumers can share with. If your company delivers wonderful products and services and has a great brand identity, people will think of your company. In addition, they will generally become your word-of-mouth that will recommend your business.

You become renowned. You want the people who have not done business with you to think of your company when they do need your services. If they see your advertisements on billboards, hear them on radio, see them on television, or any other media, they will know your brand identity. And when the time comes that they want your product or service, your company will be the first to think of.

Consumers go for icon. We can be a very brand aware society. People generally relate to brand names with quality and may only purchase some brands for that reason. If people only want one brand of a specific product, they are willing to pay a higher price. Having a great brand will make your company have a better image and trigger consumers forget about the competition.

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October 17th, 2009 by Bruce

Having a thorough and all inclusive restaurant business plan is the first step toward increasing your chances of success in this rather competitive industry. As soon as you’ve decided to open a new restaurant, your next course of action should be writing a restaurant business plan, which is basically a document that you compile based on research you’ve done regarding the restaurant industry.

A restaurant business plan is an absolute must have if you foresee needing a loan or the help of an investor or partner any time in the future as all of them will want to know beforehand if your venture is worthy with potential.

The first section of any professional restaurant business plan is the “Executive Summary” which should describe your personal background as well as the reasons you have for starting your own company.

Next is the “Mission Statement” where you will list what it is you hope to achieve with your restaurant and your vision for success. You should also mention your company’s values and basic philosophies regarding customer service as well as employee matters. Brand yourself as a part of the community and also as a business that has the potential to be an asset to the surrounding merchants.

The third section of your restaurant business plan should be entitled “Goals” in which you would list in greater detail than in the mission statement about how you plan on progressing and succeeding in the business.

The goals don’t have to be grandiose or even long term but specific enough so that the reader is able to discern how successful you see the restaurant in a set time frame. For instance, write if you intend on doubling the number of customers in six months, or maybe the number of employees, or even your revenue over all, and be sure to cover the next three years.

After the goals you have outlined for your restaurant, your business plan should have a section devoted to “Ownership and Management” where you will describe who owns the business and at what percentage, if applicable, and list a basic structure for hiring new employees as the restaurant, hopefully, gets busier and busier.

“Start-up Costs” are another vital section of a restaurant business plan and this section should list all of the expenses you need to get the restaurant fully running and able to accommodate paying customers. Remember to allow for the inevitable unexpected costs that are sure to arise for a startup restaurant.

Next you should discuss “Funding,” detailing how you plan on funding the start-up phase of business, followed by “Location,” giving reasons as to why one particular area may be more profitable than another.

Other sections to consider putting in your restaurant business plan include “Competitive Analysis,” listing information about all of the other restaurants in the surrounding areas and how you plan on staying competitive, and “Marketing Plan” where you will outline how you intend on advertising and growing the business, and a “Financial Analysis” section with a spreadsheet detailing your expected monthly income as well as expenses.

Of course you can always structure or tailor your business plan to your exact liking, omitting or adding sections as needed, but the basic premise is to include all of the details necessary for an “outsider” to ascertain the owner’s intentions for the business as well as its expected potential.

An effective restaurant business plan can definitely help you to open a restaurant on the right foot and keep you on the path to success, allowing you to possibly achieve your goals even sooner than anticipated.

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October 6th, 2009 by Bruce

In todays fiercely competitive market any service or product that is out there today will need some kind of advertising in order to be a success. It doesn’t matter how good your widget may be, or how much has been spent on R&D, if no one knows of it existance then your product or service will be a failure.

It goes without saying that a marketing strategy of some description will be required and a corporate branding strategy can be very successful and increase your overall brand awareness. Equally you need to ensure that your chosen brand identity flows through and is recognizable in your web design , the graphic design of your business literature and of course any package design where appropriate.

Corporate branding is where a firm uses the company name or title as a brand name to further create a business identity in the public eye. Notable companies that often use this tactic are of course now familiar household names often selling a diverse range of products and services.Right from the off it is imperative that you keep this in mind when developing your market plan and you are familiar with the fact that most branding campaigns in the main consist of four core components.

Understand The Needs Of Your Targeted Market

Before you can properly use the corporate branding method you need to identify who you’re trying to sell these goods or services too. This is very important if your addressing a web based market as these tend to be very tightly focused, so it’s essential that your primary target customer is identified. If you are selling family friendly products for example its probably not best targeting a market predominantly single.

Know The Competition

After that you’ll need to have a good look at the competition in your market. An crucial aspect of brand development is creating differentiation between you and any potential competitors. You will need to take note of the others branding strategies so that you can ensure your business image is unique. A big part of corporate branding is staying away from anything hackneyed that the industry you’re in has tried before.

Ensure There Is A Vision Match

It pays to look at your offering too, is the mix right for your potential customer This will include the four basics of this feature which include:

• Pricing (is it right for the market)?
• Presentation ( is it audience sensitive)?
• Place
• Promotion (Is it appealing enough)?

Create a Unique Selling Proposition

Finally you need to create a unique sales proposition (USP). This will distance you and your offering from that of your competitors so it is no longer all about just price.

When you’ve fused these elements together, you’ll be able to see the direction that your corporate branding should take. What you come out with on the other side of the corporate branding process needs to be not only a solid representation of what your company can provide, but how they can accomplish that goal in a manner that’s different from the competition.

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