Filed under: Advertising, Branding, Business, Entrepreneur, Marketing, Social Media, Word-of-mouth marketing by Kathy Heasley
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A while back I asked the folks on Twitter to submit their biggest marketing problems. One tweeter wrote, “How do you convince the C-suite that word of mouth works, i.e. spending $ on customer gifts & special attention.” Well, getting support from the top is a problem most marketers can relate to, particularly if you work in old guard companies that haven’t seized new methods and ideas.  What do you do?  (more…)

Filed under: Advertising, Branding, Business, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Marketing, Moments, Social Media, Word-of-mouth marketing by Kathy Heasley
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Who says you can’t deliver a product or service from the heart no matter who you are, where you work or who you work for? Building a brand with heart starts one person, one day at a time. Meet this TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) worker. I met him passing through security on my way to give a speech on branding in London, England last month. There I was, standing in a long line, the lone American in a sea of foreign exchange students from Korea, parents and children from the countries of Europe, Asia and Africa and business people from South America, Australia and everywhere else in the world. My ears were filled with a collage of languages, few of them English. (more…)

Filed under: Branding, Business, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Marketing, Moments by Kathy Heasley
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People may not say it out loud, but sometimes I know they are thinking it.  What’s heart got to do with business?  Especially when I’m talking with marketing directors or corporate VPs who have been trained to believe that great brands, and therefore great businesses, are built by the numbers.  Well, there is no doubt that numbers in business are important.  I’m a business owner; we track the numbers to be sure.  But as a business owner, and a former employee of several companies, I know that the way to create a really great company—one that consistently delivers great numbers—is by making sure you are a company with heart.  Don’t believe me?  (more…)

Filed under: Branding, Business, Entrepreneur, Marketing, Uncategorized by Kathy Heasley
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Have you ever heard the quote from the legendary Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing every day that scares you”? When you decide to embark upon becoming a brand, you won’t have to worry about achieving Eleanor’s milestone every day. Building yourself into a brand is not for the faint of heart. But it is well worth it. Having a brand is the prerequisite for building assets that work while you’re sleeping and generate income in the process. Unless you’re happy working for every dollar you earn, you might want to read on. The sooner you start building your brand, the sooner it will start generating cash for you. Here’s my formula: (more…)

Filed under: Branding, Entrepreneur by Kathy Heasley
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Have you heard? You better go to the bathroom before you get on a RyanAir flight or have a little pocket change on hand. That’s right, the British budget airline brand is making headlines around the world as the carrier that is now charging for using the toilet. They will also be eliminating two out of three of their on-board facilities—replacing them with more seats—leaving one bathroom for up to 189 passengers. Guys, be sure to take your Flomax, and gals, well, never mind, you’ll probably be okay. 

Can you believe any company, even one known for no-frills flying would want this kind of buzz associated with their brand when it could simply charge an extra pound or two per flight per passenger and be done with it? But that’s not all, RyanAir will be charging for carry-on bags too. I wonder what’s next. How much will a seat belt cost? Or a flotation device? Sorry no air for you until you cough up two euros for that oxygen mask. (more…)

Filed under: Branding, Entrepreneur, Moments by Kathy Heasley
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Succeeding with social media is simple, right?  Anyone can create a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn page and make instant strides in sales and marketing.  (Cue laugh track…laugh track, go!)  Yes, people actually believe this, and while it would be great if it was true, success with social media just isn’t that simple.  It takes a lot more strategy, creativity and old-fashioned marketing smarts to make it work.  Use it incorrectly, and you can do more damage than good.  Save yourself from creating your own social nightmare by avoiding these business-busting blunders.  You’ll be glad you did. (more…)

Filed under: Branding, Entrepreneur, Marketing, Social Media by Kathy Heasley
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Randy, Ellen, Kara, Simon.  Every week millions of TV viewers across America welcome them into their homes for the most popular music show on the tube: American Idol.  But is it really a music show, or is a branding show? Think about it.  Marketers and business owners can learn a lot from the music world, a place where great brands crank out products that make a bundle.  If you sing it they will come?  Not really, unless you’re a brand. (more…)

Filed under: Branding, Entrepreneur, Marketing, Moments, Pop Culture by Kathy Heasley
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Fifteen years ago, I left a corporate marketing management position to start my own company, and here’s why I did it.  There were lots of reasons, actually.  Reasons like wanting to work up to my own standard, wanting to stop making “five guys rich” as I used to say, wanting to spread my wings and grow professionally.  But the biggest reason was that I was tired of corporate politics.  I called it “kingdom building” and if you have worked in, or currently work in, a corporation then you may have experienced it once or twice.  I’m not sure what causes kingdom building, but corporations just breed people who equate importance with the number of people “under them” or with the number of projects on their “task lists.”  These people actually believe that because they have amassed a large team with many managers under them, that they are somehow securing their jobs.  They also believe that a long task list is like some sort of armor that will protect them when the downsizing axe falls.

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Filed under: Entrepreneur by Kathy Heasley
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