This is my true Business War Story about what happens when a billionaire CEO is fed up with "consultant's babble." [ 😱 insert SCREAM! here ] It's about strategic and tactical recommendations … how they may be perceived by a billionaire CEO… and tuna fish with some grated onion. "The story you are about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent." ( 🎶 Cue Dragnet theme music.) • • • Some years ago I'd been working with a well-known company in L.A. — doing a combination of strategic consulting, direct mail marketing and training. All had been going well… or so I thought. I used to love my trips out t "The Coast," usually 10 days with that coveted weekend in the middle. I'd been doing that I'd bring my Rollerblades for a day-long skate on Sundays from Santa Monica to Redondo Beach. Sunshine, great exercise. Past the muscle builders, bikini girls, jugglers, and assorted loonies on the boardwalk. It was a joyous circus. While I usually work with SMB, this business program was for a bigger company, bigger scope of work. After digging deep into the organization's strategy, direct mail marketing program, processes, and training the marketing team on direct mail techniques (essential to their business)… … I was finishing a presentation of next-step recommendations.in the main conference room Our consultant (me) was in The Zone. George, the Number 2 Guy at the company, was pleased that the components were fitting together nicely. Two of his generals agreed. And we're headed down the runway for a lunch break. I was starving — I'd only had coffee and a banana, 5 or 6 hours earlier at the break of dawn). Right at that point, a stately gentleman — looking a good bit like Mr. Rogers' dad — quietly walks into the room. Most everyone sits up a little straighter. Haven't met him, must be high-level management. He plops down… crosses his legs… leans over his knees for a moment to glance at the whiteboard. "Why in the world would you recommend ___________ , when we've always ______________ before!" he asks with a sneer. The style is not particularly friendly. He attacks Joel with a barrage of non=stop questions. Boom! Boom! 😱 Perspective questions. Boom! Drill-down details. Boom! Big picture now. Dripping toxic skepticism of most recommendations and explanations. Boom-Boom! 😱 I don't like strategy consultants, he says. Direct mail consultants don't know what they're doing, he says. Explain what you mean by (any point), he keeps demanding. Strategic questions. Targeted marketing questions. Me the consultant was getting a little warm. I wasn't a criminal and I wasn't under a hot spotlight at the police station. Boom! Boom! Boom! 😱 One after the other. Now to the executive team: Do they think these recommendations are any good? Did they understand how to implement these tactics? Sometimes the gentleman doesn't wait for a full answer before the next question. I catch a quick glimpse of one wide-eyed, open-mouthed guy looking at his buddy across the conference table, as if to say "Oh, sweat, Joel is getting a whoopin'!" Boom! Boom! 😱 Back to Joel, Did you consider other options, why did you choose these? Wait…the executive management team had just been wowed!… … now this?! [ insert colloquial 3-letter acronym 😱 for ASTONISHMENT here ] Why the attack? "Why this?" I thought, Who does this guy think he is? The provocateur was reserved, but clearly a senior-level guy with authority in a roomful of executives. Wait — with a half-moment of not dodging the spiraling bullets, like in The Matrix… I realize "the guy" might be Jack, the legendary, multi-billionaire CEO. No time for meandering, focus right back on the recommendations. They had been written over a few weeks, developed over a few months. They were good, Or at least I thought so.. Strategy & tactics. They provided strong value to the company — a combination of fundamental needs and innovative approaches. Why have these obliterated by a random ambush…even if this guy is high-level? It seemed so capricious and improper… Though thrown by the attack, I gave a to-the-point explanation to every successive challenge. Defending the recommendations. Clarifying apparent misconceptions. Providing perspective. Looking back, my thinking combined doubling-down… flexibility where it made sense… and a few "I dunno, I'll check that out." responses. It lasted 35 or 40 minutes. Non-stop. I was feeling like a blackened burger trying to jump off the grill. The interrogator suddenly stops. Stands up. Takes one more mental snapshot of the whiteboard. Walks out of the room without a word. Whew! George, the Number 2 In Command, says to me ,"That was Jack." Yep, The iconic multi-billionaire CEO. The room was quiet for a minute. ("Yikes! What did I just do? Did I just do the right thing?"). Breathe. Okay, then. Go on. During the next few minutes we tie up the recommendations in a nice bow, and start the lunch break. There were a few person-to-person glances as people left the conference room — Iit seemed to indicate "Does this consultant guy from Atlanta with the New York accent have any idea that he shouldn't be talking to Jack that way?!" Joel retreats to his "onsite office." For 20 minutes after the meeting, our consultant is glazed over,. Exhausted.. "Boy, did I just do a number on myself, I just pushed back against the boss, a hugely successful person who has built a business empire, and I'm just a little guy, a hired gun on a contract." Our consultant expects to be unceremoniously kicked in the butt… bounced out… pointed back to the airport with his tail between his legs, for slamming the CEO's comments. Especially in front of his execs. , At that 20 minute point, George, the 2nd In Command, glides by the nice little onsite office Joel had been getting used to. George still has remnants of a wide-eyed "Are You kidding me?!" look I hadn't seen in the few months of working together. He had just spoken to Jack. Turns out this iconic CEO hates, hates, hates consultants! But he somehow seemed okay with the meeting. Then it dawned on me that months ago George mentioned the boss "hates consultants." But they hired me anyway, so it didn't cross my mind again.. Then after a few months of good feedback, this "challenge" — this overt provocation —  in the meeting. Jeepers. George says Jack wanted to know: Did this consultant have real rationales, real strategic thinking, real experience,… behind the recommendations? Were these working sessions — that were sucking up the time of some of his executives — worth the money? And would these recommendations be worth it when it cost many times more, to roll out in marketing campaigns? George didn't suggest that Jack was satisfied or not, I don't think he knew. But -- for the first-time ever, I'm told — this business icon would pick me up at 12:35 at the South Entrance… to continue the conversation over lunch! No way! Did I screw up enough to earn more of Jack's Wrath? He wants to talk more… but he'd already grilled me. Does he get involved at this level? Does he want to berate me for being a smartass? Did I embarrass him? Did he value any of the work? Yes, I was early at the South Entrance, watching a number of cars pull up, waiting for some hot ride, like a Jag or Maserati , but didn't see Jack. At the stroke of 12:35, a 15-year-old Toyota Road Runner pulls up, windows roll down, "Hi, Joel… jump in!" Joel asks Jack where we were headed… assuming it was going to be a fancy L.A. restaurant. The boss said we were headed to his home in Beverly Hills! And to this point, I still wasn't sure if I was going to get more pushback on the recommendations, our interaction… Some small talk and long silences while Jack chauffeured, The boss seemed focused on his driving, squinting over his bifocals, or deep in thought. The house was decidedly… unimpressive. A 20-minute drive, and we arrived at a ranch house in Beverly Hills. Not the palatial estate envisioned as we drove past serious mansions. Car parked outside with a guy watching us. And the house looked bigger on the inside. The kitchen had a brand-new refrigerator… but the dark wood paneling said 1950's. No kitchen renovation? The place looked well-lived and musty, but smelled clean. The CEO lookd more relaxed as he played short-order cook — he made tuna, with a measured dollop of mayo, and a small bit of grated onion,. He had really good rye bread available, crispy crust. Wrong kinda pickle, no problem.. Served in elegant mansion style… on a Dixie paper plate. He told Joel that consultants and his underlings usually don't tell him the truth. He can't stand that!  He gave me 3 examples of that disingenuous behavior — they were awful panderings. Jack tells me he likes his reality unvarnished. (I 'd also picked up that phrase from my consulting mentor, Robert Fritz). And he really liked my recommendations and straightforward defense when attacked. Jack smiled. Hot damn! Truth can win. Straightforward works. I was feeling tears of relief and validation coming on, but shut that down fast — just act like this happens every day, I thought, Right. It was a great conversation, unhurried — covering strategy, branding, direct mail marketing, operations, even confidential stuff about personnel and how two teams were working together. We were having a conversation. Two guys. Yeah, right… "two guys." I knew I was in the presence of greatness, and I certainly was humbled. Okay, a little intimidated, but mostly okay. His questions were well within my expertise. I'd seriously done the work — a barrel of formal and informal consulting to discover details that fed my recommendations. Our exchange was candid and friendly… spirited… sometimes even playful. He wanted to know if I liked the tuna. (It really was good!) He gave me feedback from the meeting, about what he and I said during the meeting. He even sorta apologized for his attack, with a sheepish grin. Lunch lasted well over 2 hours! It stopped at a very natural point. Jack said there was a driver outside to take me back to the hotel. I got into the car I'd seen waiting since we'd arrived. (Oh, sweat… he had been ready to send me back from the moment we arrived!) I asked the driver to drop me a mile or so from the hotel, this day needed a brisk walk. By the time I got back to the hotel in Santa Monica there was a dark wooden box with a little latch, waiting for me inside my room — the box had two crystal glasses… and a bottle of 25-year-old Balvenie Skotch! OMG. Now that was a most .excellent day! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joel Alpert is a Swiss Army Knife consultant with a pocketful of unconventional skills in strategic thinking, brand development, direct mail marketing, and other specialized business goodies. He's worked with large and small companies, usually SMB. You can visit: www.MarketPowerOnline.com

In this fast-paced OMG world, our actions are not always clear, efficient and productive. We want to stimulate fresh ideas and unlock “aha!” moments of insight. This video — with Q&A from the group — was presented to the Sowgrow Marketing Council, a group that shares insider tips on marketing. Watch it with your own business in mind… think of how you might use s ome of these examples to accelerate your own business growth. [ Some ways to think about "Strategic Thinking" were presented in a workshop in the Atlanta Area on March 7, 2024… http://tinyurl.com/2pads2m5 Here are some of those topics that open up our strategic thinking, that can be used for strategic planning,… developing marketin gplans and social media content programs… • Defining strategic thinking: Are we tackling the right challenges and assumptions? • Navigating the nuances between Strategy and Branding: Understanding the crucial distinctions and identifying opportunities for synergy. • Branding impressions… and beyond those first impressions. Some unconventional insights into the opportunities we may miss to shape our company brand • The strategic importance of Product Development and Refinement: How it influences branding and drives profitability. • Insider tips from a robust strategic planning process: Discover how to leverage strategic planning as both a strength and a potential pitfall. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joel Alpert is Chief Lightbulb at MarketPower, and brings experience and expertise to SMB, He's trained and worked with renowned strategic innovator Robert Fritz… and has worked for Fortune 500, SMB, startups, solopreneurs… at top national ad agencies, and with  his consultancy, MarketPower. Get in touch if you want to explore customizable programs to integrate your strategy, branding and targeted marketing. http://www.MarketPowerOnline.com

You know what sets Marketing Experts apart in today's saturated online landscape? Direct Mail. That's right – Direct Mail, a powerhouse in Direct Response Marketing, stands out as a fast and highly effective strategy. In contrast to the challenges posed by poor Google SEO responses and crowded email inboxes, Direct Mail cuts through the noise. Imagine placing a tangible, attention-grabbing marketing communication directly into the hands of your prospects, on your own terms and timeline, without being dictated by algorithms. The potential to captivate your target audience is unparalleled. Direct Mail Marketing offers a diverse array of tools – paper, texture, color, metallic ink, folding techniques, hidden panels, embossing, 3-dimensional elements, self-mailers that make an impact. These are the tools that not only communicate but also leave a lasting impression on your audience. Timing is everything, and with Direct Mail, you have the flexibility to send targeted promotions to your audience precisely when you want, with the compelling Call to Action (CTA) you desire. The types of campaigns and formats are unlimited. We've used various approaches, from simple postcards… official-looking letters… sgraphic self-mailers… to innovative packages like a series of hats in a box. And the results have been impressive. Sure, Direct Mail might cost more than email, and yes, some of it might be wasted. But here's the thing – when you hit the right people at the right time, the engagement and conversion rates soar. You enter the sales closing process swiftly and efficiently. Direct Mail – it's a game-changer. I know! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joel Alpert, PDM is a Certified Direct Marketer, and has sudyed with and worked with some of the pioneers of the field — including Bob Stone, Martin Baier, Sol Blumenfeld, Emily Soell. He's worked with "the biggest and smallest companies in America."

Updated Jan 2024 You already know that to be successful your business needs a clear purposeful direction. And you want to make a strong first impression with your brand and marketing. You do this to sell more effectively. Sometimes, however, brands are halfway there. Often a logo and tagline isn't backed by strategic business direction, or thought-throh branding. Often product and service descriptions, offers, and customer service are only part-way on target, or key points are missed (not engaging, or not offered the way prospects want to buy). Often a website doesn't address prospect questions with a clear logical flow (wait, what...?). The boss knows revenue is needed now: "Don’t worry about that mumbo jumbo,," the boss says, "we need to bring in more business now. We'll probably fix that strategy and branding stuff when more sales are made…" "And we don’t really need this branding stuff that badly anyway…we’re in a relationship business. So forget a new logo and tagline and some fancy-pants website, we’ve been doing business without them." You’re a git-er-done guy or gal. So you spring into ACTION: • You contact more prospects than a Nigerian prince with a fortune that just needs depositing in your U.S. account (and you get $2MM just for using your account… that was easy). • Your new keywords pulverize the SEO out of every paragraph…and you think you can even improve your AdWords campaign (even though it's not producing much now.) • You post on Instagram more often than a caffeinated influencer pushing the new caramel mocha latte with sparkly sprinkles. • You hand out flyers with discount codes more efficiently than a one-armed paper hanger. • You power-up the new business presentation to anyone in the elevator .who mentions your line of business. You even add a new salesgal. You push past your limits like a high-intensity aerobic and anaerobic workout, with all kinds of marketing tactics… social media posts…expos… and trade shows and sponsorships, postboards n the town square… and…and…and… BUT-BUT… BUT WAIT A MINUTE! All these efforts… bring your prospects back to your website and new business presentations, right?! And these are driven by your branding and your product/service offerings… …and what if these aren't quite thought through fully, and don't rally engage your audience?! Wait, wha-a-t? With your fuzzy strategy… fuzzy branding… fuzzy product and service offerings… fuzzy processes… and fuzzy marketing communication… things are looking kinda....fuzzy! Is your prospects’ first impression of your website and your business: “Um...so I think I sorta get what you do…” "I think you do something that might help us, but TLDR..." Or: “Yes, saw your site, we'll keep your business in mind....” Do you really want to present your “sorta good enough” branding and website to your best prospects, smart buyers — who are shopping the market, exploring the nuances of your brand, products, and services, and making buying decisions? They may have been drawn in by your amazing blog post that your SEO guy optimized. Maybe they saw a post, a Google ad, came via a referral, or you've even set up a sales call that showed promise. Will you wonder why your efforts are getting just a lukewarm reception… and you're not gaining the business? Did you gain their interest in your product or area of business, but some other business wowed them and got the sale? Yikes! That often occurs not because your competitors have a better product or service — but only because they have thought-through the components of hteir business and presented them clearly. Your competitors made it easier for prospects to understand and appreciate their strategy, branding, messaging, product or service, offer and customer experience… and it spoke directly to the interests of the same prospects you're trying to sell. Unfortunately, you’ve just wasted a whole lotta effort and marketing dollars! And you likely have cut off some of your best prospects,even after they've responded to your sales and marketing efforts — because once they say "nah.…"! And at that point, it's pretty hard to get them to change their minds! Diddley-dang… your competition just ate your lunch! This is a very big question: Is your "Branding" just a logo, part of a Things To Do List, to pop onto your website...or is it a central strategic driving force? If you look at the Strategy/Branding as something on your TTD list -- not as generative and the core of your integrated thinking -- you will screw yourself royally. Strategy and branding are not stickers you slap on… they're the engine that drives your business. Your business strategy and branding should guide most things you do — from the markets you select…the way you develop, customize and present your products and services... your website content and SEO… and everything else. It is the foundation for growth… and you never want to build on a weak foundation. >> Good strategy (market segmentation and focus, key business decisions and more) should lead to good branding >> (which tells prospects they may want to do business with you) >> Good branding builds the foundation for strong business (starting with your website, products and services, and marketing materials >> >> Content and marketing programs build leads and sales. Thinking through stuff like presenting your brand, your products and services, should not be considered plug-ins that you get to "whenever." They are essential… part of a continuum… like an airport with runways that are long-enough! In reality, you can't cross a chasm in two leaps! If you present something muddled … you’re really presenting a different offering to your prospects. It might as well be a different company — a company that has no clear identity and direction. And the prospects you've tried to cultivate will meander off with "Hey I’ve got to make a call…" Most businesspeople are moving way too quickly to explore this epiphany: good strategy and branding lead to stronger ways of doing business, new markets, new ways of sales and marketing. You are defining and articulating your offerings in a stronger way, attracting and engaging your prospects and customers, and closing sales (faster). And you're making your boss happy again! And you really have to keep up. Because your markets have changed. Your company has evolved. Your competitors have likely improved their branding, and the overall standard for branding in the marketplace is higher. You've got to stay current, and you certainly want to put your best foot forward. You don’t have to be an Einstein to quote him — “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Yep! And if we don’t approach growth or innovation freshly, we miss capitalizing on our biggest asset — our ability to think! Set Your Business Direction — Where Are You Going? And Is Your Brand Development Keeping Up With You? First, get the destination straight. Are we going to the beach,…skiing in Colorado? When you know, you pack your bags. Not the other way around. If you ski in a swimsuit and flip-flops it's gonna be chilly! And you don’t want to bring your ski parka and insulated gloves to Jamaica, mon… do you feel me? Practically, if you shift the order of what you do — strategy and branding first, as guiding forces — you'll change everything. You'll have your destination, map and compass. So you can produce the business results you want with clarity and alacrity. Guaranteed. Are you feeling irie? ------------------------- Joel Alpert helps clients gain business results and profitability with level-up tools in strategic thinking, branding, and targeted marketing communications for companies of all sizes, startups … SMB… to the Big Kids and non-profits. He thinks he can figure out with you… how to "do what now." Updated Jan 2024

INSIGHT 1: Get Ready For “Aha!” Don’t you love that amazing “aha!” moment when you discover great new insights for your business? It’s like a jolt of caffeine! Well, fellow business junkies, I’d like to share some strategic thinking insights that are unusual. As we discuss next-step business issues, you could fairly ask: “Hey, what should we do now?” That's a good open question, but there's a question that can be even more valuable to your business: “”How can we benefit from a shift in “the way we think” about the company… how could we open up valuable new ideas?" Remember that Albert Einstein quote: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” He was really smart! You can step back & think strategically, or just solve problems You already know the fundamental concepts of strategy, branding and marketing. And if you haven't clarified this in your own thinking yet, strategic planning and thinking through business issues are just as important for small and medium-sized companies as it they are for the Fortune 500. Arguably more so for the SMB / SME, because there are fewer resources you can afford to waste. But if you’re focused on immediate business needs — solving the problem du jour — key nuances of strategy and branding can get lost. Dang-didley-dang! Take a deep breath and a good look at the direction of your company — macro and micro. Because the decisions you make when you’re not involved in “producing results”…will affect everything you try to do to produce results! “Reacting” is what you do when the alarm clock goes off in the morning. “Creating” is when you decide to cook dinner, and you do something different. Architecture is creating. Problem-Solving is demolition! With demolition, you want to destroy the problem With architecture, you want to bring something into being. Start “creating” what you really want for your business, and this objective strategic thinking orientation will jumpstart all your efforts. Some quick tips to get started, if you really want to gain thinking insight: 1) Be willing to slow down. Stop scanning. Really think. Don’t just react. You’ll find strategic nuances you never expected. 2) Begrudging… or Energizing? Is your attitude about developing strategy for our business "because I have to"? Or is it "because I want to"? Are you engaging the power of human creativity in you htoughts, speeach, and actions, to produce something wonderful? 3) Stop solving problems. Start creating what you want. 4) You’re a serious adult… but “allow” your inner kid’s curiosity! 5) Get Visual… go to the whiteboard, not the computer. You’re more creative there, draw diagrams and doodles and connections between components of your thinking and the business 5) …so you can literally step back and be objective. (If your whiteboard was your artwork, you might notice where more details are needed…where they color needs adjustment… where a small refinement changes as lot. Objectivity is reality … and seeing reality is critical. The two most important points on your route are your destination and your current location (your current reality). 6) Be flexible in your thinking: Screw up. Yes your business is serious… but don’t take yourself so damn seriously! Laugh. Move on. Refine. If you stay focused on what you really want, you'll likely get there. When does real business transformation tend to happen? So in essence, your approach to business thinking is key. That thinking "runs things," like your computer's Operating System. Transformation happens when you are really engaged, when you work up a sweat…not with cool academic business school distance. With engaged thinking that's based on what you truly want to create for the business — not the problem you want to kill —  you can empower any area of your business. That includes all the stuff mentioned here so far, plus HR and Recruiting, Operations, Process Management, Training, Content Strategy and Marketing, Customer Support…you name it! And since business is in the business of creating opportunities — not throwing them away — I’ll continue to share a total of 7 insights from the business battlefield, from a unique consulting perspective I’ve worked with extensively… plus the widest client experience you've ever heard of, on all kinds of programs. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NEXT POST: 2023: Gain These 7 Powerful Insights On Strategy & Branding" Insight 2: Is your strategy a "generative engine"? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You might also enjoy Strategic Secrets In Eggdrop Soup, It’s a deep look into soup… and the secrets it can reveal! We invite you to check out other Strategic Thinking insights in this PowerBlog. Cartoon by Robert Fritz, from : "A short course in Creating what you always wanted to but couldn't before because nobody ever told you how because they didn't know either."

Part 2 of 7: "2023: Gain These 7 Powerful Insights On Strategy & Branding" Strategy > Branding > Business Infrastructure > Website, Social, Promo “Come on! Let’s go! Time’s a-wastin’!” Many well-meaning entrepreneurs and executives want to develop and start selling their products and services, before laying out a roadmap of what these do for their prospects, and how to go about positioning and selling them in the marketplace. The instinct to do move forward is a good idea… but the foundation must be set up for it to be successful. You don't want your sales efforts to bleed on the battlefield. You don’t want chaos in your systems, or AWOL leads and sales. If you’re moving ahead quickly — but don’t quite know where you’re going — you’ll get somewhere fast. Just remind me…where are we going? Strategic Planning should include a bit more, with a shift in focus. You need to lay out your plan. When you think about it – and please do! — strategic thinking is not a “fill-in-the-blanks” exercise to “solve a problem” in the fastest way possible It’s about creating results. Most obviously, your strategic thinking should result in producing leads and sales. But there's more to make it work.. So you want to include in the components of your thinking ALL the relevant components of success, when it’s done. Yes, you'll want your spiffy new logo (which needs to represent a strong business machine), and a new website that’s useful to prospects… but also key components such as smooth back-end processes. Trained CSRs. Happy customers. You don't just want to focus on your product launch. Why do you do this? Because you just don't want your launch to fizzle. We introduced a new strategic initiative for a telecom provider with a Direct Marketing program that was launched in 17 cities. It had hundreds of crafted partner offers to encourage participation of its cellphone users, providing customers with value and encouraging loyalty. What's so bad about that? What could go wrong? Well, in checking out the back-end, to make sure our response mechanism were lined up with their processes,, we realized the client just wasn't ready for processing responses, and the CSRs hadn't even heard of this major program. We suggested to upper management that they hold off a few weeks until they could get their ducks in a row, and we expected they would. They wouldn't. It was scheduled to launch. What happened? The lead generation program was very successful, with raving testimonials. But within a few weeks, the program fizzled because the back-end just wasn't ready. Gimme a break. The reason you do strategic thinking... is because you don't want your business efforts to fizzle! There are any number of places your plan could misfire. You might not have a good process for delivering results. Your products or services might have problems that need to be addressed. Could be your capacity can't keep up with sales. But there's more. Those are now the actual goals that are part of your “Desired End Result.” They are not add-ons, and they don’t get produced in a vacuum. You’ve considered them, they’re important, and you want to create a pathway to get there. That’s the strategic compass point you want to follow. Is your "strategic plan" sitting on a shelf in a a binder? You don't want your strategic planning or strategic thinking on any program to sit on the shelf and become useless 3-ring binder babble. It should be a do-able Action Plan. You want to refer to this plan often. You want this thinking to be clear, with next steps which your team understands, and uses to create success. In one unusual example, when Covid gave a client pause, we worked actively for 3 months on re-inventing a mobile repair business. “How” we will do business will be radically changed. That new “How” that affects all strategic thinking we have done — business strategy, branding and positioning, website and online presence, marketing strategy, staffing, equipment, recruiting, training, back-end processes, and more. All produced materials would have been different before this caffeination of our strategic thinking. That’s not using strategy as an add-on… that’s using strategy as a compass point…an effective bridge to a successful future. BONUS 1 So what makes for good strategic thinking? Well here are some questions to consider for good strategic planning and strategic thinking that address key company issues. It's objective, are you clear about the goal and the starting point? Is it quantifiable... do you have steps towards the goal. and measurements? Are you taking into account all that's relevant within the big picture? Are you solving a problem… or creating what you really want? Is it really a "goal" or a process to get there? Does it focus on long-term goals, and use an action plan to get there? Can leaders and team understand and explain it? Is the intended audience impacted by it in a good way? Do people know their jobs, where their work fits into the big picture, what's next? (call this "controlled autonomy") Will you have reasonably clear criteria for when any process goal and the Desired End Result is completed? And there may be additional — or different — criteria that figure into your business. --------------------------------- Insight 2) STRATEGIC THINKING IS NOT AN 'ADD-ON", IT SHOULD BE GENERATIVE! --------------------------------- Next installment of: "2023: Gain These 7 Powerful Insights On Strategy & Branding" Insight 3: "We can add branding later… right?" --------------------------------- BONUS 2 Want a CEO-level "strategic thinking challenge" that's different from anything you've ever explored? Why so many business efforts of all kinds fizzle (and why it's not even their fault!) This quick video will describe a remarkable phenomenon…these 8 minutes will shake up the apple cart! Bonus Video: "Struck Inside The Strategic Thinking Matrix"? The Sowgrow Marketing Council hosted this online meeting of experienced marketing professionals... Joel Alpert presented this insight, explaining why so many efforts fail across branding, marketing, HR, management… --------------------------------- Joel Alpert is Chief Lightbulb at MarketPower. Explore the site and discover why the work we do in strategy, branding, and targeted marketing and more… has high value to your company. www.MarketPowerOnline.com/blog

Strategy > Branding > < Business Infrastructure > Website, Social, Promo Many business owners and directors of small and large companies fall into the trap of jumping into marketing, before the "marketing infrastructure" is reasonably complete. That could be company branding, for a product or service, or even an event. They’ll say: let’s start marketing now, so we can produce real results faster. Then we’ll add the branding… you know, the logo and the other stuff. However, there’s a significant problem with that. ”Branding” is not a kids “sticker” that you peel and place anywhere…it should be a driving force in your business Branding is not a separate component. It’s both the face of your business, the retail storefront, and a central driving force of the business. You don't "stick" branding on your business or marketing communications. Branding drives business. It's cited as being a significant part of business valuation… because it drives business. It’s the first impression, the center of the communications engine, and process behind the communications and customer interaction. Shouldn't this "branding stuff" be a driving force that guides and integrates all the rest? Think through where “branding” sits in your company’s business, positioning, marketing, sales, and customer interactions. Branding is your business "stick shift"! When you think it through, and figure out what your company, products and services provide for your customers — including such key elements as the buying process (Customer Journey) and customer service — you’ll develop effective plans to turn prospects into customers. Your branding will be driven by your company purpose, your strategic direction, your brand focus. This “branding stuff” is what you’re saying to customers. It's how they understand you. You’ve thought through your offerings fully. And if you’re doing something rare, you'll tweak the product and services offerings to really fit the prospect’s interests. From the big broad brush strokes… to the copywriting and visual style of your communications. Then you figure out how to have this be the foundation of your communication… and THEN you get out there with your SEO, your marketing, your promotions, your sales! "Can't we just add it later," you ask? If you do a crappy job at branding, and go after your best prospects… (unless you have a monopoly on the market)… …you drive people back to your website with your promotion… and they don’t get it. Or they don’t love it. Or it looks kind of ancient. You’ve enticed your best prospects… but they’ll go elsewhere. Someone else eats your lunch. Tsk, tsk. (So you'll want to get it right at the get-go — don’t think "build it and they will come," … because you'll want to ask: Come to what, something they're not sure they like?) If you pause long enough to fully think through you're brand identity and its development and scope… you'll level-up your branding. Not because it looks pretty. But because it makes your business results look pretty good! A friend asked me as this was posted: "How could you market without a brand?" As if that's impossible. Being "without a brand," happens often (even though it's a contradiction in terms). A company may have a name, a logo, products and services… but hasn't thought through how to articulate a range of product positioning, marketing messages (and their language and style), processes, product tweaks, training for customer interactions…and more, In that case, you have a company. That company has a brand. But it's a very weak brand, without an identity and focus. Of course you don't want that, you want to use branding to build company value.. In the book "Brands and Branding," one chief executive notes that "companies that move from the (basic) traditional idea that the brand is about advertising and marketing to using the brand as an organizing idea in their corporate strategy, to touch and inform everything they and their people make, do and say, may find that they ‘have made more progress as business then we achieved in the previous ten years.’ ” In fact, if you want to talk dollars and cents, they also note… “The intangible element of the combined market capitalization of the S&P 500 has increased to around 80%, compared with some 30% twenty years ago, and is likely to grow even further. And that book shows lots of other specific examples of financial value to be gained with stronger branding. Some businesspeople run together the definitions of “Strategy” and “Branding” No problem. What you call these, is less important than what each should do. The focus of each discipline is clear: In essence… Strategy defines your business and its markets, how you sell to them, “how” you do business, and more. If its not clear and distinctive, your work in sales and promotion is compromised at best. Branding is that first impression, of course if starts with the logo, tagline, website, business card… but when done well, it includes all the customer interactions they'll have wth your company — your brand! So, for example… If you focused your business efforts for your vitamin-fortified apple juice on senior citizens ( call that “strategy” or "branding")… you wouldn’t have a photo of a baby on the label to represent your brand (even though that’s also a market for your juice). Combine strong strategic thinking with strong branding, and you’ll start gaining market share , profitability, and lots of ice cream! Game on! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Insight 3 in this Series: DON’T TREAT BRANDING LIKE A STICKER! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Next set installment of: 2023: Gain These 7 Powerful Insights On Strategy & Branding" Insight 4: Tired of Playing "Business Whac-A-Mole"? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bonus: If you want to explore this idea and its implications, check out “Do What Now?” right here on the PowerBlog - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joel Alpert is Chief Lightbulb at MarketPower. But don’t be singing “You Light Up My Life”…unless you can do it on key!) Joel is into this “integrated idea” that strategy > drives branding… and branding > drives marketing,… and marketing > drives sales. What were you thinking?

For spelling fams, Whac-A-Mole iand Whack-A-Mole are both correct. The first is the original video game. Aren't we all "problem-solving" in multiple areas of business— Strategy, Branding, Management, HR — and isn't that a good thing? Doesn’t it sound like problem-solving is exactly what any responsible business owner should do? Are we going to let problems ran rampant, , cause problems, and damage our businesses? Seems to make immediate and obvious sense that we should solve problems, address those issues as soon as they come up. But wait… let’s step back. We might observe that many business issues seem to reoccur. So when we keep "solving" many day-to-day problems that pop up, aren't we just whacking away at them, like the Whac-A-Mole game? There may be more here than meets the eye, and unmasking some of it may be a service. Here's my take on insights gained from training with Robert Fritz, Inc.: When we react and respond, we’re solving a problem. (Duh!) However, it’s a short-term way of dealing with the issue. We grab a mallet and "Whack-A-Mole" to kill the problem. Our motivation: We want to make the problem go away.! The only problem is the mole pops up — again and again and again! — and bites you on the butt! Arrrrrrrrrrgh! So wait… problem-solving is primarily a short-term way of dealing with business issues? Strategic Thinking & the Problem with Problem-Solving — How Many Issues Become Management Problems You've seen it. These recurring problems — and recurring actions — happen in many areas of business. Are these examples familiar at all? Strategy, where the company wants to expand and grow, then they want to downsize. Rebranding, where the company thinks their messaging and customer service functions are on target, sme in the company think products and services have evolved off brand Recruitment or Capacity problems — keeps the business from growing when sales come in High turnover — because of inadequate salaries, or bad work environment Employee Frustration — they want to do a good job, but did management define goals, provide resources and pathways, or change the plan midstream again? Organizational Management, OMG are you serious? Another reorg? We think we should "solve" these problems..but there's an ironic dynamic that tends to occur with problem-solving: You gotta problem… ⬇️ At first, we take lots of action to get rid of this big bad problem . . ⬇️ Yay, some improvement. So now we need to take less action. After all, it's some gone._ ⬇️ But then — yikes! — since there's less "problem solving" effort being exerted, the problem pushes back again. And the problem you thought you killed, comes back ,…and says (in the voice of Nelson Muntz from The Simpsons): "Hah-hah! Whacked you over the head…AGAIN!" The difference between "problem-solving" and "creating results… …is like the difference between deleting emails again and again and again… or …unsubscribing. It's like the difference between demolition and architecture. With demolition, you're trying to get rid of something. With architecture, you're designing and building. So why do smart businesspeople run around "solving problems"? They do it for good reason! It's obvious that businesspeople want to solve a problem. Who wouldn't want their problem to go away?! Some owners and managers like to be "firefighters" and put out the fire whenever it rages — they're good at it, and they see it as a service. They may also be feuling the fire. Often this phenomenon is unseen because we're running around "doing"…... instead of stepping back for a the big picture. There’s life beyond Whac-A-Mole. We can engage in "problem solving" more effectively by addressing the cause of an issue. And creating a solution orientation that’s build around what you want (not what you don’t want). We all have a lot to learn in this area. Because we’re human.…and we want to use our superpowers for the good. But let’s direct them to really produce what we want. This orientation — about "creating results" — is pivotal for small-medium business and solopreneurs,… not just the Fortune 500. To bastardize the poetry of Rumi… “there’s life beyond reaction and responding. There’s a field where we put structure into place that works. I'll meet you there.” - - - - - - - - - - INSIGHT 4) Stop Whac-A-Mole Problem-Solving, it’s better for you, and the moles won't have headaches! - - - - - - - - - - Joel Alpert is Chief Lightbulb of MarketPower. His expertise includes strategic thinking, brand identity, marketing communications, direct marketing, personal branding, and more. He draws on the expertise of his mentor Robert Fritz, who has developed many key distinctions ‚— this one between "problem solving" and "creating." "Whac-A-Mole" is a Hasbro game — it's better if that's not the game you're playing in business..

Nobody is accusing you of murder. Not yet. But if you've been thinking about a rebrand for a while, you might be killing your best business prospects! Because you don't want to miss presenting your best business case, and not meeting their interests.. Shift Happens! Does your business need rebranding, or a "brand refresh" because it just needs work, or you've made updates to your company, product, or services? Have you really done anything wrong? No, not at all. It’s a natural need — your business and the marketplace continuously evolve. Shift happens. But not living up to your business potential, and losing out to the competition, is an egregious strategic and communications disconnect — punishable by loss of business and opportunity. It's not that we need new ideas... but we need to stop having old ideas." — Edward Land, Co-Founder Polaroid Rebranding gives you a chance to do your own best work and compete…even (and especially!) if you’ve been in business for years. To keep up with the market, you have to think. Think about how you present your work to interested prospects right now, considering potential limitations of your company's branding/marketing or muddled delivery of service. And how different that would be if you adjusted your product offerings to better meet marketplace needs and presented and delivered them seamlessly.. (You'd do this because it makes a real difference.) Think about how competitors and market leaders present their work. (They may do it better… or you can jump ahead by guiding your organization to do it better than the market leaders!) Think – for a 1/2-sec — of your prospects’ short attention span! And how you need to engage their interest quickly. Simply, when you line this all up… you sell more. If you don’t maintain a strongly branded company, products, and services… you will kill off your best prospects. They may initially be attracted to your company… but they'll go to competitors who seem to offer a better match for their interests. Ironically, their services and products may or may not be better in reality! It's just they explained it better… or their product/service names and graphics weer more engaging… or they made it easier to do business with them… Business Owners, ask yourself: Don’t I work too hard to let my competition eat my lunch and gain my market share? Of course the answer is obvious, as long as you;re asking the right questions. It’s time to be a transformer. When you create this brand morphing — sometimes a smaller “correction” and sometimes a major “transformation” — you energize your business and its relationships. And gain more business. But doesn't it cost good money to rebrand? Yes. And doesn't it cost you money for salaries and overhead? And, even more so — opportunity cost? In the big picture of overhead, salaries, inventory, training and more… not very much. And it costs you prospects and profitability — far more money! — if you don't. Shouldn't we sell more first… and pay for the strategy and branding work with increased sales later? Do you really want to go out into the marketplace with lukewam company identity and lukewarm product/service offerings? That's not a cure for sluggish sales. If you want to engage your audience(s) you'll want to bring the prospect through your company doors — your brand. The branding of the your products and services can make them feel at home. Or a little out of place,. Button that up — and that articulation of why prospects should buy from you, makes all the difference in the world to your sales results. And you'll want to note — if this branding stuff isn't pretty close to spot-on, you may initially gain the interest of your prospects… but they'll continue to shop — and likely go to your competitors, who brand themselves better. You'll kill your best prospects. Nope, don't wanna do that. But don't you lose valuable brand equity if you rebrand? If your branding is sub-par, you lose valuable opportunity to gain prospects right now. If your "brand equity" is like 3-Day Old Milk — not good enough to drink, but not bad enough to throw out — is it really worth keeping? Plus, here's a crazy secret that seems counter-intuitive: We can affirm that your rebrand is a superb marketing opportunity that helps you gain new business over time, as expected… but also for most businesses in the short-term, by ensuring that your transformation in the spotlight. (Why wouldn't you want to draw attention to that evolution?!) How often should you rebrand? You don't want to rebrand too often . Realize that your prospects — and customers — are swimming on an ocean of products, design, services, websites... and they just want a clear fix on who you are, what you do, and how they can remember your organization. Y'know, stuff like that. Y'know, the stuff that is sorta your brand. To ensure your products and services stay competitive in their substance, and in your marketing communication....this brand consultant recommends that you check your branding radar every year. That doesn't mean you must take action, big or small. Just do the check, to ensure your products and services are in line with your brand and the marketplace needs. Don’t go nuts on too-frequent or too extensive rebranding. If your strategic and branding direction is calibrated for True North, you may be good as-is, or just update some wording (an exercise wrth doing). You can make periodic changes in graphics such as "hero image" on your homepage… but not too often. And don;t mess with colors and type and navigation (unless really needed periodically)… you're not making it better, you're confusing your audience. Rememeber, you see your website very frequently… your audience does not. You want to maintain some sense of consistency,along with your evolution. Yes, these contrasting forces can be tricky to balance. Good judgment is vital here. I have a client who has revamped their website every 9-10 months for a decade. That’s way too much. Even though “brand ≠ website” you’ll confuse your audience. That new look can be considered a brand, but you don't want to do a rebrand every time one of your Transformer parts squeaks. (Even if you're a nonprofit, and the service is donated!) Take a fresh look at these brand components…these may need work: • Company Name — is it bullseye, clear, memorable? • Domain Name— are your prospects clear or confused? • Logo — does it represent your company well? • Tagline— does it expand and enhance your understanding of the company name? • Website Content and User Experience— from architecture to key components that move the sales process forward more quickly…to look and colors • Product & Service Offerings— what you offer and the "way" you offer them... are they really meeting marketplace needs? Are there some intelligent tweaks you might easily make to cross that chasm? We love doing just that!) • Customer Service and Customer Experience — Don't you think it should be in sync with what you're saying about the business?! (Don't say "No kidding, baby" until you check out yours!) • Your Marketing Communications— does it have it's own "voice"…does it gain leads and sell? If your social or targeted marketing works.... an interested suspect/prospects will visit your website.... • Social Media Marketing — is it good enough to motivate and is it shareable? Are you putting out content that speaks to your audience interests? Can they find it.... and do you distribute it? • Targeted Marketing— want to capitalize on your social media development? • Sales & Investor Presentations— bullseye, tailored, guided by your branding • ...and more. "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."— Albert Einstein Your marketplace offering and perception won’t transform by themselves. If you aren’t evolving your strategy, branding and offerings every few years, you’re likely to be missing opportunities with your own good products and services in the marketplace… and giving your competition the opportunity to gain a piece of your market share. So consider: If you did rebrand...and align your business and branding and marketing thinking...don't you think your business would be more productive, efficient and more profitable? ------------------- Joel Alpert is a Brand Consultant in Atlanta who uses a unique combination of proprietary strategic consulting tools and creative superpowers to engineer marketplace impact. He works with “the largest and smallest companies in America.” Find out more about our unique strategic consulting, rebranding, effective marketing communications, personal branding and more — connect here on LinkedIn, and come visit: https://www.marketpoweronline.com/atlanta-rebrand-consultant Power ReBrand — It’s Time To Level Up, Matching Your Brand Identity To Your Best Offerings ...plus, follow the links for tips unique perspective you won't find anywhere else on branding, rebranding "what's a "brand refresh," and more!

Is it really worth investing in an ethereal idea called "brand"? How can you evaluate the value of a brand? "Brands are conceptually tricky. In the words of Jeremy Bullmore of WPP, they are “fiendishly complicated, elusive, slippery, half-real/half virtual things. When CEOs try to think about brands, their brains hurt." Here is some key perspective about the monetary value of brand identity. BRAND CONFUSION “Part of the confusion (about "brand") comes from the fact that the word “brand,” as a noun, is used in different ways. “Which brand did you buy?”— a brand is a named product or service. “Which brand shall we use for this new product?” — brands are trade marks. What IS a brand? While you'll hear different definitions, here's a definition by Joel Alpert of MarketPower: A brand is the customer perception which you create…the overall identity of all your marketing communications, activities, and customer interactions. This includes key components of company name, logo, tagline, domain name… positioning of your company, products and services… sales and marketing materials… customer service and all company interactions… essentially your conscious development of all areas of the business and the way you present these to your target audience(s). It's purpose is to engage the interest of buyers and enable a more efficient sales process. “How will brand development strengthen or weaken our company?” — brand refers to customers’ and others’ expectations about products or services sold under a specific trade mark or about the company which provides them.” Can brand identity can be created within social media? Social Media may be where you blast it… but its not the identity itself. Your brand has many "touchpoints," and when you get the primary ones in focus you're headed in the right direction." Once you (start to) brand… you'll realize it's value, and want to apply it across your business. You'll see the impact it has in a relatively short period of time. These key excerpts were excerpted by Joel Alpert from “Brands And Branding” (Bloomberg Press), "The clarity of focus that a strong brand positioning gives organizations will always create more effectiveness, efficiency and competitive advantage across all operations; and from a pragmatic financial perspective, research among investment communities confirms that clarity of strategy is one of the first criteria for judging companies.” “As one chief executive noted, those who move from the (basic) traditional idea that the brand is about advertising and marketing to using the brand as an organizing idea in their corporate strategy, to touch and inform everything they and their people make, do and say, may find that they ‘have made more progress as business then we achieved in the previous ten years.’ ” BRAND VALUE “The intangible element of the combined market capitalization of the S&P 500 has increased to around 80%, compared with some 30% twenty years ago, and is likely to grow even further as tangible distinctions between businesses become less sustainable. The brand element of that combined market value amounts to around one-third of the total, which confirms the brand as the most important single corporate asset.” “Warren Buffet, the world’s most famous (and least sentimental) investor told a group of investors that brand is the most important factor in deciding where to invest.” "Strong brands mean more return, for less risk." “If branding is treated as a cosmetic exercise only, and regarded as merely a new name/logo, stationery and possibly a new advertising campaign, it will have only a superficial effect at best….Reputation is, after all, reality with a lag effect. Branding needs to start with a clear point of view on what an organization should be about and how it will deliver sustainable competitive advantage; then it is about organizing all product, service, and corporate operations to deliver that.” “If the brand is the most important organizational asset, it makes rational sense for it to be a central management preoccupation. Business strategy is, or should be, brand strategy, and vice versa.” THE POWER OF AN OPEN MIND “Creativity and imagination are crucial to the success of a brand. It is the easiest thing to in the world for people to approach new naming, product development, design and advertising ideas with an open mouth and a closed mind.” “To distinguish itself effectively and efficiently from other organizations, it is helpful to have some kind of shorthand: visual or verbal symbols…” “…these elements will engage and inspire people, externally and internally,to the advantage of the organization.” The Bottom Line from Joel Brand Strategy includes perceptions and reality...from company name, logo & tagline to product/service development to tagline....to customer service and all interactions and beyond. Your basic strategic and branding communications form the foundation for business growth and successful marketing communications. Map out your plans to address perception and reality…do a great job on both! - – - – – - – - – - – - – - – - - Joel Alpert is a branding and marketing specialist who combines (1) a proprietary strategic consulting and branding process which gets at the essence of your business and brand strategy quickly and definitively (using the innovative thinking developed by Robert Fritz, Inc.) (2) huge experience producing effective, award-winning branding and marketing communication programs for large and small companies and agencies across the country. (3) experience working with "the largest and smallest organizations in America." Connect on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelalpert123 Come Visit: www.MarketPowerOnline.com Quotes are from Author/Compiler Rita Clifton, a leading practitioner and commentator on branding; CEO/Chairman of Interbrand, a global brand consultancy. You might want to read this multi-author compilation, with multiple perspectives on Branding that particularly appeal to Business Owners, CEOs/CFOs who are trying to rationalize the spend they know they need, but who want to ensure, as best as might be foretold, that it will deliver a return that's worth it. The quotes are from “Brands And Branding” (Bloomberg Press).

Your brand is perceived in many ways. When you step back from the business babble you can return to fundamental concepts about how brand identity and marketing actually function, so you can produce far stronger results. You’ll viscerally appreciate the impact of your branding, when you observe where and how your audience gets that first impression. And how they get past that decision gateway to enable more impressions. 1) Your Brand Identity Is Signage For Your Business Your brand identity tells prospects and customers to “come do business here,” just like the old hanging boot in front of a shop in Colonial America. They recognize your business, and the way you do business, and begin to form an impression. Brand communication in the new millenium comes from a firehose spray of subtle impressions — the company name (or product/service name), logo, tagline, style, description of your products and services, customer service, your blogs and social posts, your voicemail message, and all kinds of other nuanced communication and interactions your prospects and customers have with your company. When all is said and done, and conceived and produced and engaged, your "brand identity," with all its components...IS your business. While some improv within your marketing communications is perfectly fine, it should always reference the compass of thought-out strategy for your company/brand. 2) Your Brand Identity Reminds Them How You’re Different Could be style, substance, or both. Preferably both! And if you don't think your business is any different than others in your field, we either need to look harder, or start inventing! Remember, your brand should be different beyond the newest homepage photo you've posted, it must extend to smarter innovative ways to do business, so your prospects and clients come back. Also, regarding your logo and tagline, a key first impression, don't think "yeah, that looks kinda like a logo, it'll work"... when a good logo and tagline positively influences your audiences thousands of times over a period of years. 3) Your Brand Builds Awareness & Recall If your name, logo and tagline and overall look are on your digital and print communications and places like your office and trade show booth, people remember your brand and your business. Name recognition really matters — ask any "unknown" political candidate who lost, even though they had better ideas. Remember that your company name, logo and tagline are the first (and most powerful) of an array of interactions and impressions your audiences get, across many areas of your company. 4) Your Brand Builds Loyalty Among Customers When your customers are happy they come back for more. And they bring new business with them via word-of-mouth recommendations. And if CFOs and Marketing Directors went out for beers they'd discover it's far less expensive to keep a customer than to hunt down a new one. Brand Ddentity — with your logo and tagline and graphics and content style — helps focus customer attention, and if they like what you offer overall, helps build brand loyalty, 5) Your Brand Identity Lights Up Your Employees When we say "band identity," it's ironic that "identity" is part of that phrase. Interestingly, the impact of a good brand goes beyond prospects and customers. Your employees like working for a brand they value. It inspires pride and purpose. When they understand and get behind your company (your brand)… that gets communicated powerfully to your prospects and customers. 6) Your Brand Graphics Promote Consistency Even if your products and services may be plentiful and in seemingly different categories, the unifying elements of brand identity that help tie everything together, across your marketing channels and communications. Repetition creates that consistency. Those are six. They represent more… because the sum total of the components of your brand and your website, is your business! Your brand should initiate the prospecting and sales process…Don't take Step One before Step Two Is Ready! Our own approach to branding is highly strategic — for the short-term and long-term — and transparent. We’re told this is uncommon -- good branding shouldn't be. It doesn't come so easy, it's not just a cute logo or new website colors.. We need to work hard at developing that first impression. And work harder developing a second-tier engagement with your customers. That second impression — usually before we launch the brand or rebrand — engages, and converts a suspect into prospect into a customer. Practically speaking, this means looking at the full branding, marketing and sales process. Talking to customers. Potentially whiteboarding Customer Journey Mapping. Also, very practically speaking — make sure you have your "back end" ready (your website, with well-branded, clearly-explained products and services, your processes) — before you invest your efforts and the attention of your prospects on "front end" (social, email, promotional) marketing! This falls short often. You really don't want to gain the interest of prospects with a good promotional campaign, and turn them off when they hit your website or in the sales process! Your website should have architecture and content that converts a prospect into a customer. (Read that last sentence again!) It's necessary to go beyond mentioning “target market” and avatars… to tweak products and services, so they’re worth engaging with and worth buying. We use proprietary consulting tools and processes that get the tricky job of defining, refining and articulating the essence of that brand done quickly. It's necessary to connect cranial synapses like a circuitboard, noticing where "symptoms of opportunity" come up. "Problems" within the company are usually the drivers of action. Yes, you need to address them — but it's best not to do this reflexively, but systemically, so strategic, branding, sales and marketing problems don't keep popping up like Whack-A-Mole. You don't want to spend your time "reacting and responding" to problems… you want to plan your thinking and "create" results, based n the company and culture you want. If you do — you'll create a business impression for your company that is "on brand"...that is brand new. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joel Alpert is a Branding and Marketing Specialist in Atlanta who uses all kinds of brainy consulting tools and a unique combination of strategic and creative approaches to engineer marketplace impact. He works with “the largest and smallest companies in America.” Find out more about PowerBranding… rebranding… our unique strategic consulting… personal branding and more — connect here on LinkedIn, and come visit: www.MarketPowerOnline.com (I'll even show you some more of what's "inside my head"!).

I was half-enjoying my egg drop soup as NBC's Nightly News was about to come on. Then I suddenly realize the soup I was eating…was not the soup I expected! The soup from the Chinese restaurant, would be far more salty, with an oily texture. Or at least that’s what I thought. But guess what — it was not. This simple realization emerged, just because I started tasting it…as opposed to “just eating” it. I was making specific observations about the flavor and texture, and temperature… rather than having some vague notion about it. Is it important for businesspeople to taste the egg drop soup…strategically?! We don’t want nothin' fuzzy in soup. Or in business. Fuzzy ideas, assumptions and expectations come in all kinds of forms, and affect us in all sorts of ways. This confusion about reality makes us unclear about our starting point for any goal. Or can limit us in what we think we should do….or can get done. Practically, think of being unclear, or “not knowing” reality, when you do something as simple as give directions to “Northlake Mall,” here in Atlanta. Yes, you know where you want to go, but if you don’t know your starting point — AKA “reality,” or the actual taste of the soup... — you can’t begin to give any workable directions. Add a double ladle of emphasis if you say you know where you want to go, but you just can’t quite clearly define it. (Like you've never heard that in strategic meetings.) That’s the way it goes in business situations -- whether you’re trying to define new business direction or sales growth... creating a new brand identity… a website to reflect that… a social and outbound marketing plan to drive traffic to it… a coordinated marketing strategy….well, you get the idea. When you come down to it, “fuzzy” thinking, not really knowing certain things —like specifically where you want to go, your actual starting point, and other relevant factors — will bite you in the butt. You might be able to accomplish many things with vague idea of what’s going on…and even an unfocused direction. But think of the capabilities your team could unleash — and the more efficient, angst-free pathway everyone could be taking — when they’re producing something that’s focused right on the target! Strategic thinking mistakes happen every day all day a client wants help with a critical business presentation, and spends 80% of the time stirring the details, and later tries to mix in big-picture strategy and branding. It's tough to make that mix taste, right. Someone else wants a sharp promotion, but when it drives them to a website, they feel like they've entered the DeLorean Time Machine and are visiting 1990 -- outdated product descriptions, outdated graphics, a website that doesn't answer common questions, or provide insightful solutions as clients might expect The sales talk and process doesn't sync with the marketing,... onboarding and service don't sync with sales… That creative dynamic can happen when we are clear and specific — in reality — about where we are going, and our starting point. Wild craftsmanship of solutions is finally important… It's even more important to gain insight on exactly what needs to be done. It takes courage to think and support strategic thinking This was a great reference for me of what I already have been practicing for many years — the high value of being truthful about reality. And taking a stand for it (even if unpopular). And I'll confess— I hadn't always done that. Forgive me, but there have been times within the last few years where I thought “the client isn’t ready for it,” and I didn’t push certain recommendations. I've worked with companies where certain business, branding, and marketing issues…and even executive “thinking styles” that don’t work very well…aren’t spoken about. It was the CEOs problem. And even if people weren’t fully conscious of exactly what was going on, most dealt with it like the Emperor’s New Clothes. But I noticed that the prospects for success are greatly increased when reality…truth…straightforwardness….are the guiding principles. And while I respect the client’s choices, I clearly offer those choices. Like my consulting mentor Robert Fritz has been fond of saying: “Reality is an acquired taste.” Like soup. My consulting training with Fritz increased my appetite for un-subjective "reality." We can come to a consensus on reality in most things beyond politics and religion — there's really not "my reality" and "your reality." Granted, there are perceptions, and those count, but let's not debate that there's a turn in the road 200 feet ahead, and you're going 70 m.p.h. It's time to turn. Those choices are the most powerful access points you could have in business, and the greatest opportunity for significant and powerful change. Being able to create results, includes three primary factors: #1, the ability to see clearly what you want. #2, the ability to see exactly where you are. #3, the action steps you need to get from #2 to #1 with both points clearly in sight. One of the worst things that can happen in a strategic planning session, is that everybody knows where it's going to go. They’re bored of the soup, it always is the same. Always. They want to get out of the conference room as soon as possible. They know that little is done as a result of these “strategic” working session…so they just want to “survive” it. So all the answers are queued up. Easy….no thinking. But that also drives people crazy, cause it’s unproductive. And they’re right. And so the work they do all day long, which on so many levels they really care about, doesn't get advanced even during these occasional strategic sessions. What if you were to really...look at strategic business issues freshly? What if you didn’t automatically have all answers queued up? What if you stopped answering texts and emails long enough to engage your noodle -- not the one in the soup, but the big hunk atop your neck? What if you engaged the insights and opinions of your key employees, customers and prospects…and, especially, your own fresh thinking? What if you actually tasted the egg drop soup? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joel Alpert is a branding and marketing consultant, who has worked with Fortune 500 and “Fortune 500,000” companies….huge and wee companies in just about every category of business. He learned how to discern reality clearly — or so he thinks — and other consulting skills, though years of study with Robert Fritz, Inc., and other business, marketing, and consulting leaders. Among his many business and person interests, is that he likes good soup. [ If you liked this piece, ready to take on this challenge to your thinking? Revel in my other posts...see my page, connect and/or say howdy;