by Tim Whiston
http://internet-marketing-course.timwhiston.com
© 2007
Statistics tell us that in the U.S. alone, the
average person is exposed to 3,500 ad impressions per day. I’m not talking
about the average Internet user seeing banner impressions… I’m talking
about the typical citizen seeing billboards, TV commercials, email promos, branded
coffee mugs, etc.
And most of the ad impressions we see
on a daily basis are not direct response promotions. A billboard on the highway
is not necessarily placed to make us stop right then and there and purchase a
new couch, nor is a ballpoint pen with the name of a local bank likely to make
us rush over to the nearest branch and open an account spur of the moment.
But
all of these impressions do take their toll on our subconscious minds. Think of
the first names that come to mind when I mention:
- Soda
- Fast Food
- Software
I’m willing to bet 90%
of the folks who read this article came up with the same three companies. The
other 10% are just flakes or people who are trying to be difficult. ;o)
So
there’s the proof that branding works.
And did you
know the company or trademark with the highest brand awareness percentage always
outsells the second and third ranked companies combined? Pretty amazing isn’t
it?
In a national survey 99.2% of the participants said
they are more likely to buy a product or service based on the first company or
trademark that comes to mind when it’s time to purchase!
Effective
branding increases profits, period. And you don’t have to be a mega-corporation
to leverage this knowledge.
Get yourself a logo and place
it on all your business cards, web banners, etc. and then get these tools in front
of as many people as possible.
Talk to your local broadcasting
company about radio ad packages.
Have a T-shirt shop print
you up a few hundred shirts with your logo and then give the shirts away to high
school kids at a homecoming event.
These are just a few
suggestions right off the top of my head.
The idea is to get your logo and/or
your name out there and keep it out there.
Stay consistent!
Once people see you or hear about you enough they begin to associate you with
the product or service you offer, and this will greatly increase your chances
of being called on when these people are ready to buy a product in your field.
