Can your customers (or partners) find YOU in a crowd?
I’ve been working with a client that is looking to build a brand for themselves, but without a lot of money. Pretty common for most small businesses. Over the years they have spent a lot of money on their image and have a VERY good logo. They should be a common name to most businesses of any size, but they aren’t because they rely on a distribution channel that sells a related product to develop customer interest and sales.
Now, the employees of the customers and distribution channel partners know this company well. They know the products. But they don’t know the staff, except for a few, visible, long time staffers. This became extremely apparent to me when I recently attended a tradeshow with them. There was tons of traffic at their booth (the signage was good and the logo very visible). But because it was business casual dress at the show, no one was wearing the typical logo polo, and almost NO ONE visiting the booth, could identify company employees versus other visitors.
The simple solution – a lapel pin. Years ago when I worked for Great Plains Software everyone had one – and we ALL wore them, all the time. (our partners joked it was a cult). For this company, at this show, it would have been the perfect, understated but clearly visible, solution. Not only that, for other shows, for visiting with partners and customers, for public travel – a lapel pin becomes a visible symbol of your brand.
If you have spent the money to get your brand and logo right, go that extra step. For under a $1.00 a pin, you can be everywhere, with all your partners and customers, and with a little creativity, you can even have a great deal of fun with it. What do you think? Have you done something like this? Let me know your experience.
Date: October 2, 2009