Martin Yewo

23/07/2016

EMOTIONAL APPEALS TOWARDS BRANDS

Often humans are driven by emotions. Business managers need to play around with these emotions to trigger purchase. That is called emotional appeal.

Emotional branding was built on the premise that “connections can take place on an emotional level in relationships between brands and people.”

Use emotional appeals in advertising to connect with customers. Connect the brand to the peoples’ current problems. Advertising messages should focus on solutions to their current challenges. People are not interested in tomorrow. Hence, people will be connected to your brand if they think that it understands their needs.

Advertising messages about saving on cost of basic items would attract customers in the hard economic times. Customers are very skeptical to spend when their confidence in the economy is low. Hence some inducements like 20% off, buy bread and get one free burn would induce emotions.

Express gratitude and appreciation to your customers. You might be aware that a “thank you” matter most to many people. Send messages via email or newspaper in cases where there was a big sale. You may consider rewarding customers who buy up to a certain amount if you are in mass marketing.

Keep the vibe. Let’s grow together… [email protected] FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/2PointsMarketing/ #

01/06/2016

MARKET PE*******ON STRATEGIES, PE*******ON PRICING

You are the marketer and you confront this situation: your industry is saturated. The trend for sales volume is declining. Yet you have the right product in place. What do you do? This is the right time to fully indulge in market pe*******on strategies.

With reference to the Ansoff Matrix, market pe*******on involves selling existing products to existing markets. Market pe*******on strategies are mainly used at the early stages of the product life cycle in order to gain market share.

However, they can successfully be used to revitalize mature products in saturated industries to remind customers the existence of the brand and its benefits. Pe*******on pricing is one strategy.

Pe*******on pricing involves reducing prices as compared to competitors’. Customers are easily wooed with discounts or incentives associated with price cuts. This strategy works well in industries where customers are price sensitive, the telecommunication industry for instance.

However, the strategy has a greater implication on brand positioning and margins. Profit margins are reduced thereby reducing returns to shareholders. If you want to adopt this strategy, make sure the price adjustment is not close to the cost per unit.

Pe*******on pricing potentially affects customer perception of the product. Owing to status, customers who do not want to be associated with cheap brands are scared away. So the adage too much is poisonous comes to play. Do not overdo it for customers may suspect the quality of the product.

On another note, you have to be conscious in implementing the strategy. It may result in price wars when competitors react thereby rendering the industry unprofitable.

Price adjustments will reduce margins but increase market share and create brand loyalty hence a considerable market, which can be exploited at a later stage. When customers become loyal to a brand they become insensitive when you raise the prices again. This is the stage the business is likely to realize considerable margins.

Keep growing the business…[email protected] FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/2PointsMarketing

Be available, be seen, be heared ..

28/05/2016

THE DESIRE TO GROW (PART 2): USE THE ANSOFF MATRIX
Savvy business managers always confront “business as usual”. They look for better approaches to doing business. They want to challenge tradition and exploit new opportunities to boost revenue. To achieve that, often aproper assessment- whether monthly or weekly, of the business environment is vital. The managers mostly use SWOT analysis to draw growth strategies. Besides SWOT, there are other tools for determining growth strategies such as the Ansoff Matrix
Originated by Igor Ansoff, the Ansoff Matrix suggests that a business can grow based on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets. Igor identified four key strategies in this respect, namely:
1. Market pe*******on: involves selling existing products to existing markets
2. Market development: involves selling existing products to new markets
3. Product development: involves selling new products to existing markets
4. Diversification: involves selling new products to new markets

Keep growing the business…[email protected] FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/2PointsMarketing

Be available, be seen, be heared ..

22/05/2016

THE DESIRE TO GROW:
GROWTH STRATEGIES THAT WORK (PART 1)

Every organization desires to grow. But growth without vision is disastrous. It results in negative returns on investments and tarnishes your brand. And there are more stories to attest to this.

Sometime ago, a Kenyan air company embarked on expansion bid. The trigger was growth in revenue due to the boom in the tourism industry. The company opened branches willy-nilly in Kenya and across Africa.

Management of the company was shocked to see a decline in revenue in the tourism sector of Kenya. Tourists had started avoiding visiting that country due to the terrorist attacks that saw many people dead.

What was the result? Over 500 employees were laid off, branches closed and brand publicity escalated in negatives. So how do we visualize growth strategies? That’s the story for another day. Let’s meet again in the next article… [email protected]

16/05/2016

EFFECTIVE MEDIA RELATIONS

Besides creating effective relations with journalists, communicators must be careful with information they want to land in the hands of journalists. Communicating the right information is not always easy. It is actually usually a tough task to hit the media with information that you really wanted to communicate. The following tips can help to make this process less of a hustle:

1. Understand the news values of the society: Editors safeguard the interests of the readers. Give out information that will compete with other stories on that day. News ideas about the business must match with societal trends so that reporters easily pick them up. For instance, stories about assistance to hunger and flood victims will attain greater publicity and brand visibility in times of famine.

2. Communication practitioners do not control the media: Whether to publish your story or not is the decision of the editor. Journalists desire to work independently. You can only control the information that you give out to the media. This is done by giving out valuable information during the interviews. For instance what other areas is your brand bringing an impact to the wider stakeholder group? You may consider a solution the brand has brought to the society.

3. Avoid giving out any negative information about your brand. Reporters may focus on the negative issue thereby jeopardising the whole purpose of your story. This means that you also have to check for ambiguities and innuendos in what you are communicating. Watch out for double-meanings, and ensure that only what you are intending to communicate is what must be deciphered by a reasonable person.

4. “Know journalists who cover the industry well and develop credible mutual trust.” Remember, you are not dealing with the newspaper but individual journalists. Provide them with information kits so that they don’t hustle and bustle in writing your story.
5. Follow up your story. Never ask the reporter “is our story out?” Instead shade more light on your story and provide additional and relevant photographs, if any, to give more reason for the story to be published/broadcast.

2 POINTS! is looking forward to seeing your effective relationship with the media. Just touch base at [email protected]

08/12/2015

EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH JOURNALISTS

The media is a powerful tool that can be used to promote your business through free publicity. However, it is a detrimental weapon when the news about your brand is negative.

Many organizations have seen their revenues shrink after coverage of negative news. It is extremely important to reduce the impact of negative news through effective relations with journalists.

1. Establish a database of key media houses and get hold of key decision makers or influential reporters who will act as point of contacts. You may negotiate with them before a negative news is published.

2. Establish workable personal relationships with journalists. Invite them, as a group and later on engage them individually, for a luncheon or any other exciting activity. As is expected in any relationship, handle them with humility.

3. Avoid enticing them with cash envelopes. They mean nothing so long as your relationship is sour. Give them a thank you for their participation in the events you organize. Handle journalists the same way your grandpa in the village gives you chicken as a token of appreciation for visiting them.

4. Mind you, journalists are not beggars! Take it as an advantage when they ask you for a drink wherever you meet. It shows the relationship is growing. They are becoming personal friends.

5. Accord them treatment as special guests at your events. Mind you they are not second class! You need their assistance now and beyond. Special treatment will give you access to the best journalists in your next event. Otherwise, you will find the majority of interns at your activity next time you invite them.

Your feedback is essential: [email protected]

30/11/2015

EMBRACE 360 DEGREES FOR SUCCESSFUL BRANDING

Every business entity has come to realize that we serve the same customers over and over. Some customers reach the extent of sharing the same business to several suppliers. For clarity sake, company A would assign supply of stationary to two suppliers simply because both suppliers have good relationships with the customer.

You should also understand that competition is becoming rife in every industry. The private sector is highly liberalized. End of year business assessments largely indicate “we have managed to sail regardless of high competition.”

It is against this background that you need to invest heavily in branding. Branding goes beyond symbols, colours and artifacts. It also looks into what a customer or any stakeholder encounters in every business transaction. Therefore, you must ensure:

1. a strong and optimal customer service is provided for a positive relationship with customers. Delayed product delivery or customer service for service industries translates into a negative image of your brand;

2. a positive and working supplier relationship to ensure consistent availability of raw materials. Pay them on time and negotiate reasonably on prices much as there are chances of enjoying economies of scale. Good supplier relationship will enable you to have raw materials at a cheaper cost hence increasing your margin or transferring the reduced cost to customers who may regard your brand as affordable;

3. powerful communication through the media for publicity. Continuous mentions in the media will keep reminding your stakeholders that your brand exists on the market;

4. powerful community relations to gain good will from the general public. Involve your brand in activities that are affecting the community in which your stakeholders are living. Participation may depend on the industry in which your brand is operating. However, education and health sectors are highly regarded in the community because they affect everyone in society;

5. consistency on segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) is vital. Make sure your marketing mix strategies are in line with the STP strategy you have formulated.

2 POINTS! is looking forward to seeing your brand gain mileage. Just touch base at [email protected].

25/11/2015

USING EMPLOYEES TO PROMOTE THE CORPORATE BRAND


It is easy to motivate employees to carry the corporate brand and remain loyal to it if properly motivated. One of the leading banks in Malawi won the hearts of its employees who have voluntarily contributed 50% towards a corporate citizenship activity.

Every employee in one of the departments contributed part of their monthly salary towards a donation to a school. The bank received positive media coverage hence improving its positioning, that of doing a greater good to the society.

For more on internal marketing touch base at [email protected]

For more on making employees brand ambassadors follow the link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=680566502079440&id=622264774576280

28/10/2015

MAKING EMPLOYEES BRAND AMBASSADORS

Would you recommend your colleague to work for your company? You may say ‘yes’ if your company pays well and takes care of you beyond the monthly salary. You may say ‘no’ if the work environment is frustrating and the company does not care about you except paying you at the end of the month.

It is important to notice that employees are the greatest assets. Their behavior determines the organizational personality. Happy and motivated employees will always support the brand. Contrary, unhappy employees work to “preserve” their jobs, not wholeheartedly committing themselves to the organization.

Therefore, it is important to change employees into brand ambassadors. Do not take them as cost drivers, based on salaries. Invest in motivating them and making them happy. They may become brand promoters! Find the easiest tips below; and for further clarification, let us touch base at [email protected].

1. Research: Find out what employees think about your organization. What is the best that an organization can do to make them happy? What stresses them in their job? Get as much information as possible regarding employees’ attitude towards management and the organization as a brand.

2. Communicate: Explain to employees the direction of the organization. Its mission, vision and core values. Communicate why you are failing to fulfill your values, vision and mission so that employees understand and support you even during hard times. Whenever your organization fails to fulfill its promises, including contractual agreements with employees, communicate as early as possible! They might get wrong information through the informal systems, gossip being one of them.

3. Interact through social gatherings: Create special days where employees can interact over a cocktail. The adage ‘all work no play makes John a dull boy’ still comes to play. Employees should be able to know each other outside work! Thereby, interaction at the workplace will be coherent.

4. Balance work and personal life: Much as employees may be committed to their jobs, they have their family welfare at heart. Your organization should come in to assist whatever problem an employee has, back home. Further, systems and policies should be flexible enough to allow employees have enough time with their families.

5. Develop their talent: With the business environment changing fast everyday, employees need to beef up their talent. They need not be blamed for poor performance when your organization is not making efforts to improve their skills and capabilities. At all cost, training and development is vital for organizational success. Let employees learn on their own as well.

6. Provide relevant resources: Employees need tools to use on their jobs. For the sales team, transport to visit customers and airtime for cold calling, among others are tools which would motivate them to work.

7. Benchmark against best performance: You cannot know how you are performing unless you compare with best practices. Find out how good employer brands (that company which you as a manager would wish to work for) assist and motivate their employees for them to become brand ambassadors!

8. No one is more equal! Treat all employees equally. They are one family and should be treated as such. The salary structures should not favour few individuals. Mind you there are informal systems, the grapevine for example, which may misinform or properly inform employees on salary structures.

9. Allow them to express themselves: Let employees communicate freely about their daily job. Management should be willing to open up to employees and create an open atmosphere for sharing ideas. The “boss-servant relationship” should always be avoided. All employees and management must be partners.

A proper internal marketing campaign must be in place to create employees as brand ambassadors. Your organization needs to sell itself to employees and other internal stakeholders, through internal marketing, so that they become brand ambassadors. For the easiest way to create and execute an internal marketing campaign contact: [email protected].

26/10/2015

FREE SALES PROMOTION IDEAS FROM 2 POINTS!

Let us boost our sales. Let us stay ahead. 2 POINTS! has free sales promotion ideas for your business.

Send your business profile to [email protected] highlighting your key products’ sales performance, key competitors, current trends in your industry and any other relevant information.

Kindly note that 2 POINTS! shall be responsible for production of all marketing materials to be used in ex*****on of the promotion.