Isn’t it spring? Why are we talking about color trends a year away? In the marketing time continuum next fall will be here before we can even finish all of 2010’s initiatives. So if you’re curious about color and how it might influence your visual business paradignm, product development, or even what you wear to the office, check out these Pantone predictions .

We’re please to announce our new Brandeli website is up and running! Visit www.mybrandeli.com and check it out.

‘Tis the season to get your final budgets together before welcoming the new year, and although the focus is inevitably going to be on numbers, the question really is not how many dollars–but what is the return on those dollars. That’s where measurability has to be part of your marketing budget planning. Not just ‘how much will we allocate to which media’, but ‘for $X spent we expect $X multipled by 1.7 in increased revenue.’ The trick is to find data to support these kind of statements. That’s why tracking and evaluating your marketing efforts throughout the year (not just at crunch time) is so important.

Make having a continual Cost vs. Benefit analysis of your marketing efforts a resolution for 2010!

“So what are the next steps?” That’s a common phrase (or so it should be) at the end of many business meetings. Translation: tell me what I need to do and what you need to do to keep this project moving forward.

Surprisingly, many organizations forget to inform potential or current customers about ‘What happens next’ during a sales cycle, service call, or even a purchase. Consider students requesting more information about a college they may wish to attend through the institution’s website. After completing a lengthy form with personal information on it, one would hope the response regarding next steps would be a little more than a simple ‘Thank you’. Most prospective students might like to see an email with some information immediately sent to them, or at least some mention of materials  being mailed to them and when they can expect them.

After you purchase something online usually there is a confirmation provided, including a receipt, and even emails confirming the sale and delivery information. Having the next steps is reassuring, it provides a point for finishing a project and/or the satisfaction of moving one step closer to a goal.

So ask yourself, have I provided next steps to my pipeline clients and in my marketing communications? Hopefully the answer is yes!

Something to ponder as you head into work tomorrow: do you know what the hot buttons are for people who purchase your product or service? In other words, what are the problems they face and how does your product inparticular solve those problems?

Do your marketing efforts push these hot buttons and clearly communicate your product as the distinct solution?

Maybe it’s time to rework your approach?

Next to a day off, there are few things us marketing-types like more than demographics and statistics–here are some fun facts about the 4th of July courtesy of www.marketingdemographics.com:

More than 1 in 4
The chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 17.6 million market hogs and pigs on March 1, 2008. This represents more than one-fourth ofthe nation’s total. North Carolina (9 million) and Minnesota (6.7million) were the runners-up.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

6.8 billion pounds
Total production of cattle and calves in Texas in 2007. Chances are good that the beef hot dogs, steaks and burgers on your backyard grillcame from the Lone Star State, which accounted for about one-sixth ofthe nation’s total production. And if the beef did not come from Texas, it very well may have come from Nebraska (4.7 billion pounds) or Kansas (4.1 billion pounds).
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

6
Number of states in which the revenue from broiler chickens was $1billion or greater between December 2006 and November 2007. There is a good chance that one of these states — Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi or Texas — is the source of your barbecued chicken.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

About 4 in 10
The odds that your side dish of baked beans originated from North Dakota, which produced 42 percent of the nation’s dry, edible beans in2007. Another popular Fourth of July side dish is corn on the cob. Florida, California, Georgia and New York together accounted for 60percent of the sweet corn produced nationally in 2007.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

Please Pass the Potato Salad
Potato salad and potato chips are popular food items at Fourth of July barbecues. More than half (52 percent) of the nation’s spuds wereproduced in Idaho or Washington state in 2007.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

More than three-fourths
Amount of the nation’s head lettuce production in 2007 that came from California. This lettuce may end up in your salad or on your burger.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

Nearly 3 in 4
The chances that the fresh tomatoes in your salad came from Florida or California, which combined accounted for 73 percent of U.S. tomatoproduction last year. The ketchup on your burger or hot dog probably came from California, which accounted for 96 percent of processed tomato production in 2007.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

Georgia
The state that led the nation in watermelon production last year (1billion pounds). Other leading producers of this popular Fourth of July dessert included California, Florida and Texas, each with more than 400 million pounds.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

More than 74 million
Number of Americans who said they have taken part in a barbecue during the previous year. It’s probably safe to assume a lot of these events took place on Independence Day.
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008, Table 1213 <http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract.html>

$207 million
The value of fireworksimported from China in 2007, representing the bulk of all U.S.fireworks imported ($217 million). U.S. exports of fireworks, bycomparison, came to just $14.9 million in 2007, with Japan purchasing more than any other country ($3.8 million).
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>

$17.3 million
The value of U.S. manufacturers’ shipments of fireworks in 2002.
Source: 2002 Economic Census <http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/ec0231i325998t.pdf>

$4.7 million
In 2007, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags. The vast majority of this amount ($4.3 million) was for U.S. flags made in China.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>

$2.4 million
Dollar value of U.S. flags exported in 2007. Mexico was the leading customer, purchasing $1.2 million worth.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>

$349.2 million
Annual dollar value of shipments of fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems by the nation’s manufacturers, according to the latest published economic census data.
Source: 2002 Economic Census <http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/ec0231i314999t.pdf>

31
Number of places nationwide with “liberty” in their name. The most populous one as of July 1, 2006, is Liberty, Mo. (29,581). Iowa, with four, has more of these places thanany other state: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.

Thirty-one places are named “eagle” — after the majestic bird that serves as our national symbol. (Places include cities, towns, villages andcensus-designated places.) The most populous such place is Eagle Pass,Texas, with 26,401 residents.

Twelve places have “independence” in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Mo., with 109,400 residents.Nine places adopted the name “freedom.” Freedom, Calif., with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.

There is one place named “patriot” — Patriot, Ind., with a population of 192.

And what could be more fitting than spending the Fourth of July in a place called “America”? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, population 25,596.

We’ve been spending the last few days doing some in-depth training on variable data marketing tools. For those of you who aren’t sure what variable data marketing tools might be, a simple example is when you get a piece of direct mail that has your name conveniently inserted into the headline or body copy. But name insertion is just the beginning of the marketing power that variable data affords you. Think about it: deep personalization based on data that you collect from your prospects and clients-priceless!

Talk about refreshing–and we don’t just mean the products (coffee-flavored Frostys)  that Wendy’s Restaurants are promoting with their new Cool Beans campaign. The ads are some of the few truly entertaining ones out there at the moment, which makes them standout even more against the economic angst most corporations are using as a backdrop for marketing efforts these days. The radio ads (not available at www.wendys.com) made us smile, but the TV spot, which you can see at the website) made us laugh out loud. Take a break, take a look, and if you want to try the Frosty!

We think there are seven key characteristics that support the ongoing quest for corporate relevance:

1)    Differentiation—the things which make the organization unique and valuable in the minds of prospects/customers.

2)    Product/Service Offering—are necessity, niche, non-negotiable or novelty items produced? 

3)    Profitability- obviously, this is a key point of relevance for shareholders and corporate longevity.

4)    Heritage or Lack Thereof—for established products and corporations they have the advantage (and disadvantage) of ingrained consumer preference/habitual buying  vs. the innovation or generational leader niche that a nimble start-up or new product can more easily attain.

5)    Personality—is the organization outgoing and in touch with customers/prospects or reserved? Is it genuine?

6)    Communication—does the organization strive to provide benefit/knowledge-based information of interest to the audience and is it timed to stages of buying behavior?

7)    Behavior—is the philosophy and culture of an organization to keep moving forward or is it going through the motions based on past relevance? Are emloyees and leaders ready to learn something new?

Building corporate relevance is an ongoing, dynamic process that is at the heart of most

companies that are successful over the long term–hopefully your is included in this group! 

This is the third post in our trust-building series. As we mentioned in Part 2, building trust requires two key components when it comes to communications: credibility and consistency. After examining some methods for establishing credibility in the minds of your prospects and customers, now let’s turn to a topic that gives many would-be marketers difficulty–consistency.

When we think about exercising communications consistency there are really two things to be aware of. One is brand integrity, that is, the cohesiveness of your message, the relevance of the story you tell, and the amount of discipline applied to the visual expression of your organization. The second is the frequency of your contact with your target markets.

Brand integrity is a relatively simple concept, however, it isn’t always easy to achieve and maintain. Many organizations struggle with creating a strong brand in the marketplace simply because they haven’t spent the time to discover what it is their company is all about. Without a solid knowledge of what your brand promise is and what it means to your various audiences, it is likely you will struggle with telling the story succinctly and clearly each time you execute part of your communications strategy. 

Obviously, the basic remedy to this deficiency is to get it straight in your head, and in the minds of those who are helping to tell your story, why your organization exists, how it benefits its customers, and why, through its phliosophy and personality, it is important. Spread your story–making slight modifications to keep each unique audience interested. Hire a professional writer and graphic designer to assist you in telling the story meaningfully on a visual and verbal level. Then repeat as often as you need to to make an impact. How often is that? Check out our next post–we’ll delve into the art and science of frequency and repetition when it comes to building trust.