The legendary management consultant, educator, and author Peter Drucker liked to say that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The best-laid strategic plans invariably hit a wall if they are not aligned with the organization’s culture — the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle business transactions…
Me-too brands just don’t cut it anymore in the professional services arena. This whitepaper examines best practices for creating a distinctive and compelling brand position in professional services.
While a comprehensive verbal and visual system forms the foundation of a brand, it’s only the beginning of executing an effective branding strategy. To be successful, a brand needs to be expressed consistently across all internal and external touchpoints. Consistency is critical to establish a well-defined brand and eliminate confusion in the marketplace…
When QR codes were introduced in 1997, many people assumed they’d be as transformative as the internet, a ubiquitous tool for seamlessly connecting companies and products with consumers. Seemingly overnight, these strange-looking black cubes began appearing on ads, posters, and packaging. And just like that, consumer acceptance was … well, almost non-existent. As…
What is brand behavior? Simply put, brand behavior is how your brand interacts and reacts with real customers in the real marketplace. While your positioning statement may say one thing about your values and strengths, truly demonstrating them is another matter.
A missed opportunity
Picture this. You’re sitting at your desk flipping through a…
As strategists and designers, we are always curious about the use of color in culture and business. Recently, we took a look at brand colors in the top 100 technology firms. While the range of colors and combinations is varied, we noted a few intriguing themes.
For tech company colors, blue is always true
Not…
Dear Google, Apple, Adobe and Microsoft,
You may not know me, but I was created with great care and purpose. Every image, hue and letter. I am special. I have meaning.
I live in hearts and minds, in words and actions, in websites and ad campaigns and brochures. But frequently, I live in Word and…
Technology has been a business game-changer at every level — revolutionizing customer experience, enabling groundbreaking innovations, and accelerating the speed of business. Technology giants are expanding their reach while companies with decidedly non-tech histories like Maersk and even McDonald’s have reinvented themselves to excel in the digital era.
B2B tech companies need to…
Your professional services brand is going digital with enhanced offerings. Congratulations! As you forge ahead into the future, don’t lose sight of the confidence and trust your customers and employees have in you. Believe it or not, a digital transition can dislodge these critical keystones in a heartbeat.
That lesson is at the center…
“What’s in a name?” It’s not just William Shakespeare who wants to know. Companies have been pondering this question for years, trying to crack the code for the perfect name to gain recognition — and help their products sell. That’s because a name carries real weight. Brand naming has the power to reinvigorate…
Have you enhanced your professional services model with digital components? Maybe you’ve incorporated an app, chat bot, and digital subscription covering your most basic services. You may feel like it’s a revolutionary transformation that your customers will be thrilled to know about and use. But it’s not that cut-and-dry.
There…
From a business perspective, few things are as critical to get right as a major merger or acquisition — and few things are as challenging.
On the long list of considerations during M&A activity, merger branding is one of the most crucial. Not getting the brand right is a key reason that, according to…
A comprehensive brand audit — an analysis of the current state of a brand and its position in the marketplace — is the foundation of any new brand or rebranding initiative. By determining the strengths and weaknesses of a brand in relation to its market and competitors, the audit helps navigate a clear path to a differentiated…
If you’re in the professional services space, you’ve no doubt felt the pressure to integrate digital components into what you offer. Even if you resisted “going digital” before, the cosmic ground shift of 2020 likely forced you to consider what elements of your services can be delivered in digital ways. How can what…
They are the holy grail of B2B marketing: C-suite executives who open the doors, make the decisions and write the checks. And they are increasingly difficult to reach through conventional marketing channels. The key to getting inside is providing executives with something they need but can’t get elsewhere: relevant content.
The ironic thing about your brand’s image is that you can’t actually see it. Image as it relates to your brand is a metaphor, an idea meant to conjure up the assured sense of truth that comes with witnessing something concrete (and hopefully positive) with your own eyes. Your customers can’t see loyalty, trust, or any other quality, but an effective brand strategy can help them make the connection. First though, you’ll need to learn to see these qualities yourself.
Let’s play a branding game. Consider the following M&A scenarios:
A global leader in payments technology makes more than 25 acquisitions on five continents to drive growth and innovation against emerging tech upstarts.
A major investment firm completes a series of acquisitions to fortify its strongly stalwart parent brand with scrappier, more…
As B2B marketers know, when it comes to customer buying behavior, there’s a big difference between a considered decision and an impulsive one. However, the difference in the mindset of the business buyer compared to the consumer is not necessarily as black and white as rational versus emotional. This is a common misconception. Though…