Imprint Your Brand

I get a lot of emails asking me how to get people to spread your brand, other than the pointers I have given throughout various posts. I think it really comes down to virtually imprinting your brand in your customers minds, (not physically) in order for them to spread it naturally.

Different ways to "imprint your brand":

-Go 20 steps beyond- A lot of people will say, I go a step beyond in my business to achieve customer satisfaction, but the reality is, you are probably not the only one. Since you aren't the only one to go a step beyond, it is usually unnoticed by customers. This is why you have to go 20 steps beyond, so people DO notice. It might mean doing something a customer would never expect. Random thank you's or giveaways. Anything and everything you can think of to go those 20 steps beyond anyone else in your industry will REALLY put you on top of your competition.

-The 1 source- You have to have it all. I don't mean everything in your industry, but you have to offer everything people can possibly want when buying something from your business. If I am selling swimming pools, I should have a bunch of accessories that people would want to buy with their pools and just about anything else that people use for pools. If you are the 1 source, people will almost always refer you to their friends.


-Get into the community you serve- You have to BE THE COMMUNITY. Get engaged with your customers, AND people who AREN'T your customers. You have to literally be in 10 places at one time. Get on all social networks, try to send your people to community events, and anything else you can think of.

-Promote yourself quietly, but heavily- You should always do heavy marketing, but be aware at the same time not to annoy customers or overload them with promos that they just don't care anymore.

If your business truly impacts your customers with a decent brand and surrounding culture, there is no reason for people not to like it. Sticking out like a soar thumb in a customers mind is a must if you want to be an authority in your industry and you have to deliver on demand for that positive reputation.

Appearance Matters Everywhere

I am a true believer in having a quality product or service, but I also strongly believe in presentation. Presenting your products or services to your consumers can be very convincing to make a sale or it can draw people away from your business. Whether you have a web-based business, a retail location, or any other type of business, how you present your products matters and it can drive people to come back to your business repeatedly.

In blogging, people say that content is king, but I think content and presentation matter equally. Especially for upcoming bloggers, who are trying to make a name for themselves, need to focus on how they deliver content. If Bill Gates starts a blog and it looks like it belongs to web 1.0, people will talk, but they will still read it. However, if Joe Somebody starts a blog and it looks like that, you can bet nobody will come back. This is heavily influenced by personal brand, but then again, so are most things. If you are trying to build a readership, blog design and overall usability of blog navigation plays a big role between capturing a reader for a day and a lifetime.

What goes into a presentation mix?

-Look and feel- Easy on the eyes, but you have to make a strong statement at the same time. Whether it means hiring the best designer for your website or hiring an interior designer for your art gallery, the way a customer thinks about your business the first 30 seconds of their visit, will heavily influence them to 1) buy something, 2) return to your business, 3) tell their friends.

-Atmosphere and vibe- A look can be great, but the way people act and how the overall interaction between clients and workers is, should also be judged. I always like to have background music playing at my retail locations, but it has to be quality music at the all times. I try to go for something soothing and energetic usually.

-Who is delivering- It is the way someone is treated that will truly leave them with a positive or negative thought. I try to make sure that all my employees are engaging, friendly, and respectful of customers. In a perfect world, all of the employees I have would act that way, but we don't live in a perfect world, so I have location managers influence employees to learn this style. Surprisingly or not, most employees are willing to work together to provide the experience I like to deliver.

I always maintain the policy of giving customers the "red carpet approach" in appearance through all of my businesses. By giving people a sense of feeling that they are on a "red carpet" it makes them feel confident in a business and they are more inclined to purchase when it is appealing for them to shop at a certain location, website, catalog or whatever it may be.

Image: Time

Domino's vs Subway

I'm not sure if you have heard about the new Domino's oven baked subs, but recently they did a national taste test and beat Subway 2-1. Check out the video below.



As you can see Subway reacted to the commercial in a negative way. Instead of taking a positive insight on the "feedback" from the 2-1 ratio from the taste test, they tried to cover up the results of what the consumers think.

Lets discuss what happened:

Subway dominates the sub industry and it's the top franchise for 2009. When Domino's stepped in to "steal the thunder" with proven results, Subway acted negatively. It isn't a bad thing that they got upset, but they took an approach that tried to cover up that they didn't have the "best tasting sub" around. On the other hand, Domino's took the negative reaction and gave Subway some extra publicity. In the end, there was a massive hype over the "controversy" and it gained a lot of national attention. If you ask me, it kind of worked out for both brands.

Lesson to be learned:

You may face the situation, as a business owner or an entrepreneur, that you don't have the best product. Not everyone can be #1, but it is how you react to your competitors that gives you a "1 up" in the consumer market. If you have the better product, no doubt, you should capitalize on it by showing your consumers the facts. If you don't have the #1 product around, you should always work to get to that #1 spot, but if your competitor displays that you don't have the best product, be aware of how you react. Some may view Subway as a "weak" brand, trying to cover up the facts by sending a legal letter, others may view it where Subway just scored some free national attention. I view it where Subway's reaction helped Domino's get more attention. In the end, I don't think that people will stop eating Subway, but people will probably try out Domino's toasted subs.

"Your brand reaction counts, as you may be just HELPING your competition!"

Spread Your Brand

You have probably heard that YOU need to live your brand as an entrepreneur, but maybe you haven't heard that your CUSTOMERS need to live it also. In the video, I explain how having your customers live your brand can increase exposure, how you can do it, and other brands that have customers or users live their brand.



If you are really cleaver, people live your brand and don't even know it ;-)


How do you have your customers or users live your brand?

The Personal Brand Leverage

It is a well known fact that personal branding can be really helpful as an entrepreneur because it establishes not only your reputation, but links you to your ventures. Sometimes people lack to build a personal brand when they are employed by another company; one that they do not own or have not founded. Some say that it is not needed to create a personal brand when you work for a company which you have no personal ownership in or do not have any private ventures of your own. I strongly disagree with people who think that creating a personal brand is unnecessary for many reasons. The main point of creating a personal brand is to get people to know you for your expertise and can give you an edge over other people in the workforce.

Be the one- Companies face numerous applications when they are interviewing for certain jobs, especially when the position is really high up in the hierarchy. Having a strong & established personal brand can give you better chances to be selected for a certain position.

Don’t be the one- On the other hand of being “the one,” there is the fact that companies face when letting people go. When you have a strong brand that represents the company you work for, chances are they will not let you go among your co-workers because you have more influence in the outside world, than the other employees. Say you are a business consultant and there are four more in your department. Your department head is letting two people go, but chooses to hold on to you because you are known for your expertise in consulting and the companies clientele are likely to give their business to the company you work for. Because of your personal brand, you are recognized as an asset to your company.

Get a Higher Pay- Most of us don’t mind making more money. Along with a strong personal brand, chances are pay will have a strong positive correlation with the strong identity you have created. Companies will WANT to hire YOU over other applicants, even if it means paying an extra $50k or $100k.

Ability to Create Your Own Business- The workplace is a great learning experience, but what if you want to experiment and start your own business, which is similar to the one you are employed with. Having a strong personal brand can boost that start to your business. The clientele that will come to your new business might have heard from people that you have worked with in the past through your employer. Due to your brand, you have created a strong and positive reputation, giving you an edge over others in the industry.

Many Networking Possibilities- Bill Gates is respected among the tech world. It is probably true that any technology conference around the world would be pleased to have him speak or appear at their conference. He has created a very strong personal brand aside from Microsoft, which gives him the ability to network with new people, who would be honored to be in his presence.

It is not needed that you be working for a Fortune 500 company or own a very well known business to start building your personal brand. Anyone can create a positive personal brand or a negative personal brand, but it is the personal brand that will set you apart from others. If you create a well respected and knowledgeable personal brand, chances are you might open the door for numerous new possibilities, for any industry.

Business 101 With 50 Cent

Besides the phenomenal success 50 Cent has had with his rapping career, he is also a very powerful and smart businessman. Most people don't know of many of his successful business ventures, but he has sold companies for millions of dollars to large corporations. 50 Cent uses his name or even better, his "brand," to establish connections. The sale of Vitamin Water to Coca-Cola landed him with a cool $400 Million in the bank with his 10% share in the company (before taxes).

How exactly does "50" do business?

Works Around An Established Brand- As a rapper, 50 Cent gets a lot of hype from his fans, undoubtedly his albums rake in big dough for him, but he has gone a step further and expanded "50 Cent" as more than just a rapping phenomenon. "Bulletproof," a video game of 50 Cents lifestyle, also added to his fame in the gaming industry. Aside from the entertainment industry, he is also involved in the production of the G-Unit clothing line and has an agreement with Reebok to produce G-Unit sneakers.

Uses His Resources- As a celebrity, it's easy to make connections, but it's not all about making connections in life, it's about getting to really know people. 50 Cent does business with many people and across all industries, he gets to know people and isn't afraid to utilize his resources to learn and get involved in different types of businesses. If he had not started doing business with different people away from his entertainment career, he would not be in the shoes he is in today. Last year, 50 Cent also listed his house for sale, but got the exposure across to millions of people, by doing an MTV Cribs episode of his house. Even if the whole intent of the show wasn't to market the house, I think it was probably something which was high on the list, which probably influenced him to go throw with the episode. This is a perfect example of how, if you want to sell something, getting the maximum exposure is key, using the right connections can really assist you with that.

Isn't Afraid To Take Risks- As I mentioned previously, 50 Cent's involvement in foreign industries is something which he wasn't skilled at to start off with. Despite the fact that he was new to doing business in markets other than entertainment, he wasn't afraid to learn a little and lose a little. Getting involved in the stock market has also caused him to lose, in some of his investments, but if he didn't take risks, he wouldn't be able to diversify.

Has A Well Established Group- G-Unit, a group made of 50 Cent and his closest friends who are also rappers, is a well established group in the music industry. The power of the group is probably more than the power of 50 Cent alone. Having the G-Unit group, enables growth of all members in it. In the business world, most people try to get ahead alone, sometimes it involves claiming every man for themselves. For example, in the case of a promotion, if there was only one position and there were 5 candidates for it, every man would work their hardest to get that seat. It's not always advantageous to travel alone though, groups have more minds and more minds equate to more knowledge. Knowledge=Power.

There are many more factors that make Curtis Jackson "50 Cent" the successful businessman he is. I chose to write about 50 Cent because he is not viewed as the "most successful" businessman in the rap industry, instead he seems to be #2. Most people view Jay-Z to be the #1 businessman in the rap industry. I wanted to reflect that even though 50 Cent is a hard worker and has been tremendously successful this far, he is still not #1. Don't expect yourself to be #1 quickly, but trying to get that #1 spot, will keep you going.

Ego Satisfaction? Not So Much

A few days ago I posted a video on the Customer Experience aspect business, where you can develop a brand and have your customers potentially market it for you. In relation to having a rockstar business or brand reputation out in the open, you should also be caring enough to see who is saying what about your brand. Good or bad, you should find out what the word on the street is about your brand. Gary Vaynerchuk made a video on how you should be searching and caring for your customers, some may thing it is ego satisfaction, but it is far from it.

Co-Marketing & Anchor Branding

Often times products are branded with the compatibility of a larger brand. When people see a service or product that features a brand that is well known, they often tend to purchase the product.

Here is a video explaining how you can use another brand to market your own or even boost your own brand image.



Remember when branding a different brand, as a partner brand, seek permission first.

The Customer Experience

In the business world, it is very important to always deliver great customer service, but as we all know, it doesn't always take place. If you went somewhere and had a bad experience, what actually goes on in your mind? The same thoughts flow in the minds of customers that can come to your business and are unsatisfied. On the other had, if there was a good experience taken place with a customer, it can be extremely advantageous to a business.

Watch the video for more of what I think on the whole "Customer Experience" issue...

Branding Myself And Branding My Venture

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook or Facebook founded by Mark Zuckerberg? It is a question of branding one’s self or their empire. Personally, I’ve had this experience before. I have been a part of ventures, but when I sell them, I am no longer associated with them and there is no brand for myself, just the business. In the business world, companies are well known, but the people behind them are not as well known. So why do you need to brand yourself and how do you do it?

Originally when Facebook launched, Mark Zuckerberg used to have a tag on the bottom of each page that went something like “A Mark Zuckerberg Production.” This definitely spiked the curiosity of who Mark Zuckerberg was as Facebook grew. Facebook being his first large venture, many who know Mark today, did not know him in the pre-Facebook era. Today he has a brand not only connected to Facebook, but he has a self-branded image out in the world as well.

It is important to brand yourself not only as whom you are, but what ventures you are a part of. I was previously involved with some online ventures, that I played a small role in, but did not brand myself as a part of them. The connections made through a venture can be connections that you can use in the future with other ventures that you may be involved in. Once you create your own brand, people will look for where you are involved in other ventures, not the other way around.

Creating a LinkedIn profile is wonderful to help you create your own identity online, while networking with others at the same time. Unlike Facebook or MySpace, it’s more of a professional social network. There are straight forward connections to each person’s industry, showing who they work for, kind of like an online resume. LinkedIn is the best professional social network out there, which is why it has the most users out of any other professional social network. If I had to recommend one social network to anyone for networking, it would be LinkedIn.

Making your own website is also a phenomenal way to brand yourself. People have access to (YourName).com over the web, which you can turn into a blog about yourself or a website that explains what you are involved in. Some people even redirect their name to their about section of another one of their websites. Sometimes, your name might not be available, in which case you might want to try hyphening your name and see if that works. Creating a website can be awesome, but you should always remember to keep it professional and try to go for a different look or concept that what others do. For example, Neil Patel has a unique website NeilPatel.com which has a different concept, than any site I have seen, of walking visitors through who “Neil Patel” is.

Creating your own name- as your brand is always great, but you should try to stay away from naming products after your name. Sometimes people create a blog off of their name and brand off of that. I don’t like to personally take this approach because I feel it is less creative. Both of my blogs have unique names, instead of having RomilPatel.com as a blog URL. Blab Web is known as its own brand as well as Venture Level known as its own brand. RomilPatel.com is known as my brand, but I am known as the founder of all the brands. I think an independent URL expresses a sense of a unique brand image for that particular blog. Having a "FirstNameLastName" blog, can give yourself an name in the world, but I feel that it is best to come up with unique names for blogs because it gives a sense of bold style.
(I don't know what I want to currently do with RomilPatel.com, but I'm thinking about making it into a personal type of blog.)