Developing a Business Plan

A well-thought-out business plan is essential for any new venture, including a photography business. This plan serves as a roadmap, outlining the path from startup to established business.

1. Defining Your Niche: Identifying a niche is crucial in the crowded photography market. Specializing in a particular type of photography, such as weddings, portraits, corporate events, or landscapes, helps set a business apart from competitors.
2. Market Research: Understanding the market is key to any successful business. For photographers, this means researching potential clients, identifying what competitors are offering, and understanding current pricing structures. This research will inform many business decisions, from pricing and marketing strategies to choosing the right services to offer.
3. Setting Business Goals: Goal setting is vital for guiding a photography business toward long-term success. Clear goals help maintain focus and drive the business forward, providing milestones to celebrate along the way.

Essential Skills and Education

Launching a successful photography business begins with a solid foundation in both the art and science of photography. Technical skills, such as understanding lighting, composition, and camera mechanics, are crucial. Equally important is developing an artistic eye that can visualize a shot and bring it to life. For those looking to gain a competitive edge and deepen their expertise, pursuing a formal education, such as a bachelor in photography, can be invaluable. Such programs not only enhance technical and artistic skills but also cover critical aspects of the business side of photography, including marketing, financial management, and client relations. This comprehensive skill set prepares aspiring photographers to not only capture stunning photographs but also effectively manage and grow their business.

Legal and Administrative Setup

Setting up a photography business also involves several legal and administrative steps. Choosing the appropriate business structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, etc.) will affect taxes, liability, and other important factors. Registering the business with local and state authorities is essential to operate legally. Obtaining the necessary business licenses and permits is also crucial to avoid any legal issues that could arise. Photographers should also consider the types of insurance needed to protect their equipment and business, such as liability insurance and property insurance.

Branding and Marketing

Creating a distinctive brand identity is crucial for any photography business aiming to stand out in a saturated market. A strong brand communicates professionalism and style, and it begins with crafting a memorable logo, a catchy business name, and a consistent aesthetic across all materials. This includes business cards, a portfolio, and, most importantly, a professional website. The website should not only showcase the best work but also provide easy navigation and all necessary information, such as services offered, pricing, and contact details.

Developing a professional portfolio is essential. This portfolio should be a curated collection that showcases your best work and aligns with your chosen niche. It acts as a visual resume and a key marketing tool that demonstrates your capability and style to potential clients. Regular updates with new, relevant work will keep the portfolio fresh and reflective of your growing skills and areas of expertise.

Digital marketing strategies are also vital. Utilizing social media platforms effectively can greatly enhance exposure and attract a broader audience. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are particularly beneficial for photographers, allowing them to display their work widely and engage directly with potential clients. Additionally, strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO) can increase the visibility of the photography business in search engine results, driving more traffic to the website.

Networking and Building Client Relationships

Networking is another fundamental element of building a successful photography business. Attending industry events, participating in workshops, and joining local business groups can provide valuable connections that might lead to new clients and collaborations with other professionals. Online networking on platforms like LinkedIn also opens up further opportunities for connections and can showcase your professional brand to a wider audience.

Building and maintaining strong client relationships is critical. Happy clients are likely to return and refer others to your services. Excellent customer service, clear communication, and professionalism throughout the client interaction help build trust and satisfaction. Following up with clients after sessions with a thank you note, requesting feedback, and keeping them informed about additional services and promotions can foster ongoing relationships and encourage repeat business.

Managing Finances

Proper financial management is key to the sustainability of any business. Setting up an efficient system to track expenses, income, and invoicing ensures the business remains profitable and viable. It’s important to budget for fluctuating income streams common in freelance and project-based work like photography. Planning for slow periods and saving during peak times can help stabilize financial flow.

Photographers should also consider their pricing carefully to ensure it covers their time, costs, and provides a profit margin. Understanding the market and what competitors charge can offer guidelines, but prices should ultimately reflect the value and quality of the work offered.

Conclusion

Starting a photography business from scratch involves much more than just taking great photos. It requires a blend of artistic skill, strategic planning, and business savvy. From developing a robust brand and marketing strategy to managing finances and building client relationships, each aspect plays a crucial role in the success of the business.

With dedication, the right education, and a solid business plan, photographers can turn their passion into a thriving business. Embracing both the creative and the commercial sides of photography will not only lead to financial success but also to personal fulfillment and a rewarding career capturing life’s moments.

Photo Credit

Photo is from Pexels

Guest Author Bio
Valencia Jasira

Valencia Jasira is a Senior Content Writer with more than 15 years of research experience in the fields of health and the environment. Her prolific research has significantly influenced Health and Environment Issues, and she regularly advises on health practices.

The Role of Podcasts in Business Strategy

Podcasts are not merely a form of entertainment; they are a robust medium to exhibit your skill set, connect meaningfully with potential clients, and foster trust. This multidimensional platform is incredibly cost-efficient, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes. By prioritizing podcasts in your business strategy, you can effectively create a channel that resonates with your target audience.

Creating an Unforgettable Identity

To lay the foundation of your podcast and brand, an essential element is having a robust marketing strategy. Part of this strategy is developing a captivating logo that grabs attention and helps you stand out. Your logo is the face of your brand and creates immediate recognition. For those on a budget, you can use an online tool to craft an engaging logo, offering multiple options to customize fonts and colors to suit your style.

Curating the Perfect Theme

Deciding on a fitting theme for your podcast can make or break its success. The theme must align with your expertise and meet the needs or interests of your target audience. Moreover, consistency in topics helps to keep listeners engaged and coming back for more, thereby growing your audience over time. Delve into niche topics that differentiate you from competitors, creating a unique voice in the crowded podcast landscape. Regularly gather feedback from your audience to refine your theme and ensure it remains relevant and captivating. Additionally, staying updated with industry trends can help in evolving your theme to match the changing interests of your listeners.

Navigating the Technical Landscape

Understanding the technical needs of podcast production is crucial for creating content that is both engaging and professional. This includes acquiring essential knowledge in recording setups, sound editing, and publishing. Producing high-quality content not only retains existing audiences but also attracts new listeners. Invest time in learning about various podcast hosting platforms and their analytics to better understand your audience’s preferences. Regularly updating your technical skills and equipment can help you stay ahead in producing crisp and clear audio. Don’t overlook the importance of a soundproof recording environment to minimize background noise and enhance the listening experience.

Hardware and Software Investments

High-quality production demands investment in reliable software and hardware. This ensures your podcast doesn’t falter in sound quality or editing finesse. Research and invest in dependable podcasting equipment and software to produce content that resonates in terms of both substance and quality. Consider the longevity and scalability of your investments to ensure they can grow with your podcast’s success. Utilizing advanced editing software can help streamline the production process, allowing for more creativity and flexibility in your episodes. Regularly update and maintain your equipment to prevent technical issues that could disrupt your content schedule.

Timing It Right

Your posting schedule is an aspect that often goes unnoticed but plays a significant role in retaining listeners. Determine a frequency and timing for episodes that not only fit your routine but also cater to the habits of your target audience. Consistency is key to building and sustaining your listener base. Analyze the listening patterns of your audience through platform analytics to identify the optimal times for releasing new episodes. Incorporate special episodes or series to keep the content fresh and exciting for long-term listeners.

A Multi-Channel Promotion Approach

After successfully creating your podcast, the next step is to get the word out. Utilize diverse promotional channels such as social media, email campaigns, and partnerships with other podcasters or industry leaders. This multi-faceted approach ensures that your podcast reaches all corners of your target market. Leverage SEO techniques to improve the visibility of your podcast on search engines and podcast directories. Engage with your audience through interactive content such as polls, Q&A sessions, and live streams to build a loyal community.

Podcasting is a dynamic tool that has the potential to escalate your business while bolstering your position as an industry authority. A meticulous marketing strategy, an engaging brand identity, and a carefully curated content approach are key elements in exploiting the podcast medium effectively. Embrace this medium wholeheartedly, and you may find your business scaling heights that you hadn’t imagined possible.

Photo Credit

Image via Pexels

1. You Should Create Multi-Purpose Content

When creating content, you often have a specific trend, topic, and channel in mind. Most marketers will tell you to tailor your content to these parameters. However, a secret to efficient marketing is to create content that serves multiple purposes. Instead of producing one-off blog posts or videos, consider re-purposing content across different platforms and formats. For example, you can turn a popular blog post into an engaging, short-form video. You can also use excerpts from an eBook in your social media posts. This way, you can reach a broader audience and maximize your efforts.

2. Your Niche Is Ultra Important

Reaching a broader audience doesn’t necessarily mean that you are catering your business to everyone. Marketing efforts can be broad to reach more people, but it’s important to niche down to reach the right people. By focusing on a niche market, your offerings can solve a specific pain point or meet a need or preference of a portion of potential customers. This narrows down your competition and makes your brand stand out as truly worth it.

While your marketing can be broad, make sure to have more tailored messaging and offerings down the pipeline. You can even appeal to those niche interests and pain points in some of your marketing messages to zero in on qualified leads. These leads are more likely to become conversions and loyal customers in the long run.

3. Organic Traffic Is Key, Especially at First

While paid advertising can be effective in driving traffic, organic traffic should not be overlooked, especially in the early stages of your business. Building a strong online presence through search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing can attract valuable organic traffic that is more likely to convert into leads and customers. Remember, ads might bring immediate results, but organic traffic can provide sustainable growth in the long run.

4. You Can Have Too Much Content

On the other side of the coin, it is entirely possible to have too much content. This is true on social media platforms as well as your website and blog. If you’re just posting for the sake of posting, it may be time to reconsider and look at the quality of those posts. In business, professionals often cite the Pareto Principle. If you applied this to content marketing, it would mean that 80% of your traffic comes from 20% of your content.

While the 80/20 rule may be true, all of your content should serve as a holistic view of your brand. It damages your brand image to be too all over the place with content, even if it gets out quickly. For example, too much irrelevant blog content will send confusing signals to search engines and harm your SEO efforts. Instead, focus on producing valuable and relevant content that resonates with your audience and helps you build internal and external links. A well-curated content strategy will enhance your brand reputation and have a more significant impact on your marketing efforts.

5. Negative Reviews Can Be Used for Positive Marketing

Brand reputation is a key aspect of marketing that you’re surely aware of. However, the overall consensus is that positive perceptions of your business are preferable. While that is certainly true, you can also glean value from negative reviews. Although disheartening, negative consumer feedback shows you areas for improvement.

It also offers you the chance to make things right, and you can even publicly respond to negative feedback in kind, helpful ways. This is far better than ignoring or deleting the inevitable not-so-perfect reviews or comments that come your way. Showcasing how you handle criticism and make improvements can actually enhance your brand’s reputation and demonstrate transparency, which customers appreciate.

6. People Like To See Themselves in Brand Marketing

Potential and current customers value personalization and feelings of closeness with brands. This is not uncommon knowledge, and neither is the importance of diversity and inclusion. However, market segmentation branding can benefit from this in ways you may not expect.

Even if your target audience is full of similar people, there are still ways in which you can segment your marketing efforts. A deeper dive into the demographics of your target audience can help you represent each part of your target audience in your marketing material. By showcasing diverse groups and inclusive messaging as much as possible, you can create a stronger connection with your audience and build a more favorable brand image.

7. It’s Okay To Ask for Help — But Stay in the Loop

Marketing can be complex, and it’s perfectly fine to seek guidance from experts or hire marketing professionals on your team eventually. However, remember that it’s still your business, and stay involved in the marketing process. Understand the strategies being implemented and stay informed about your marketing efforts. This way, you can ensure your brand’s message remains consistent and aligned with your vision.

You will undoubtedly come across more marketing secrets of your own, and these can even be unique to your specific business situation. In essence, it’s a good idea to stay sharp, keeping an eye on any changes in marketing trends or your own marketing performance.

Photo Credit

Photo by Ivan Samkov at pexels

Guest Author Bio
Luke Smith

Luke Smith is a writer and researcher turned blogger. He enjoys writing on a variety of topics but business, technology, and digital marketing topics are his favorite. When he isn’t writing you can find him traveling, hiking, or getting into the latest tech.

Other people think it’s just a good time for small business ownership. Digital technology makes it easier and more affordable than ever to run a business. And with people working more and more from home, there isn’t even always the need to experience the crushing costs of major overhead.

In other words, it’s easier than ever to follow your dreams. If you are interested in turning your passion into a career but don’t know where to begin, this article is for you. Read on to learn how to monetize your hobbies!

Perfect Your Product

Let’s say your passion is baking. You love to make cookies and everyone you bake for says that your stuff is the best they’ve ever had. Well hey! That’s a ringing endorsement if ever there was one. Time to start shopping for company jets? Look out Keebler Elves, here you come?

Not quite. Because while no one will call Keebler cookies the best they’ve ever had, they are at least consistent. Be honest with yourself. You tinker a little with that recipe, don’t you? And sometimes a batch will come out of the oven burnt, or flat, or misshapen, and you never really know why.

That’s fine for amateur bakers who like to make sweet treats for their families. It doesn’t work for pros that need to bake dozens of batches every single day. Before you can bring a product to market you need to make sure that it has been perfected and standardized.

Your customers deserve the same predictable, high-quality results time after time. Become Keebler consistent, or risk losing out to inferior competitors who at least have consistency on their side.

Treat it Like a Business

In the early stages of transitioning from hobbyist to business person, it is easy to go in half-hearted. “Yeah, I probably should have a logo, a slogan, a website, a social media page. But those things take time and money. Maybe I will just wait and see how it goes.”

Isn’t that a little like saying you’ll build the walls of your house and then see how things go before committing to a roof? Customers don’t really care if you are dipping your toes in the waters of entrepreneurship. They want to shop from people who are professional and reliable. If you can’t convince them in a few seconds that you fit that bill, they will move on to someone who can.

Having a strong professional presence will take a little bit of startup cash, but it doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might assume. Website builders make it easy for laypeople to design their own pages with a drag-and-click interface. And freelancer websites make it easy to find qualified, affordable professionals to do things like create your logos, or even run your social media accounts.

You might not have the online presence of, say, Disney, but you will be Googleable. That means something.

Get Your Legal Ducks in a Row

Ok, you’re a cookie business again. You got the product down. You even designed a website you’re pretty excited about. Customers can place orders directly on the page, and you can ship them off that same day.

But there is a small problem. You aren’t a registered business. You’re just a person with a laptop and a dream. “How will they ever know?” You think to yourself. And while there is a decent chance this menacingly vague “they,” might not ever find out that you haven’t dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s there’s always the chance that they will.

It’s easy enough to register as an LLC and get whatever requisite licensing your state requires. Usually, you can do this by paying a few minor fees and filling out the required paperwork. It’s not the most exciting step in business ownership, but it is an important component of getting yourself ready to make a public debut.

Marketing

Marketing is basically just the art of selling through storytelling. You need to be able to put out a message that makes people want to buy your stuff. Part of your marketing campaign will come in the form of branding— essentially establishing a story around yourself. What your product is. What your business values. What people who shop from you value.

Do I really need that for a side hustle?

Well, sure. Especially if you want your side hustle to turn into something lucrative and sustainable. One of the things that hold people back from finding success with their passion projects is that they will think, “Ok, sure. I see why that might be good to do. That’s the first thing I will worry about when I start making sales.”

Ignoring the fact that good business practices are what elevates companies to success in the first place. Imagine walking into a new grocery store and asking where you might find the eggs. “Well, right now we are trying our luck with bread,” they reply. “But eggs—yeah. That’s a good idea for the future.”

Give yourself the chance to succeed by treating your business seriously from day one.

Remember: Most Businesses Start from a Place of Passion

It’s true. Businesses usually begin as a passion project and expand from there. It’s easy to see that in exciting industries like publishing or filmmaking, but it’s true of just about everything. A person has an idea or a passion, and they start thinking about how they can make money out of it. That’s all a business is.

You’ve heard the saying, “If you’re good at something, never do it for free?” Well, with a decent business plan, you can experience the reality of that. Work doesn’t have to be miserable. Business doesn’t have to be hard. Follow your dreams, but let reason and logic lead the way. You won’t be disappointed.

Photo Credits

Image by Petra from Pixabay

Guest Author Bio
Sarah Daren

With a Bachelor’s in Health Science along with an MBA, Sarah Daren has a wealth of knowledge within both the health and business sectors. Her expertise in scaling and identifying ways tech can improve the lives of others has led Sarah to be a consultant for a number of startup businesses, most prominently in the wellness industry, wearable technology and health education. She implements her health knowledge into every aspect of her life with a focus on making America a healthier and safer place for future generations to come.

But what about The Golden Rule’s applications in our professional lives? While being kind to our coworkers is a given, how can kindness affect the way a business is perceived by not only its employees, but its clients and customers? With so many brands coming across as abrasive or pushy with their bottom line, can kindness help your business turn a better profit? In this article, we’ll go over why adding kindness and a human approach to your business model is the key to effective marketing.

Kindness Helps Strengthen and Nurture Customer Relationships

Among the many pillars of a successful business, one of the most important is a business’s relationship with its customers. This means engaging customers at every stage of the sales funnel, drawing them in with relevant content, and nurturing those relationships with quick access to whatever products or information they’re looking for. If you’re part of a competitive industry, what you sell is often less important than how you sell it. No one likes a pushy salesman, and most people know when they’re pressured to pull out their wallets versus being invited to make a genuine connection.

Trust and loyalty are built on empathy and authenticity. When you put yourself in someone else’s shoes, you gain a better understanding of that person’s feelings. You’re able to see things beyond your bottom line, and doing so helps you build relationships that feel much more natural. Beyond that, studies show that 76% of consumers say they’ll buy from a brand they feel connected to over a competitor, with 57% of those consumers admitting that they’re more likely to increase their spending with a brand based on that connection. Naturally, this translates to your response to customer problems or concerns. A thoughtful gift or discount code to a disgruntled customer will leave a lasting impression, increasing the likelihood that they do business with you in the future. On the same token, actively engaging your customers on social media fuels that human connection, giving those on the outside an inside glimpse of how their own interactions with your company might be.

Kindness Can Improve the Reputation of Your Business

In business, your reputation means everything. It helps others to gauge the honesty and trustworthiness of your brand, and your online reviews say a lot about how you’ve handled yourself in the past. Go the extra mile for a client or customer, and you earn yourself a 5-star review. Add a few 5-star reviews to your name, and you increase the likelihood of people wanting to know more about you and what you do. The inverse is also true, as a slew of negative reviews can turn people away before you have the chance to strike up a conversation.

To give an example, let’s suppose a beauty retailer decides to look into hiring a third party to help with their beauty marketing efforts. In their search, they come across a few different agencies all promising the same thing, yet a couple of them stand out as being better reviewed than the others. While it’s true that each agency’s experience and industry case studies should be taken into account before making a decision, their online reviews still hold significant weight. More consumers are reading reviews than ever before, and studies show that in 2021, 77% of consumers read reviews first when browsing for local businesses, an increase from the 60% of consumers who read them in 2020.

If that weren’t enough, your brand’s reputation is often a key indicator of what it’s like to work for your company. Highly-rated companies tend to draw in higher-quality applicants, and those applicants tend to want to work harder for companies that foster a culture of kindness. A motivated workforce leads to better interactions with your customers. Since word gets around quickly (thanks in large part to Facebook, TikTok, and other popular social media platforms), this kind of exposure can do wonders for your brand’s reputation over time, even more so if your business goes viral from a positive experience.

Kindness Creates Consistency

Just as kindness can add to your business’s reputation and motivate your workforce, so too can it help you and your leadership team build consistency throughout your organization. It establishes a standard of behavior, influencing others to follow that standard in all areas of business and customer interaction. Over time, this helps streamline the decision-making process, as the end goal remains the same: ensure your customers and employees feel heard and validated.

By treating your customers and employees as people rather than as a means to an end, you can boost company morale and employee engagement, inspiring both leaders and their employees to consider not only the actions they’re taking, but why they’re taking them. When leaders focus on treating others with kindness, they’re that much more likely to influence their employees and earn their confidence.

Implementing Kindness In Your Business

Overall, adding kindness to your marketing strategy is one of the best things you can do for your business. If you want to enjoy the success kindness can bring, there are a few things you can do to make that happen. For starters, train your employees to think about how they would like to be treated were they in the customer’s shoes. Secondly, focus on hiring empathetic people, as these personalities are an essential part of quality customer service and leadership, no matter the industry. By placing a premium on kindness, you can enjoy all the benefits and success that come with it.

Photo Credit

Photo is from Unsplash

Guest Author Bio
Madeleine Crichton

Madeleine is a writer that currently calls the great Pacific Northwest home. She covers topics related to business productivity, leadership, and employee satisfaction, but also loves to write about her non-professional passions, which include mental health, technology, and travel. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time in the great outdoors with her Mini Aussie, loves a good puzzle, and lives for live music. You can find her on LinkedIn.

What is a Content Marketing Writer?

Content marketing goes beyond sales to relationship building. Michele Linn explained it well. “… content marketing is educational but is not about the products the company sells. The vendor offers such good information that you become loyal to the brand.”

Realize, this is not writing your literary novel. Content Marketing is formulaic. Now formulaic for a creative can go against the grain, but storytelling will be part of it. Read on. You write for google, so keywords and SEO are part of it. You write for the client who wants to connect to their audience. Above all content marketing writer’s write for the problems and needs of an audience, and the audience loves stories.

Think of content marketing writing as matchmaking through the Googinator.

The trick, to deliver content relevant to the audience’s need or problem while making sure it reaches them through the client and pleases the google bots. Challenging, for sure.

Now a lot of folks go into content marketing believing it to be lucrative. It can be but like all things worthwhile it means hard work. You will need skills over and above your writing. It is a juggling act. Research, write, revise, revise, revise then publish and repeat.

Content Marketing Writer – Examples

Something Basic

A simple example, you, as a client, are reaching out through an idea (the writing) and share an encouraging quote.You (the audience) needs this encouragement. There’s a connection. Hopefully with a steady stream of quotes the client’s audience becomes loyal. Add SEO and we (the content marketing writer) reach a larger audience for our client. We see a lot of this go viral on social media. Why? Emotional connection.

Something Big

On a grander scale you may work for corporations creating value loaded content which moves the brand forward because the audience feels connected. Remember, content marketing writers write for google (keywords and SEO), the client (their brand of service, product, or ideology) and the audience (the point).

Something Personal – (My Story)

Why would a fiction writer with a passion for children’s books look at content marketing? Like you, I love to write but need to make an income from it. Admittedly when I stumbled upon content marketing writing I saw financial possibilities. I quickly discovered it was NOT a quick fix. But I also discovered it combines all the things I love to do: write, encourage, share (especially ideas), and with consistency and hard work, get paid.

There was a shift from the promise of money writing from home, to curiosity and challenge. What to do first? Find out more.

Starting with a basic web content course, the wheels started to turn. I meandered in the wilderness of information until I found Sticky Blogging which explained SEO. It scared me, but the challenge was there, and I’m still learning. I began to experiment and learn from successful people. I discovered Jon Morrow’s Smart Blogger and enrolled in his courses.

My curiosity satisfied, my challenge met, and I am done. Not exactly. A-h-h there was a service piece. Helping others succeed and the satisfaction of seeing them fly means there’s job satisfaction ahead.

Are you still with me? Well here is what you need if your goal is to be a content marketing writer.

Content Marketing Writer (what you need?)

As a successful content marketing writer:

• You understand how to get the client noticed.
• You have excellent writing skills (technically correct, and original)
• You will need creativity as a storyteller (because stories are the hook)
• You need to be OK with being in the background (serving others as matchmaker)
• Serve where your interest fits the audience’s need or problem.
• Be organized (can you manage your time and your outline?)
• Do you love research? (because there’s gobs of it.)

If you can spot a problem for a specific audience, and bring them doable solutions within the client’s criteria through the googinator, in a reasonable time, you are on your way. The skills can be learned from numerous reputable schools and courses.

Content Marketing Writer (What You Will Learn)

You will learn the content marketing formula, become a better writer, gain an understanding of SEO, and learn the necessary skills to utilize outlines. Above all you will meet amazing people along the way.

Creative writing is the playground; non-fiction is adding to the world’s body of knowledge. But Content marketing is a combination of storytelling, facts, technology, and matchmaking of the audience to brand. Content marketing writer fits. Now the topic you choose is the ignition. Be sure it’s a passion, and you are unstoppable.

Content Marketing Writer – (What to write about?)

Find the sweet spot, where the audience has a need or problem and the topic is something you know, understand, and love.

My bottom line was to encourage and build up relationships. This means faith (Spiritual relationship), family (people relationships – especially parenting), and writing (my passion). Why parenting? It is fundamental work. Parents lay the foundations for humankind’s future. What children are taught and how they are treated is perpetuated.

What about you? Perhaps you’re passionate about visual arts or the art of tidying. Do a mind map and find your sweet spot.

Content Marketing Writer – (It is Your Move)

If you’re hooked, a content marketing writer can fill the hole in both your sense of purpose and your wallet. The road is not instant, it’s hard work. There are a LOT of places to learn the skills. Do your research. If any of the programs I mentioned seem interesting check out my affiliations page at moiragardener.com

Photo Credits

Photos are Free Stock Photos from Pexels

Establishing a trustworthy brand isn’t always discussed in product strategy or marketing committee meetings, but that doesn’t change the fact that gaining trust from your customers plays a critical role in your business success. Below, we’ll discuss why this is the case and how different areas of your business affect your brand’s reputation.

Having an Active and Visible Online Presence

In today’s modern business landscape, creating an online presence is not just a way to advertise products and services — it’s an essential step to building brand trust. However, creating an “online presence” in order to establish credibility with modern consumers involves more than just creating a company website. Having an active presence on more than one medium gives customers confidence that they’re dealing with a reputable company.

Today’s consumers expect brands to be open and transparent in who they are and what they value in both company culture and their customers. Social media outlets and blogging platforms are a great way to create a voice for your brand, allowing you to connect with your audience while showcasing yourself as an authority in your niche. They also double as helpful resource centers when engaging customers in both presale and post-sale discussions.

The Effects of a Product Recall

For some companies, getting a product to market as quickly as possible and before the competition is priority number one. But while speed to market is an important part of business scalability, focusing on efficiency over quality in product design can cause serious issues in the event of a product recall.

Even if you take proactive measures to handle product recalls as organized and as professionally as possible, they can have long-term effects on your brand’s reputation. Manufacturing or design defects in products that cause injury or emotional stress can be devastating to a brand. Not only can these defects lead to a lack of trust in your products, but they also result in expensive litigation battles.

Leadership Accountability In and Out of the Office

Unfortunately, there are far too many cases involving business leaders who have compromised the future of their companies due to poor decisions and conduct unbecoming while in and out of the office. All business leaders have a duty to themselves, their employees, and their customers to act professionally whether on the job or in the public eye.

Your online reputation, reflective of your social media activity, public records, and known affiliations can do as much harm as they can good when it becomes associated with your business. This is especially the case when making a stand on certain political or social issues and using social media as an outlet to voice those opinions. If customers don’t feel they can trust or empathize with the president or CEO of a company, then there is no reason they should expect anything different from the organization as a whole.

Your Customer Service Reputation

By far, one of the first and last things a customer typically remembers is how they were treated by the brand they deal with. Focus on providing stellar customer service, whether over the phone, through email, or on live chat sessions. It doesn’t matter how well you design your products or how big your marketing budget is; if your customers don’t feel like they are your number one priority, your business reputation will suffer.

Dedication to quality customer service should be ingrained in your company culture. Any staff member that occupies a forward-facing role in the organization should be thoroughly trained on how to provide valuable and memorable customer experiences. One bad customer service experience can cause a chain reaction of bad reviews — and devastating impacts on revenue and profitability.

Showing You Take Your Company Seriously

Another impact aspect of your business’s trustworthiness is the perception of whether you take your company seriously or not. One way this is evaluated is by identifying how secure you keep your digital assets and that of your customers. Cybersecurity is a growing issue that almost every business is aware of. If your organization accepts the reality of this risk but doesn’t put policies and procedures in place to mitigate it, your customers won’t think you value protecting their privacy or your own.

Another way to gauge your company’s commitment to long-term sustainability is whether your business is insured. Investing in solutions to protect your business and customers showcases to the public that you’re a reputable business that’s here to stay.

Developing and maintaining a strong business reputation is key to standing out from your competition and creating a loyal customer base. By recognizing the different areas of your business that affect customer perception, you’ll ensure you take an approach to your business development strategy that fosters trust.

Photo Credit

Photo is from pexels

Guest Author Bio
Magnolia Potter

Magnolia Potter is a muggle from the Pacific Northwest who writes from time to time and covers a variety of topics. When Magnolia’s not writing, you can find her curled up with a good book.

Blog / Website: Magnolia Potter

Usually, each interview has a specific purpose and it is not a generic process. Also, there are types of interviews that a can be chosen based on information needs. Many interviews are marked by that Aha moment, when the interviewer gets a flash of insight.

The following are six interviewing techniques that should be followed as good practices.

Technique 1–Let them take control

When I start an interview, I let the interviewee(s) talk for three to five minutes. Even if they digress off the topic, I let them do so. This is like a warm up before a work out. In the case of an interview, it also helps the interviewee(s) feel at ease, feel important and feel like I want them to express their opinions. After that initial phase, I continue to let them feel like they are the ones controlling the conversation. My questions and requests for clarification are never dominating. I show interest in their opinions and might talk loudly at times, but I never argue with them or criticize them.

So, the first interviewing technique to follow is to let the interviewee take control.

Technique 2–Don’t read questions

When I interview, I try not to give away that I have a prewritten script of questions in my mind. Often the questions are right there on the sheet or note pad that I am carrying. I glance at the questions quickly while talking, but very quickly so that the interviewees cannot figure it out. If the questions are there in my mind and I have memorized the order like a script, a quick peek is all I need to refresh my memory. One tactic that I use to help this process is to write key words beside each question. So, when I glance at the question during the interview, the key word reminds me what the question is.

So, the second interviewing technique to follow is to avoid reading the questions from a sheet of paper.

Technique 3 – Ask why and how

It has been a while, since I passed out of elementary school. Yet, some of those challenges that I faced when I started writing paragraphs still haunt me. One such hurdle was learning to explain the why and how of things. I still find myself failing at this task at times. So, if I write about someone being funny, I may not be able to explain why they are funny.

The same mistake is prevalent in interviews that I watch on television or as a researcher. This leads to the third interviewing technique–using lots of why and how clarifications during an interview. As the interview progresses, I notice my interviewee(s) speaking a lot but also getting tired. This makes them forget to clarify all their statements. I like to jump in and ask them why they said something – “Why do you say that Toronto is a wonderful place to stay?”. I also ask them how they know something– “How do you know that this cream has steroids?”.

Technique 4 – Avoid leading questions

I love to impose my opinions on others, as my wife and mother keep complaining. I make statements such as, “Vegetarian food is good for the environment!” or “Don’t drink alcohol everyday!” These are statements laced with subjective opinions.

When I interview, I must keep reminding myself to not express my opinions and maintain a neutral stance. This is not difficult, although it requires some practice.

During an interview, it is easy to lead the interviewee(s) into an opinionated mindset by asking them a leading question. For example, if I ask someone why education is necessary for a peaceful planet, I am leading the interviewee(s) within the context of a widespread opinion that education is a good thing. Instead, I should ask them their opinions about how education might impact levels of violence, so they can simply discuss the connection between education and a peaceful planet.

So, the fourth interviewing technique to follow is to avoid leading questions.

Technique 5 – Avoid loaded questions

I have an uncle who is known for being dramatic. Whenever he visits, he spends an hour discussing the state of the world using animated gestures and strong words. It is his way of getting attention and feeling important.

I never use his technique when it comes to interviewing. Instead, I do the opposite and avoid questions that are loaded with strong words. A loaded question is like a leading question but also different.

If I ask you whether you would like to eat vegetarian to protect yourself from the harmful antibiotics that are used to produce meat, I am loading my question with adjectives that are bound to influence your thinking. This is an example of a loaded question. I should ideally avoid loaded words and ask whether you are considering becoming vegetarian and if so, why you have made such a decision. The use of loaded words does introduce an opinion, so a loaded question is also a leading question at times.

So, the fifth interviewing technique to follow is to avoid loaded questions.

Technique 6 – Use projective techniques

A projective technique is a questioning method. I can use this technique to find out how a friend or colleague perceives me. Since these perceptions are often intangible, they are not easy to articulate.

Perceptions exist in the subconscious, which is something “existing or operating in the mind beneath or beyond consciousness” (Dictionary.com). I will struggle to express my perceptions of the same friend as these are outside my regular consciousness.

A projective technique is handy in such a situation, because it allows me to project these subconscious perceptions on to a tangible object. In a sense it is a shortcut. Instead of having to dig deep into my mind, I simply choose an animal, fruit, city or car that expresses these perceptions.

So, I would ask my friend – Please choose a fruit or animal that best represents me?

It is a clever idea to ask for clarification – Why did you choose a mango to represent me?

So, the sixth interviewing technique to follow is to use projective techniques.

The Aha moment

Back to the Aha moment. What’s that, you might be wondering. This is the moment, when I realize that meeting someone, talking to them and getting a first hand feel of their living and/or working environment(s) have all contributed to an invaluable insight. It makes the effort worth it.

In the case of my interview with the retired couple, the Aha moment came when I was walking around their garden with the gentleman. He mentioned that he did not really want a swimming pool in the house. He had bought the house from someone else and the pool was already there. I also understood that he would like private pools to be banned, due to their negative impact on the environment.

A little later, as we finished the tour of the garden, he showed me his man cave. This was a single chair with a few empty beer bottles strewn around it. He spends a few hours there every evening after the gardening is done. For the winter, he had an indoor man cave where he could listen to music.

Those few hours in the evening were reserved for solitary introspection and to have an enjoyable time. Those few hours in the evening were when it all seemed worth it. The long hours of work, raising a family, buying a house and then, finally, retiring to a life of comfort. I realized that the man was defined by his relationship with the garden, love for nature and the need to get away from it all during those few hours in the evening. This was the Aha moment.

Photo Credit

Photo is by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash

Guest Author Bio
Rohit Chattopadhyay

Rohit Chattopadhyay is the founder of Culture Cushion Consulting, a firm that helps professionals develop communication and cultural skills to succeed internationally. He has a PhD in communication from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Rohit has conducted independent research on cultural identity issues, apart from working as a marketing research and marketing professional in Canada, India and USA. If you want to schedule a training session or workshop, please send an email to rohit@culturecushion.com.

Website: Culture Cushion Consulting

Key Moments from the Starbucks Logo History

Starbucks was founded back in 1971 as a small coffee shop in Seattle. Its free internet and unique coffee products have attracted customers from around the world. However, the siren logo has helped make the brand more powerful and iconic. The Starbucks logo history is a branding lesson that many of us should learn.

1971: The Starbucks first logo was a siren in a circle. The logo had more details about the siren, including bare breasts and a lower half with two split fish tails. Brown color was the original color of the logo, which changed after a few years.

1987: Starbuck’s logo became streamlined and changed its color to the signature dark green we now know. This is also the time when Starbucks began selling espresso beverages. The company name changed from Starbucks Coffee Tea Spices to Starbucks Coffee. The logo still featured two split fish tails.

1992: Starbucks became publicly traded in 1992 and rebranded for a friendlier look. This was another hotspot in the Starbucks logo history as the mermaid lost its lower half.

2011: The 2011 change is also the latest from the Starbucks logo history. The logo lost its writing and the circle lost its contour. Starbuck’s white mermaid is now on a green background instead of the black one. This update made the logo even more simple than before as it removed all excess colors, text and stars. This change also marked 40 years of company existence.

Symbols from the Starbucks Logo History

The brand owners got inspiration for their logo while researching through a book with old marine woodcuts. The mermaid was a symbol of Seattle’s history of a seaport. The stars were simply put in the Starbucks logo to fit the brand’s name.

The symbol of a two-tailed siren dates to the 8th century, as a mosaic in an Italian cathedral. As the siren’s lower half disappeared, branding specialists have wanted to keep its inspirational aspect as a muse. Therefore, they decided to make her face asymmetrical and cause an international stir. As Starbucks representatives claim, the mermaid’s right side of face has an extra shadow. Specialists explained this asymmetry by providing the logo with a friendlier, more human face that eliminates the mask feel.

According to the brand’s website, the latest Starbucks logo represents its tight connection to partners and customers.

Who Contributed to the Starbucks Logo History

• Howard Shultz, the brand’s executive chairman wanted to insert the green tone into the logo as a symbol for his former coffee shop.
• Graphic designer Terry Heckler was the first to sketch a logo for the Starbucks brand. At the time, the first logo was also the company’s first attempt to create a brand identity in a series of brainstorming sessions.
• The all-time used font from the Starbucks logo history was drawn by Joshua Darden. Even though it became bolder throughout the updates, the signature font has not gone through major changes.
• The concept of signature coffee came from journalist Gordon Bowker, together with entrepreneurs Heckler Associates who wanted to provide coffee with a concept.

Why the Starbucks Logo History is Impressive

The Starbucks brand became so famous that it became one of the cornerstones of American literature. Author Herman Melville introduced the branded coffee in Moby Dick. The brand has also tried to sell magazines and music albums throughout its evolution. Yet, the only successful product was coffee.

The Starbucks logo features a mermaid and no writing. Company officials say that the symbol comes from the 16th century, while historic proof place it in the 18th. Aside the historic Seattle, the brand’s logo seems to have a vague significance. There are some who develop theories about hidden meanings of the company logo. However, more discussion means more publicity.

Starbucks Wrap Up

The Starbucks logo history features 4 updates and a few branding and graphic design experts. The company had its ups and downs. Yet, it managed to exploit its international fame to the fullest and even create internet trends such as photos with people holding Starbucks cups.

Starbucks is a brand winning story that won’t end anytime soon. Since it’s still being written about, branding experts will be able to learn from the coffee company’s future initiatives.

Photo Credits

Starbucks Logo – Fair Use
Starbucks Cups – Wikimedia Creative Commons
Storefront – depositphotos

Guest Author Bio
Samuel Caverly

Samuel Caverly is the Senior Editor at Logo Realm, an online portal that provides informative articles on the origin, evolution, and significance of company logos.

What is Market Segmentation?

Market segmentation is based on this notion of identity. It divides your market into various sections based on markers such as age, income, interests and buying habits. The most well-known market segmentation technology is the PRIZM geo-demographic segmentation technology that divides the market according to life stage, income and residential location. Life stage is measured according to factors such as age, marital status and number of children at home. Income level is measured on a high to low continuum. Residential location is placed on an urban to rural continuum and marked accordingly. In combination, these measures create the 66 market segments outlined by the PRIZM technology.

Many of us are not aware that we belong to a market segment. We do not regularly consider fitting our lives into a segmentation system, based on where we live, how we live and what we buy. It may not occur to us that we unknowingly fit into a segmentation grid that makes us belong to the target audience for certain types of products and marketing communications messages. When I first realized this about myself, I also understood that my consumption habits fall into a certain pattern that is not accidental. Rather, they are driven by deep rooted motivations that represent my demographic, behavioral and psychographic profile.

To put it simply–I consume in the way that I do because of who I am.

Market Segmentation and Brand Narratives

There are anomalies to this logic, for sure. Yet, it works more often than it does not, as you will surely realize if you observe your own purchase patterns and try to ask yourself why you shop at Store A and not Store B and why you drink brand A coffee instead brand B coffee. Observe the advertisements of your favorite brands as well. You will be surprised when, reflected in those advertisements, you discover aspects of yourself that you had not noticed before.

It is common knowledge that a brand lends an identity to a product. We recognize our brands based on these identities. Some we like, others we don’t, and many identities become our aspirations rather than our reality. As many marketing gurus will also tell you, a brand presents a narrative that helps us create or recreate drama in our lives. I would argue that brands do well when they create narratives which stay with us. This could be because they give us hope (for example: wear this shoe and you will impress the right girl at the right time) or instigate our ambitions (for example: this large car and that beautiful house is what you really want) or replay moments that seem like they are drawn from our own lives (for example: buying baby food for the first time after your daughter was born).

As a narrative, a brand also attempts to solve the challenges, clarify the contradictions and diminish the disappointments of our daily lives. Chocolates, for example, have often been the boredom breaker and deodorant brands have often used an empowerment narrative that inspires the user to perform better. The use of a celebrity makes this narrative even more powerful. Finally, luxury brands thrive on creating a moment of ecstasy that breaks the monotony of mundane lives.

More importantly, as a narrative a brand is larger than simply a physical entity or an experience. In a sense, the physical entity and experience gets subdued by the larger presence of a story that captures the hearts and minds of the consumer. As a narrative, a brand tends to be successful when the story fits the characteristics of the brand. An ugly and mechanical watch will, thus, struggle to become a story of romance although it is possible to create one. A fast and trendy car can hardly become a story of a laid back and retired life.

Brand narratives must be planned carefully, so that the story attracts the consumer being targeted and it highlights the product features that really matter.

Brand Narratives and Race – Canada as an Example

In a multicultural world, where many markets are segmented according to race, brand narratives have the added responsibility of targeting racial groups. While the storyline can depict race, this is a more difficult strategy to execute than simply using characters that are black, white or brown, whatever the case may be. Mostly, however, these strategies go hand in hand. Racially coded characters are used along with narratives that depict a black, white or brown person’s life.

Canada is a fitting example of a country where a fresh racial market has been created, due to the arrival of a new generation of immigrants commonly referred to as the New Canadian (as they are called due to the relatively recent arrival). They are the primary representatives of the non-European (mainly Asian, African and South/Central American) and Eastern European sections of Canada. The New Canadians have created an imagery of Canadian-ness that is quite different from the vision of a more western European Canada. Those selling products and services to these folks ought to take stock of this new imagery. This will help, for example, to develop brand loyalty through visual cues used in brand narratives.

I refer to this imagery as the semiotics of the New Canadian. This concept can be better understood when broken down into a few key elements.

Attire – One of the main differentiators of the imagery associated with New Canadians is their traditional clothing. Although quick at adopting a Canadian dress code, New Canadians slip back to traditional clothing during special occasions, like religious festivals, and while congregating with their ethnic community over the weekend. Since these events are closely linked to their identities, the imagery of traditional clothing is a marked element of the semiotics of the New Canadian.

Home Decoration – People tend to reveal their true identities within their homes and New Canadians are no different. One of the ways New Canadians represent themselves at home is through the items they use for decoration. The cushion covers on the living room couch, for example, may have been bought by a relative who sent it from Chandigarh or Manila. These could carry the look of another time and place that is remarkably different from Canadian styles of home decoration. The aesthetics of home decoration is, thus, an essential element of the semiotics of the New Canadian.

Food – In this era, food is as much about sight as it is about smell and taste. The appearance of food differs across cuisines. Indian food, for example, has a strong association with the reddish yellow curry (sauce) used in many dishes. The cuisines of the New Canadians each have their own imagery. Once again, due to the strong bond between food and identity this imagery is a marked element of the semiotics of the New Canadian.

Architecture – While Canadian architecture is similar across the country, certain structures carry an ethnic flavor that makes them stand out. Places of worship, such as mosques and temples, are the most prominent in this category. Many of these religious sites are frequented by New Canadians and they might even have been involved in planning the construction of these structures. So, such architectural styles are another essential element of the semiotics of the New Canadian.

As mentioned earlier, for effective targeting the narrative of the brand would have to match the semiotics of the New Canadians. The narrative should draw elements from the lives of these New Canadians. Even within the New Canadians, moreover, there are various segments of consumers. The overall branding strategy ought to reflect this market segmentation by incorporating the features that differentiate these segments.

Photo Credit

Photo by Andrew Haimerl on Unsplash

Guest Author Bio
Rohit Chattopadhyay 

Rohit Chattopadhyay is the founder of Culture Cushion Consulting, a firm that helps professionals develop communication and management skills to succeed internationally. He has a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Rohit has conducted independent research on cultural identity issues, apart from working as a marketing research and marketing professional in Canada, India and USA. If you want to schedule a training session or workshop, please send an email to Rohit@culturecushion.com.

Website: Culture Cushion Consulting