Four States Small Business Blog

Kylie Davis

Recent Posts

How To Supercharge Your Paid Search Campaign with Negative Keywords

Posted by Kylie Davis on August 2, 2022 at 7:00 AM
We've recently addressed   how organic search should be a priority in your online growth strategy. But there's no doubt that paid search campaigns are important in your plan to increase web traffic. That raises the question, "How can I run an effective paid search campaign?" There are many answers to that question, but negative keywords are some of the lesser-known keys to paid search campaigns. Let's dig in if you're ready to improve your search engine marketing game. 

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Topics: Digital Marketing

5 Marketing Trends in 2022 and How They'll Help You Grow Your Business

Posted by Kylie Davis on February 1, 2022 at 7:00 AM
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Topics: Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing

Prepare for a Successful 2022 with an Updated Marketing Plan

Posted by Kylie Davis on December 7, 2021 at 7:00 AM
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Topics: Marketing Strategy, Marketing ROI, BrandsFormation

What Makes Your Business Different? | How to Build a Brand Message Based on Your Difference Maker

Posted by Kylie Davis on October 26, 2021 at 7:00 AM
All business owners have certain fundamental questions they need to have answered to build a successful business. And perhaps the most crucial question to answer is, "What makes my business different?" Answering this question is necessary for you to create a robust growth strategy, and it also must be something your customer can answer because it is why they will continue to bring you their business. 

What is a Difference Maker?

At Zimmer Marketing, we use   Chuck Mefford's BrandsFormation marketing system. In his system, finding your "difference maker" is one of the first steps on the journey to creating a successful brand. It's what will get you out of the no-win scenario of a race to the bottom with your competitors. After all, we can't all have the lowest prices. No, it's better to take a hard look at your business and figure out what's truly unique about it. That way, you can craft a message that resonates with your potential customers and successfully brand your business.

How to Find Your Business' Difference Maker

All business owners have certain fundamental questions they need to have answered to build a successful business. And perhaps the most crucial question to answer is, "What makes my business different?" Answering this question is necessary for you to create a robust growth strategy, and it also must be something your customer can answer because it is why they will continue to bring you their business. 

What is a Difference Maker?

At Zimmer Marketing, we use   Chuck Mefford's BrandsFormation marketing system. In his system, finding your "difference maker" is one of the first steps on the journey to creating a successful brand. It's what will get you out of the no-win scenario of a race to the bottom with your competitors. After all, we can't all have the lowest prices. No, it's better to take a hard look at your business and figure out what's truly unique about it. That way, you can craft a message that resonates with your potential customers and successfully brand your business.

How to Find Your Business' Difference Maker

Since your difference maker is what will define your business and set you apart from your competition, it's important to get it right. To find your difference maker, you need to look at every aspect of your business. If you get your hands on Chuck Mefford's bestselling book, BrandsFormation, he provides a helpful checklist to do this. But assuming you don't have his excellent book, you need to put yourself in the shoes of your customers and examine your business from their perspective. 

Let's imagine you run a roofing company. You review your business from top to bottom, and you find that you provide fast service, offer a quality product, and have competitive pricing. All those things are good, but they also happen to be the same things your competitors emphasize in their marketing efforts. Then one day, one of your customers remarks to you about how happy they were that their hard didn't get torn up by your roofing team. You've always insisted that your crews make sure not to disturb customers' turf or yard features with their machinery. And, come to think of it, you've seen other roofing companies leave a royal mess behind after a roofing job. You've found your difference maker, and now you can craft your message. 

Making Your Difference Maker Into Your Message 

Once you've discovered your difference maker, you need to craft it into a message. That's the message you will use to define your business and present to potential customers consistently. A well-crafted message based on your difference maker will set you apart from your competition and be immediately associated with your company in the minds of your potential customers. To go back to our roofing company example, based on their difference-maker, they could make their message, "We tear up old shingles... not your yard!" When delivered consistently over time through the proper marketing channels, your message will be associated with your company. For our roofing company, the next time somebody needs their roof done and doesn't want their yard to be a mess, only one company will come to mind. And that's the company they'll call.

Find Your Difference Maker with Help from Zimmer Marketing

At Zimmer Marketing, we've helped countless local businesses find their difference maker, craft their message, and put their message out through diverse marketing channels, including radio and digital marketing. If you're ready to start your BrandsFormation, today can be the day! Or, if you want to learn more about BrandFormation,   consider attending a BrandKamp. We host BrandKamp's twice a year. At BrandKamp, Chuck Mefford presents a free workshop to help you turn your local business into a great local brand!
SEO Guide for Joplin Small Business Owners
 
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Topics: Advertising, Branding

4 Softwares That Will Improve Your Brand's Graphics

Posted by Kylie Davis on March 23, 2021 at 7:05 AM

It’s essential for any business to be able to create excellent graphics and photos for its company branding. With a multitude of graphics and photo editors out there, it can be a wearying experience trying to figure out which software is right for your business. So let’s take a look at what’s out there and hopefully simplify things a bit.

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Topics: Advertising Creative, Branding

How to Check and Improve Your Website Speed Through Your Web Host

Posted by Kylie Davis on January 12, 2021 at 8:00 AM

The speed that a website operates is a critically important part of any marketing strategy. It's a fact that how quickly your site opens for users has a big impact on things like buying decisions. In one study, over 70% of consumers said that the speed of a page had an important effect on whether or not they bought something. Here's some information about understanding what affects your speed and what you can do to improve it.

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Topics: Website Design

5 Best Practices For Improving Website Performance

Posted by Kylie Davis on December 14, 2020 at 8:00 AM

There's no doubt that having a digital presence is a must for any business that wants to stay active in the 21st century. Business owners realize the pivotal role that websites play in their overall customer base and revenue streams. This has greatly increased the need for Zimmer Marketing Missouri SEO services to craft well-designed websites with super-fast performance.

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Topics: Website Design

Why You Shouldn't Tell Stories About Your Product

Posted by Kylie Davis on August 19, 2020 at 8:00 AM

Even though many people confuse a brand story with a product story, they are, in fact, very different. In truth, a brand story is something much bigger. It is a cohesive narrative that encompasses the vibration set in motion by your brand. Unlike a product story, which is basically your company talking about your offerings, your brand story inspires so much more while enticing an emotional reaction from your consumers.

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Topics: Branding

What are the best practices of B2B Marketing? Part 2

Posted by Kylie Davis on May 20, 2020 at 8:00 AM

Welcome to the second installment of our B2B marketing best practices blog. With the first article, we introduced ideas like thoughtful buyer personas, the buyers journey and marketing funnels and how to use them, and the value of local SEO here in Joplin, MO.  

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Topics: Marketing Strategy, Marketing ROI

Why Mortar is the Key to Brand Consistency

Posted by Kylie Davis on November 21, 2019 at 8:00 AM

When it comes to building your brand, the process is not all that different from building a house. 

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Topics: Marketing Strategy