Four States Small Business Blog

Topics: Radio Advertising, Marketing ROI, Branding

Topics: Radio Advertising, Branding

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!

 

Topics: Advertising, Branding

Zimmer Marketing is hosting   BrandKamp at the Holiday Inn in Joplin, MO, from 11:30 to 1 on October 26, 2021. Just like our last BrandKamp in April, small business marketing expert and author Chuck Mefford will offer insights and coaching on how to turn your good local business into a great local brand. And the best part? The whole event is free! Below we'll offer a preview of the topics to be addressed at BrandKamp.

Topics: Small Business Resources, BrandsFormation, Branding

Topics: Marketing ROI, BrandsFormation, Digital Marketing, Branding

Have you ever wondered whether radio advertising will work for your business? The good news is that radio advertising is budget-friendly and effective. With a good strategy and some consistency, you can make your business and brand Joplin famous. Start your journey toward radio branding excellence today with this guide.

Topics: Radio Advertising, Jingles, Branding

Topics: Advertising Creative, Branding

An effective About Us page is incredibly important for your business. It's one of the first places consumers check when they want to know more about your business: who you are, what you can do for them, and what's important to you as a business. It can be tough to figure out what to include when you need to explain everything about your company in one page. 

Topics: Branding

In today's over-saturated market, your business can no longer afford to throw statistics, testimonials, or facts at your audience. Your company needs to pull at your consumer's heartstrings and engage on a much deeper level. Brand storytelling can help make this happen. Research shows that 55% of consumers are more likely to buy the product in the future if they love a brand’s story. Forty-four percent will end up sharing the information, and 15% will buy the product immediately. 

Topics: Branding

Thought leadership is a type of content marketing where you draw on your company's experience, passion, and talent to answer your target audience’s most critical questions. Simply put, thought leadership means you provide the best answers to your consumer's biggest questions. 

Topics: Branding