Niche Branding: Becoming a 'Household Brand' Regardless of Your Industry or Size

You Want to Stand Out Among the Competition!

The strength of your branding will determine the success of your company. Regardless of your industry or market, becoming a household staple should be the goal of your company, even if you are small. Don't think you need to be Tide or Coca-Cola to be a household brand. Just be the brand in everyone's house for your niche! Whether you are a local pizza place or a regional law firm, branding your business will highlight what distinguishes your company above your competitors. In order to brand yourself, you must engage your target demographic across multiple platforms, and become integrated in their daily lives.

What Exactly is "Branding"?

Branding is taking your business from just a general company to having a well-founded reputation -most reputations are created before they are earned in modern business times. For some businesses, this involves creating uniform company logos and fancy product titles, for others it is about a new message. Branding is essentially: becoming an icon in your industry. Now, most people think of "name" brands because they have such a heavy impact on our daily lives. However, there are local and region businesses that have the same impact, as Kleenex and Colgate do on the national level, in their communities. And that is what every small business should strive to be, the 'name' brand for their niche/community!

Habituation: Getting Used to It

People Have a Tough Time Making Decisions,
so When We Find Something  We Are Comfortable With,
 We Stick With It!

As people get used to something (it could be an idea, a product, a climate, etc), they develop a level of comfort via their learned management of expectations for that something. This is called habituation in psychological circles. In advertising circles, some would call this brand loyalty. Once people are comfortable with a product; purchasing it, operating it, and the results it produces, they tend to continue to use it, out of comfort. People are hesitant to stray from a product they are comfortable with for something else, unless the risk is deemed worth it. 

Now obviously people are more willing to take a risk on a new restaurant than they are a new lawyer, but merely establishing a presence as a brand instead of just another business will generate additional comfort and habituate new customers to your business. So now, how do you go from just another business to a brand?

Build a Focused Campaign Across all Channels

Send a Message That Represents Your Business
and How It Meets the Concerns of Your  Potential Customers

Spot your key demographic. (For More Info: Check Out Targeting Your Best Customers to Find Your Best Prospects) Then, design a message for your brand. Find the primary aspect of your company you want to push. This is where advertising becomes difficult for most business owners because they cannot be objective. When you put your life into building a business, you want it to be perceived through your eyes, however that might not be what is best for the business. Think about the best demographic for your business and what is most important TO THEM, then build your campaign around that message. Whatever angle you decide to push, make sure your message is catchy, clear, and concise.

Once you have your niche demographic and what you want to say to them, you need to determine how to spread your message. There is no single miracle in advertising; some things work well, some don't, some work well once and not again, others don't work at first and then work incredibly well. For this reason, in addition to creating a presence and habituating your demographic to your brand (as discussed previously), you must have a multichannel presence. 

A Uniform Message

The various mediums through which you advertise need to send the same brand message. Many businesses make the mistake of trying to say too much about themselves. So they send a mailer about one thing and have a billboard about another. A scattered approach can work mildly to generate some interest in a business. But your looking to be more than a business, your looking to be a brand - an established and widely utilized resource in your market's community. 

Build Your Brand!

Send one strong message about your company and make it interactive and use multiple channels. Use mailers with personalized websites where people can redeem offers, make interactive websites, do anything to familiarize people with your message in various settings and stimulating various senses. Let your message become an indelible trademark of your brand. Once people have built this association, they will habituate to your role in their lives and you will have become integrated in their household, i.e. a household brand. 

Interested in More Information on Synergy Vx and how we can help your business? Give us a call today at 714-824-3780 and speak with one of our friendly, knowledgable Sales Representatives who can answer all your questions.

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By: Will Pearlman

Really Getting to Know Your Customers: Targeting Your Best Customers to Attract Your Best Prospects!

Selling Happiness is Easy
When You Know All The Things
 That Make Your Customers Happy

The oldest idea in advertising is: When your trying to sell something, you aren't selling that product, you are selling the happiness that product engenders. 


For decades, marketers have used the RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) analysis as the standard to determine their most valuable customers. However, many marketers fail to consider RFM in their prospecting campaigns. Sure, you don't have exact figures on specific people, but you do have information on your current clients. The best of which, are undoubtedly similar to the ones you want to attract. What makes the RFM data unique is the lack of speculation - there are no survey opinions or general sales ideologies. RFM data is based on actual transactions. Proof of who buys what, when, and how often. So if you know who your best customers are, find out who they REALLY are!

Go out of your way to learn how your best customers operate
in their daily lives, then you'll understand
how the customers you want to attract live as well

RFM is a great predictor of your customer retention and sales, but it doesn't tell you the key ingredient for bringing in new customers; the reason why these particular people are buying your product. Not YOUR reason for why, but THEIR reason. Even in modern times many marketers still forget to consider consumer psychology in their prospect marketing strategy. This is most surprising since we are ALL consumers everyday. Even if your job is to design advertisements, companies are still advertising to you!

We are all different and unique in subtle ways,
but overall, many of us are pretty similar!

Everyone makes purchases for different reasons. Figure out who your best customers are and why they buy your product. Once you determine who these current customers are, I'd bet you there are more people like them out there and they are either unaware of your product, or simply have not tried it yet. Expand your customer base within a demographic with which you are already having success and your R.O.I will jump with an influx of consistent, high density purchasers. 

Why would you pay $300,000 for this Aston Martin Virage
when many $40,000 cars have almost the same features?
Because driving a Virage isn't about function,
it's about lifestyle!

You know who your best customers are and what they buy. And if you don't, then you are in trouble! To maximize your marketing strategy you need the whole picture. Who are your best customers and what do they do, independent of whatever capacity they use your product or service? The value your customer receives from your product or service is the image you want to create. You must paint your product's valuable contribution to your customer's happiness on the canvass that is their lives. Then, sell your product's role in your current customer's lives to people with similar lifestyles. The more complete your understanding of your best customers, the more likely you are to attract people like them and increase the R.O.I for your advertising campaign.

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By: Will Pearlman

Passive Aggressive Marketing: The Best Way to Reach New Customers!

Your in control of how the public views
your company, so make yourself known!

No matter how big or small your business is, the desire to grow and reach new customers is constant. The most effective marketing campaigns use a multichannel approach. But, you must ensure you are marketing to the right audience in the right way. A layered campaign involving a broad and passive approach working simultaneously with an aggressive and narrow marketing strategy is the most effect way to build your client base. In order to maximize this dynamic marketing style, an understanding of whom to which you are trying to sell, and the range of your marketing spectrum is required.

Going Big and Passive!

Awww, cute. Is your company
the big teddy bear everyone likes?

Prospect marketing must expose your brand while engaging potential clients in need of your company's services. For brand exposure, a passive approach must be taken. Advertising mediums such as television, newspapers, internet, and radio are great ways to make people familiar with your company name without a high pressure sales campaign or annoying spam messages. Brand recognition is built through repetition and familiarity. While building brand recognition, try to avoid over exposure; you don't want people to develop a sense of frustration or agitation because your company is everywhere. Just make a clear presence without over exposing. (less is more . . . and cheaper!)

The more people hear your brand name, the more comfortable they will become with it, even if they have never previously done business with your company. In psychology this is called habituation - the process of becoming familiar and therefore comfortable with an elicit stimulus. Familiarity is one way to draw potential clients to your company. Make people recognize your name, even if it is just locally or regionally. Then, as people recognize your brand, you can tell them what your all about in a personal and direct manner. This is where the narrow and aggressive side of your marketing campaign takes over.

Getting Personal

Make sure your offer has a personal touch.
This way prospects feel like your ad is a gift!

Whether your brand is established or not, you want your marketing strategy to feature a specific prospecting campaign to target potential customers who are in need of your product or service. Many data companies out there can filter lists for countless criteria, such as; industry, sales volume, number of employees, geographic location, etc . . . Determine who the target audience is for your company through the various criteria and then target a direct mail campaign for these potential clients. Send an aggressive offer or sales message to them displaying how your company will resolve their problems. Appeal to them using a specific offer that will positively effect their lives. 

Be Personally Aggressive, Communally Passive

Keep the aggressive marketing out of the mainstream! Make sure your company has a passive brand image in your broad and highly public marketing campaign. You want your community to view your company as a positive influence in their daily lives, not an aggressive advertising nuisance. With that in mind, when you send direct mail to people in your community, use a personalized and specific offer, they will not see it as a nuisance, but as a welcome invitation for a great deal on a local service. Moreover, if you have a pleasant brand image thanks to your passive marketing, then your direct customer contact will be a welcomed and informative offer to those who receive it!

Everyone has personal needs and so does your company,
but present your brand as a part of the community,
then market to each individual based on
what your business can do for them!

A combination of an aggressive, specific appeal with a passive, brand recognition campaign will generate a network of familiarity for your brand within the local community. Even if you are a national company, a regional campaign themed to a specific demographic area will generate additional local growth. If you can coordinate a well-targeted, aggressive, personalized prospect mailing campaign with a broad, brand recognition approach, you will undoubtedly see your business boom!

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By: Will Pearlman

Marketing to the Modern American: Selling Desire Over Necessity

As a marketing professional, I am just going to state the facts: People buy what they want, not what they need. So why do so many marketers try to promote the necessity of their product in daily life instead of the fulfillment of human desire?

Every business would like to believe that everybody needs their product. However, in this country, people do not buy what they need, they buy what they want. Therefore, marketing your product to a group of people who want your product, rather than need it, is more likely to give you a greater ROI (return on investment) and a significantly more successful marketing campaign. It all comes back to the concept of niche marketing (for more on niche marketing check out Maximizing your Ad Dollar: Getting the Most Out of Your Niche Market). Find a group of people actively seeking products or services similar to your business. Find what they have in common and market your business to that set of people.

NEED VS. WANT

The biggest problem most businesses have in their marketing strategy is they do not get why people buy things. Basic evolutionary theory tells us that humans seek to fulfill their needs before their wants in order to ensure survival. While this is true in nature, our modern society has curbed this propensity towards survival. Most of our daily needs are not a daily concern. Even if the grocery bill is high, Americans still want to buy a new television or go to the beach for a long weekend, instead of purchasing rational items of necessity. 

Human admiration of wealth engenders a conscience bias to satisfy desires over essential needs. A successful marketer should embrace the thought process of modern human consumers. In order to do this, find the demographic who wants your product and can afford it. If you are a high income mortgage company, know the neighborhoods where people might be looking to refinance. Similarly, if you are a small auto shop, find the people who want low-cost auto service. Then creatively design your campaign to play into your potential customers' ego. Show them how using your product or service will satisfy them, well beyond fulfilling just their basic need. 


Modern advertising is about fulfilling desires, not meeting the needs of daily life. If your marketing campaign is designed to show how your product meets only the needs of consumers, you are disconnecting from your target audience. Sadly, Americans do not worry about their needs anymore, they are more concerned about appearances and satisfying desires. 

Your Product Must Make People Feel Wealthy

The American Dream used to be simple: to be able to provide for your family without the fear of lacking the basic necessities for survival. The American Dream originally was for every person to be able to feed his/her family, have a roof over their head, and a gainful means of employment. However, American values have shifted over the past 40 years and advertising professionals must adapt accordingly. Our society has moved from a dream of security to a dream of wealth. Whether you agree or disagree with the direction we are heading, the fact is the most effective forms of marketing are based on one principle: The illusion of wealth - enabling people to feel or appear wealthy regardless of socioeconomic status. Market your product as a means to fulfill both a desire and a need. 


When targeting a specific demographic, remember to think about who wants AND needs your product, but remember to put more weight behind your appeal to desire then your appeal to necessity. Modern humans do not make purchases based on basic evolutionary needs. The key is to make consumers perceive your product as the means to fulfilling their desires. As Aristotle said, "Where perception is, there also are pain and pleasure, and where these are, there, of necessity, is desire."

Modern desire is not based on necessity in our global market. Like it or not, the developed world no longer values mere survival, it is about success exhibited through wealth. Therefore, use a niche marketing strategy to find those who have demonstrate a high interest in your product. Whichever industry you are in, you can develop a demographic which is ideal for your product or service, and generate the highest ROI for your advertising dollar. More importantly, once people have fulfilled a desire through a transaction with your business, they will be likely to return to you as their current desires subside and new desires arise.


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By: Will Pearlman

Getting the Most Out Of Your Ad Dollar: Maximizing Your Niche Market

Find the Right People In Need!
Source

Every business markets to a niche (and to end this debate: pronounced "neesh" in its original French, but commonly pronounced "nitch" in American English, both pronunciations are acceptable). While conventional knowledge considers niche markets to be specialized, your business does not have to be to market to a niche; particularly if you are a small or medium sized business. A niche can be as large of a classification as sports fans, or as specific as high-end custom motorcycle enthusiasts in the greater Detroit area. Effective niche marketing comes down to finding the right size niche for your business.


We all would love our company to be the only one out there but that simply will never be the case. Conventionally, if you a mortgage company you might consider advertising to all potential home buyers in your area. That's fine if you live in Clinton, Indiana (population around 4,000), but if your in Los Angeles, California advertising to every potential home buyer is probably not the most cost effective way to generate business. Please note: It is difficult for many business owners and salespeople to understand that specialized, reduced, targeted advertising does NOT mean less sales! What niche advertising provides is less cost for the same amount of sales generating greater profits!

Increase Your Return on Investment, Not Your Spending!
Source

For small and medium size businesses who can't afford to spend on expensive large scale campaigns, identifying the right niche for your business is the key to success. For a mortgage company, decide to focus on newlywed first time home buyers, or perhaps focus on the condominium market. Find a demographic that your business has the capacity to handle effectively. If your a small upstart, don't worry about trying to attract multi-million dollar home buyers when your better off having ten sales of $300,000. This is especially true for young companies starting out, if you can become the staple for that niche in your area, you'll notice your business will naturally grow beyond the demographic you first targeted through your reputation.

To market effectively to your niche there are 4 keys:

1. Who is Your Niche?

Which is the best niche for your business?
Source 

Before you design a marketing campaign for a niche, you better know as much as you can about them. What they like, buy, demographic information, the more you know about the people your marketing to, the more effective your campaign will be and the greater your return on investment will be. If you're looking to sell custom motorcycles to high end clients, it is important to understand who buys these bikes and what they look for in them. Additionally, what is the best way to get through to these potential customers. Clearly a TV ad is not the way to go for this sort of specialty market, but making a presence at trade shows would definitely generate business.

2. Offer Something Unique

Make yourself stand out to your niche
Source

What about your product or business makes it just perfect for that niche? If you don't have an answer, then you are marketing to the wrong group. Think about what your company does best and not always what is currently the most profitable; whatever your company is best at, will become the most profitable side as you grow. Then determine who are most in need of this product or service. Once your at this point forget about what you think, and figure out what your niche is thinking. If you were them, what would convince you to use your product over others.

3. Specificity

People Want to Spend, But They Want to Spend on Their Needs,
So Show How Your Product Meets Their Needs Specifically!
Source

When your trying to figure out which niche is right for your business, be specific. Many business owners believe it is better to miss by making your campaign more broad so it has greater appeal. I disagree with this ideology. By making your campaign specific you will connect with your niche making your ad much more impactful, which will have a higher rate of return on your campaign. Check your numbers: sending 5,000 mailers which are thoughtfully planned and connect with people in need of your service, will generate the same 500 sales as sending 50,000 mailers to a broader base of people, with whom your ad will have less impact, thus generating a greater initial cost and a lower return on your investment.

4. Tailor Your Presentation

Make Sure to Show, Through Your Ad,
How Your Company is The Perfect Fit!
Source

Finally, make sure if your going through the trouble to market to a niche, your advertisement truly connects with them. Whatever your business, design your marketing campaign to touch the lives of your potential customers. Show them why using your product or service, while enhance their quality of life in a way related to their niche!


Every marketing campaign is marketing to a niche, but you must use the niche that is most relevant for your business. Sure a national grocery chain might market to everyone, since we all eat, but very few businesses have that sort of mass appeal and size, so keep your business in mind and who buys your product to get the most out of your advertising dollar!

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By: Will Pearlman

Guerrilla Location

So you’ve been in business for a while, you’ve got a decent client base in your area, but of course, your looking to grow. However, budgets are tight and you can not just spend on endless advertising. Traditional methods can be effective, but once your business is established, how do you grow beyond your reach without overreaching?

The answer is what I like to call Guerrilla Location. Now most people at this point have some idea about street or guerrilla marketing. Between YouTube videos of flash mobs and street art campaigns you might have seen locally, guerrilla marketing have become an effective new force in advertising.

Street marketing has exploded for several reasons; it’s fun, it's cheap, and it leaves an impression on most consumers because it's usually unexpected and ostentatious. You rarely have more than a few seconds to catch the attention of your target customer so in that short time frame, what are the best ways to leave a lasting impression?

The first key is to understand what else your targeted demographic does in isolation from your industry. Maybe you produce skateboards and have been advertising in skating magazines and on local TV, but your looking to grow. You obviously know who is skateboarding and where they ride their boards, but what are the skateboarders doing when they are not riding their boards? Are they at a concert, if so what bands? Are they at the mall, if so what stores are they shopping at and what are they shopping for? Find events or other products your demographic uses, even if completely unrelated to your product, and make an advertising presence there.

The Key is to Stand Out!

Once you have determined other products or locations your target customers utilize, there are many creative and low cost ways to get your brand out there. It is one thing to sponsor an event; it’s another thing to leave a memorable impression at one. For this example, something like a giant 15 foot skateboard could be erected outside a concert venue in a public area - a low cost, fun way to keep your customers thinking of you. People will laugh at it, remember it, maybe take a picture with it; then post that photo on facebook and eventually your brand will be on their mind the next time they look to buy a skateboard.

This basic principal can be applied to any business. The biggest concern is understanding what your customer’s other needs are and creating an advertising presence in those locations. If this is done on a consistent basis, perhaps at least once or twice a month depending on your size, market, and industry, you can generate substantial brand growth through word of mouth about all the fun and creative advertisements people have seen for your brand.

 A Guerrilla Advertisment Can Be Anywhere!

If you can find a high correlation between customers in your industry and another industry, advertise at events in those other industries. You will stand out as your industry's sole representative and still effectively target your demographic. Perhaps you'll even bring in a few new clients who never used your industry but,  seeing your brand in conjunction with others, might inspire them to give it a try. Creativity in location can be more effective than your actual message, simply because you stand out. Find what your customers enjoy and do outside of their role in you industry and pursue expanding your marketing campaigns to these locations. 

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By: Will Pearlman

Guerrilla marketing- What Marketers can Learn from Street Artists

Most of us have gotten the email - the super dimensional chalk drawings done on sidewalks, streets, and alley ways has virtually circled the globe a few times, and with good reason. Instead of going to Gallery owners, art brokers, and museums, this talented artist took to the streets and started putting his temporary chalk images in the center of busy civic centers and walkways, gaining permanent recognition in not only the art community, but the advertising community as well- and corporate giants are now following suit, putting branded images in unexpected places.  (Thank you to redjellyfish.com for their collection of street art pics, I borrowed a few)

But there is more to be learned from street artists than just how to get your images seen, street artist are masters of "Guerrilla Marketing"- getting their opinions, messages and art to the masses without breaking the bank or utilizing tired and dated tactics. Street artists are very 'avant garde' in their approach, and the world of  advertising and marketing could take a lesson or two.

Back to the Roots.... No prospect is more valuable than someone who is already buying from you!

It has been said that there is nothing new under the sun, just the same things with a new face. I can agree with that statement- at least in terms of marketing.

Companies put so much effort and energy into their marketing campaigns, trying to come up with the next "it" trend, and figuring out how to get their message into the hands of ideal prospective customers. Postcards, email campaigns, text messages, social media sites, with so many channels open to communicate through, finding the best medium and combining that with the most powerful offer can not only be daunting, but down right impossible.

My theory is this: there is no need to reinvent the wheel with every campaign! While consumers are saavy as ever, people still want what they have always wanted, a great product, for a reasonable price, from a trusted provider (here's the key) who appreciates their business and the money they spend there. It is so easy to forget about customer appreciation- but it an essential part of the equation in terms of marketing.

People talk, and a happy customer is more and more likely to refer a friend or family member if your business is something that is on their mind. Reaching out to those that are already your customer not only reminds them of your presence (or their intention to go in an make a purchase) but it also shows that you as a retailer (or service provider) recognize them as a customer and are willing to make an effort to maintain the business relationship that you have already built. Marketing to people that are already your customers is invaluable, because the hard part is already over- you have their business, now just keep it!

But how do you expect to grow a business with out reaching out to new prospects? Here is where you can put your customers to work for you! Offer them incentives to share your special offers and promotions. Offer incentives for referrals, or buy one get one free promos. There are a million ways to get your customers talking about you. And the plus side is, the customers that are gained by word of mouth marketing already have an emotional tie to your brand, because someone they trust sent them there.

So when it comes to new marketing initiatives, go back to the roots! Think word of mouth.

Interested in using social media to encourage your customers to refer their friends? Synergy VX has it covered. Contact us for more information.

Creating YOUR Image, Online

When most people think of social media networking, they think of the hours of entertainment their own facebook or twitter account provides while they peruse photos and read about current events through tweets and status updates. But there is a different side to social media, and while it might be a bit slower to emerge on the scene, social media has exploded as the new, cost effective, instant, track-able, and viral marketing tactic. While it all seems like fun and games, businesses and professionals alike can not afford not to get on board the social media bandwagon.

".....But, how?" is the question I am often posed with. Creating the pages requires little technical saavy, an email account is usually all you need, and most of the top sites will walk you through the brief set up process. The question usually does not pertain to the technical component, but more how to best present ones image in an appealing, creative way that will not get lost among the masses of profiles and blogs.  In an attempt at a quick answer, here are a few things to consider as you navigate the process of building your online profile. 

1. What is your objective for the site? 
• Whether your goal is to drive people to an online store or blog, keep customers aware of current events/ sales, build brand awareness, (or for personal use, networking, secure clients, get a better job) makes sure you know your goals and prioritize them prior to setting up the page. Space is often limited and it will help you to narrow down what is really important to say
2. Who are you? What are your specialties, what can you provide others can not? 
• Answer all of those questions in as close to one sentence as you can get. This is the hardest part, but easily the most important. Be concise. This is the hook you will use to draw views in so they search for more about you.  There is no need to cram a ton of information in here, just enough to entice. Never forget the importance of sounding confident, it is OK to brag a little here. 
3. Heres the kicker-  Community and Content
• These two go hand in hand. It is useless to have thousands of contacts that don't know you or have no use for your services, and it is just as bad to have very few contacts who know you well. As with direct mail or any direct marketing for that matter, you need to make sure that you are getting your message into the hands of your target demographic. 

• Browse through the countless sites (here is a great list of them by category) pick the most relevant. There are of course, the Generic sites which most any demographic, facebook, twitter, linkedin, and blogger are my favorites. Once you've picked your platforms ( using more than one creates a more dynamic image, even if you are only consistent about one or two) Start connecting! 

• Start with people you know, coworkers clients, customers, customers, colleges, even family members to help get you started. 
• Now, spread the word about your new page! Advertise that you are out there (think emails, in store mentions, special offers exclusively through social media sites), and you will be surprised how quickly it catches on. 
• The real secret to social media success, in simple: once you have created the pages, USE THEM! Even if it is as simple as on status update a day... it keeps you active and makes sure that people are seeing your site. 
• Never underestimate the power of a picture. Attach them to important updates and you'll catch some eyes. 
• It is OK to be bare for a while. It takes a few weeks/ or months for the page to fill up. Content comes organically as you connect to friends and subscribers. 
• Here is a list of great ways to generate contents for a blog, but I think they are relevant for a social media page as well.