The success of your brand is determined by every experience your audience has with your organization. The most successful brands develop branding components that allow them to stand out from the competition in a meaningful way.

This differentiation allows them to easily outmatch their less remarkable competition. Differentiation should be at the core of your brand development strategy.

The statistics are simple and quite sobering. It costs an average of five to six times more to get a new customer than to keep an existing one satisfied. This should be common knowledge for many in business but sadly it’s not the case.

What’s the #1 mistake most company’s make year after year? Not staying in touch with their customers as much as they could or should. The few businesses that truly understand the value of continual contact or what I term “romancing the customer” continue to grow and prosper regardless of what the economy or competition is doing.

Obtaining credit for your business is only half the battle. In reality, whether you win or lose that battle ultimately comes down to how you use the credit you’ve been granted. It is not all that uncommon for new business owners to try and bull rush their way into establishing good credit for their business because they know how important having good business credit is, but; slowing down and being wise about how you go about building your business’s credit is the best thing you can do at this moment.

Right now there are potential customers for your business trying to decide whether or not to choose you. Unfortunately, most of them can't see much difference between you and your competition. You've all got good quality products or services. You all seem to have competent, helpful people. It all pretty much just looks the same. That leaves one factor to drive the decision. PRICE!

There was a time back in the fifties when microwaves ovens were first seriously marketed. They were marketed to women on the basis of speed. Bad move. Women were afraid of them. More importantly, housewives thought that they were shirking their duties by using this new fangled gadget. At that time, women were expected to cook. Not to cook fast, but to slave over a hot oven. 

Here are 10 steps that provide an overview of the basic steps required to start a business successfully. Take one step at a time, and you'll be on your way to small business ownership.

There was a time back in the fifties when microwaves ovens were first seriously marketed. They were marketed to women on the basis of speed. Bad move. Women were afraid of them. More importantly, housewives thought that they were shirking their duties by using this new fangled gadget. At that time, women were expected to cook. Not to cook fast, but to slave over a hot oven. 

So some marketing gurus at the time came up with a creative idea. They sold microwaves to men. Men loved the technology so much, that they talked their wives into buying one. They were first used for defrosting, or reheating leftovers. They soon became a staple of modern culture. They forced their way into the lives of people. Kitchens also became bigger.

Small Business Marketing StrategiesIf you're like most small business owners, you wear a lot of hats. It's tough to be the salesman, estimator, project manager, and customer service manager. All this and you still have to market your company. 

These 7 deadly sins will put a kink in developing your small business marketing strategy.  Eliminating them in the beginning of your marketing plans will allow you to focus on your other hats.

It's a lesson taught for decades and helped shape our children's minds but it is the most forgotten marketing concept on the small business landscape today. Apply this one lesson to your business and watch your sales soar.

The success of your brand is determined by every experience your audience has with your organization. The most successful brands develop branding components that allow them to stand out from the competition in a meaningful way.

This differentiation allows them to easily outmatch their less remarkable competition. Differentiation should be at the core of your brand development strategy.