How to Develop a Clear Brand Strategy

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | How to Develop a Clear Brand Strategy

Whether you’re a new brand starting out or an established brand in need of a makeover, a clear brand strategy is always necessary to ensure that your message is clear, and strategy is consistent and effective. Without this background work, you might find that one or more aspects of the strategy don’t work well enough, which can lead you back to the drawing board. Below are some of the key aspects you need to premise when developing your brand strategy or rebranding project.

Purpose

Every brand makes a promise to their customers regarding the product they provide or standard of service. Implicit in this promise is also a marketing angle, a differential that separates one brand from another. This may serve to create a USP and help your brand stand out, but in today’s saturated marketplace, it isn’t quite enough.

Along with your promise, you must also provide a purpose, a statement of intentionality that runs deeper than your commercial interest. Customers today will want to know that your business has an authenticity that stands above the drive for profit. This could be the deeper values your business was founded on, but presented in a unique way.

Consistency

When branding your product or service, consistency is very important. Consistency refers to how relevant your advertising is across different platforms; this means relevance to your brand’s meaning or message. Good brand consistency continually reinforces your message and inspires consumers in the right direction.

Conversely, poor brand consistency might confuse customers and put them off. Coca Cola is one brand that has excellent consistency. Whether you watch advert on television, visit their website or Facebook page, the images, colors, and slogans all feed into the brand’s core message and overall appeal.

Emotion

Researchers have found that people have an innate desire to build and maintain relationships. This is relevant in every walk of life, including brand marketing and advertising. For instance, why is it that people decide to buy a Harvey Davidson bike over another bike that is cheaper but has an equivalent spec? The reason is the word ‘Harley’ and it’s associations.

Harley Davidson, among many other brands, are onto this phenomenon and use it effectively. Harley Davidson, for example, has created a HOG or Harley Owners Club, this is a close-knit community of owners who share their knowledge and experience of Harley bikes. The HOG not only connects customers with the brand, but it also grows a community of like-minded Harley owners.

Flexibility

Flexibility is a close cousin of consistency; both must be used wisely to achieve your brand’s success in the marketplace. While consistency is about creating a style guide that is relevant across platforms, flexibility refers to the need for marketers to adapt to changing technological innovations to enable better results.

One example of marketing flexibility is the popular brand of aftershave for men, ‘Old Spice.’ Before it’s a rebrand, Old Spice was recognized as a product for older men and distinctly unfashionable. They then enlisted the help of a team of flexible marketers who effectively repositioned the brand for a new customer base.

Employee Involvement

Employee involvement is a strategy that is closely aligned with consistency. If your brand has a bubbly and exciting image, like Fitness Marketing Companies, for instance, it wouldn’t make sense for your customer service representatives to be monotone and dour. This will create a brand inconsistency that will confuse customers and put them off. This idea also includes transparency to bring employees closer to customers.

The first step in creating excellent employee involvement is to assess your brand’s core values and decide what tone you want to implement. This can be outlined in your style guide. A tone consistent with your values or mission statement will strengthen your brand voice and deliver a positive customer experience. In terms of transparency, create photo shoots that include all back staff and out them front and center across platforms.

Loyalty

Loyalty is always important for brands, but it doesn’t just mean creating loyalty; it also means reinforcing the bond that’s already been established in some customers. Brand loyalty can be created by rewarding new customers with points or discounts, providing the service advertised, and following up with friendly enquiring emails.

Over time you will build up a customer base, people who have responded well to your product or service and have spread the word about what you do. Don’t ignore the power and relevance of these free brand ambassadors. Retain their services with more excellent rewards, discounts, and personalized messages.

How to successfully work from home

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article | How to successfully work from homeThe transition from office to home is almost irresistible. According to Stanford News, the culture of working from home is going to continue even after the CoronaVirus pandemic.

As usual, the home space can be relatively small and the unforgiving environment of destruction. You need to have an ideal working space to increase your productivity. In this article, we have provided some tips on how you can successfully work from home.

Let’s have a look at them.

Create an official workspace

Having in mind that destruction is almost inevitable at home, it is wise to inform your friends and family members that you are at work. Treat it with the seriousness it deserves just like when in office.

However, it is healthy to give yourself a healthy break to prevent boredom and muscle inactivity. You can also empower yourself with office-like tools to facilitate your work.

To deviate from the norm, you can dedicate a working space within the house or a room to enable you to feel different from the typical house set up.

Set office hours

For you to be productive, you need to be disciplined with your time. Working remotely with no organization can cause you to underperform. Create a schedule with breaks like time to eat, rest and time for the family. This will help you get used to that schedule, and you will avoid boredom.

Use a sit-stand workstation

Sitting in one position for a very long time can be toxic to your health. Changing positions is helpful to your muscles and the trunk. With the spine being part of the central nervous system together with the brain, changing position is needed.

It’s important to have a special work space at home, and just the desk could make all the difference. You can use a desk from HADO to help you avoid sitting in one position. An adjustable standing desk allows you to raise it to a comfortable height.

Docking station

You could be having a laptop, and that’s what you have to work from home. Nevertheless, it’s usually hectic to stare on the tiny screen all day, no mouse with a keyboard that demands hunch over.

A docking station will be your best choice that will assist you in converting your laptop to a desktop. This will help you have a mouse, a keyboard and speakers in a separate way.

Chair

The chair plays a vital role in your locomotor nerves, especially with the current trend of working remotely. This, therefore, becomes an essential tool in your efficacy. The choice of your chair will determine your well being because of muscle mobility and blood supply.

A steady blood supply to your system makes your body feel great, and you become productive. A chair that allows you to change postures is usually the best.

Excellent communication skills

Communication is very vital in virtual work. Now that you are not in office to give a physical report, you need to brush over your communication skill to improve on efficacy. Conveying your message clearly and precisely makes the work smooth.

You need to save yourself embarrassment due to poor communicating by polishing your virtual communications skills.

Organizational tools

Averagely, your working space at home is likely to be smaller than the office working space. You could have a room but not big enough or a space at the corner of your living room. This will need a super organization to have your office tools at the right place.

It also entails the creation of enough space for an ambient working environment. If it is a room, you better make it private under lock and key to prevent a lot of destruction. On the other hand, if it’s at the corner of your living room, you will have to arrange it in a way that it doesn’t destroy the aesthetic appearance of the whole room.

Proper lighting

Are you having trouble with your sight or unending headaches? This is the proper time to consider redoing your lighting system. It is advisable to have layers of colours at the comfort of your eyes. This must also blend with the colour of the walls.

During the day, natural light is preferably the best, and so your room should be well lit. Consider all options from ceiling lighting to desk light stand to suit your preference. This must be comfortable for your eyesight and to allow you to get details to the core.

Keep the supplies you often use within reach

To avoid a lot of destruction and unnecessary movements, it is noble to put all you need at your reach. This will save you a lot of time and also keep you professional in all you do.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle

Weight gain is a common issue among most people working remotely. Having in mind that you are a reflection of what you eat, then it is a good and noble thing to have a healthy eating habit.

This will include having healthy snacks around you and most importantly taking enough water. Having regular exercise on your schedule is one part that most telecommuters don’t consider. Don’t be enslaved by work without exercise because it is toxic to your health.

There is so much in terms of working remotely. There are a lot of innovations about making working at home bearable and productive. It is good to put into consideration all these factors because they are so beneficial.

What else do you do to work from home successfully?

Why Should People Consider a Career in Therapy During the COVID19 Pandemic?

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article | Why Should People Consider a Career in Therapy During the COVID19 Pandemic?COVID19 has led to huge numbers of people seeking a career change, whether this is due to the loss of a current position because of redundancy or simply having time to reflect and put lives into perspective.

One increasingly popular question people are asking is ‘how do I become a therapist?. In this crisis, people are focussing on helping others in every way they can. While medical staff are proving their worth during this time and are incredibly valued, the long-term effects of the pandemic are predicted to impact mental health more than anything else.

How Many People Are Wanting To Become A Therapist?

One of the easiest and quickest ways to determine the demand for anything nowadays is by analysing Google searches. Research by RTT shows that the term ‘how to become a therapist’ and similar phrases have seen a 10x increase within the first 6 months of the pandemic compared to the same months of 2019.

What Is A Therapist?

Therapists are essentially a guide, they aid people with mental health disorders or someone who is struggling with their own mind, to understand their feelings on a deeper level and learn to manage these and cope.

It’s important to know that therapists do not ‘cure’ people. Instead, they provide a safe space for anyone who needs it to be able to talk through their problems and explore any underlying issues or repressed feelings.

Psychotherapists are specially trained therapists who deal with a severe mental health diagnosis but do not have the authority to prescribe medication.

Why A Career In Therapy Could Be For You?

There is never a definitive answer as to why people want to become a therapist but quite often is it because of previous personal experiences.

This could be having struggled with mental health yourself and witnessing just how much a mental health professional can positively impact your life and wanting to do the same for others.

Another reason is some individuals have seen a loved one suffer from mental health issues, whether they sought professional advice or not, many see just how valuable therapists can be.

However, some wish to become a therapist without any previous related experiences, the need to help others is ingrained within human nature and turning this into a career can be very rewarding.

With a lot more free time on our hands at the moment, training in a new career has never been more popular. While a career change can be scary and even risky, especially during the pandemic, the mental health crisis is just as imperative as the COVID19 one and therapists are rising in demand.

What Skills Do You Need To Become A Therapist?

Becoming a therapist doesn’t happen overnight, depending on the student, it can take a few years to be fully trained and practising. The most conventional way is to undertake a BA within a relevant field and then proceed to do an MA.

After this, internships within a clinical practice are done to then be able to apply and obtain a license.

However, there are other routes for those who can not attend university for whatever reason. Training and qualifications within the following sectors do not require a degree:

  • Hypnotherapy
  • Rapid Transformational Therapy
  • Life Coaching
  • Neuro-Linguistic Programming

All of these can be just as rewarding.

However, even the most qualified professional won’t be successful if they don’t have some key personality traits to begin with, such as:

  • The want to help others and give advice
  • Being a good listener
  • Putting others before yourself
  • Compassionate, non-judgemental and empathetic
  • Strong-minded (you may hear many upsetting things every day)

What Do Therapists Earn?

The average earning for a therapist in the US is $48,000 but this can vary between states too.

Opening your own practice can lead to substantially more earnings and you can earn upwards of $82,000.

In the UK, the average wage for a mental health therapist is around £32,000 but those in the industry report anything from £25,000 to £41,000.

If you are a compassionate individual who strives to make a difference in people’s lives, why not consider looking into the best avenue for yourself to become a therapist? While it isn’t deemed as the easier of jobs, it is certainly one of the most rewarding.

4 Ways to Inspire Your Workers to be Healthier

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | 4 Ways to Inspire Your Workers to be HealthierWhen you are in a leadership position at your place of work, one of your priorities is to keep your employees engaged and happy with their employment situation. One way in which you can accomplish this goal is to encourage your employees to be healthier in their everyday lives. By promoting a healthier environment for your workers, you can bring about a more positive workplace for everyone.

If you are looking for ways to encourage your workers to be healthier, here are four things that you can promote at your office.

1. The Cycle to Work Scheme

There are many benefits to getting routine exercise on a daily basis. That being said, most people don’t feel as though they have the time to get the recommended amount of exercise every day. One solution is to encourage your workers to take advantage of the ride a bike to work scheme. Cycle Solutions has all the information you need to get your workers started on the scheme.

Not only can anyone who takes part in the scheme get plenty of exercise on a regular basis, but those who choose to cycle to work can also enjoy some financial benefits as well. You can set up the scheme for your workers with ease so that they can get cycling right away.

2. Bring in Healthier Snack Options

One thing that many people find challenging about staying healthy while at the office is the temptation of unhealthy snacks. Most offices have standard snack options like snack cakes and chips in vending machines as well as sodas and sugary beverages. These items can make it difficult for your workers to stay under the recommended daily calorie intake.

Instead of keeping your snack options on the unhealthy side, make a switch to healthier, more wholesome choices for your workers. You can swap out your current vending machines for ones that dispense fruit as well as healthier drink options.

3. Get Everyone on Board

The key to successfully altering the atmosphere at your company to one that is healthier for all is to get everyone on board with the changes. Make sure to check in with your workers about the changes they think would make a positive difference. By encouraging everyone to get involved and voice the changes they think would be the most effective, you can set your workers up for the best chances of success. Moreover, creating an environment where everyone encourages one another will help to bring about a more positive work setting across the board.

4. Don’t Neglect Mental Health

While it is incredibly important to help your employees to be physically healthier, you should also ensure that your workers know that mental health is just as important. You might very well have individuals working for you who are struggling with mental health issues without you knowing it. Those workers need to know that they are in a safe environment and that there are resources available to them when things like anxiety or depression begin to set in.

A Guide to Being a Great Manager in Manufacturing

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StrategyDriven Management and Leadership Article | A Guide to Being a Great Manager in ManufacturingBeing a manager is not an easy job, especially in manufacturing, where there are lots of moving parts that you need to be aware of. To make sure that your manufacturing operations can run smoothly and that your business can reach success, here are some top tips to ensure that you can expertly manage your processes and your employees.

Get the Right Supplies

The basis of any successful manufacturing company is its supply chain’s effectiveness and the quality of the materials that it uses, and it is up to you as a manager to ensure that you can find and buy the right supplies for your business. For instance, at GF Laser, their precision metal laser cutting services can allow you to get the metal that you need for any project that you are working on, including sheet metal. This will ensure that all of your engineering needs are met no matter your company’s requirements.

Hire and Train the Right Staff

However, a large part of being a manager is having employees to manage, and a large part of your responsibilities is being able to hire the right staff members for your business. You should then hone your recruitment drives, spruce up your interview questions, and ensure that you use the correct HR software to enable you to find the best team for your company. You also need to prioritize these employees’ training by sending them on external schemes and ensuring that every person knows how to use the equipment in your factory.

Focus on Safety

As a manager, it is your job to keep both your employees and your clients safe. Then, you should create a health and safety policy and make sure that this is enforced within the workplace, check that your employees have been properly trained before they get onto the factory floor, and ensure that equipment is regularly maintained and checked for any damage it might have sustained. Health and safety is also particularly important in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with there being an increase in awareness of infectious diseases in the workplace.

Create High-Quality Goods

Although you might believe that it is your job as a manager to make sure that you deliver goods quickly, it is even more important to create high-quality goods for your clientele. This means that you should focus on improving your manufacturing processes and increasing their precision. You can do this by encouraging your employees to work to a high standard, investing in the right equipment, and by constantly collecting ad analyzing data, and conducting quality checks throughout the working day.

Constantly Innovate

Manufacturing firms need to innovate if they are going to stay successful in the future, and a lot of this innovation falls to the manager of the firm. Then, you should constantly research and find the money to invest in new gadgets and equipment and manufacturing intelligence software that can help your operations go smoothly. You should also consider developing the products and services you offer, finding better ways to meet your client’s needs, and wants.