The Business Connection

Is there anything in your Marketing envelope?

 

Imagine you're walking along Muizenberg beach.  You look down and see an envelope, which you pick up.  It's made of fine quality paper and has stamps on the front and an elaborate logo on the back.  Very impressive.

 

To your surprise, however, the envelope has nothing written on the front - no recipient's name, no address.   And when you look inside, you see that it's completely empty.

 

This envelope is like most small business marketing.   All your money is spent on the  marketing channel - represented here by the nice, stamped envelope.  This is like buying  newspaper advertising, web sites, brochures, stands on trade shows and memberships of the Chamber of Commerce and BizzConnect.

 

But, what's missing is a target market (name & address) and a message or letter inside the envelope.  Who should get this envelope?  What do you want them to know?  

 

In marketing terms, this missing piece is what we call a brand message stating who your services are for, and why they need to purchase from you.  Without a brand message, you may as well throw your money into the sea, because your marketing is doing nothing for you.

 

Not having a proper brand is like sending out a sealed, stamped envelope without a name and address or anything inside.

 

The good news?  You're not alone.

If your client attraction marketing strategies aren't working, you're not the only one.  Research has shown that fewer than 10% of business owners feel confident that they know who their ideal clients are and how they are different from their competitors.  Over 90% of you waste money on so-called “marketing” - sending out nameless, empty envelopes!

 

That’s why so many small business owners find marketing expensive, difficult and a waste of time.  If you just bothered to stop and create a differentiated brand, things wouldn't be this way.

 

Take time to identify your core brand value.

A brand is the unique identity of a business.  It’s not just a logo.   It includes all the impressions and beliefs that your target audience has about who you are and what value you bring to them.

 

Well-branded businesses attract attention with clear, compelling, authentic messages. This can actually shorten the sales cycle, because prospects more quickly understand why they should do business with you.  They also appreciate your value, so you can charge premium prices and expect both repeat business and referrals.  

 

Your competitive edge lies in branding your business

Before you waste another cent implementing strategies that deliver NO message, invest in identifying your brand.  Here's what you need to do:

 

1.  Develop a vision of where your business is going, and the role your brand will play in getting it there.  If you can describe what success will look like, it'll be a lot easier to draw a roadmap to reach it. 

 

2.  Assess the alternatives to your brand. When people don't choose you, who do they choose?  How, why and for whom are you actually the better choice?

 

3.  Define your target market. Exactly who out there needs what you offer and will value most how it helps them? 

 

4.  Identify your “remarkable difference”.   What's your special recipe or magic component?   How will you stand out from your competitors?   Whatever you choose, it must be clear, compelling, authentic and consistently communicated.

 

5.  Package your differentiators, verbally and visually.  Here's where you create your slogan and audio logo, saying what you do that no one else can do as well.  Develop a look- and-feel for your brand, too - a logo, colour scheme and visual style to use in all your marketing communications.

 

6.  Select the marketing channels you'll use to deliver the message to your target audience.   Great ways to radiate your brand message include writing articles or speaking on relevant topics, networking and blogging.

 

7.  Cascade your brand through all your "touch points" with prospects.  Wherever your brand is seen or experienced by your target audience, it should be consistent with your core brand identity. 

 

Well-branded businesses attract more prospects with less effort.  They also gather esteem, are able to charge higher prices and enjoy more profitable business. 

 

If creating your brand right now seems like a luxury you can't afford, consider the money you're currently wasting on ineffective marketing.  

 

Why wait?   Fill your envelope today with a unique brand message that will differentiate your product or service and attract your ideal customers.

 

Adrian Fuller

31 March 2010

Recent Tax Legislation allows homeowners who hold their property in the name of a company, close corporation or trust, to take the opportunity to transfer the property, free of any transfer duty, and capital gains tax (CGT) into their own name. This will allow for such persons to take advantage of the Primary Residence Allowance for CGT which is presently R1.5m.

(What must be borne in mind is that the normal conveyancing fees will however still be payable in respect of the transfer from the company, close corporation or trust.)

The Taxation Law Amendment Act commences on 1 January 2010 allowing a natural person 2 years to take the opportunity to transfer their residence with the advantage of no transfer duty. In order to take advantage of this opportunity the following conditions provide an indication as to whether you could stand to benefit from this amendment:

· The property must have been owned by the company, close corporation or trust since 11 February 2009, and all of its shares or member’s interest must be directly held by the natural person or his/her spouse to the date on which the residence is transferred into the name of that natural person or his/her spouse;

· Where the residence is owned by a trust, a natural person must have donated the property to the trust or provided funding for its acquisition, (and / or paid the bond installments);

· The property that was owned by the company, close corporation or trust must have been used mainly for domestic purposes from 11 February 2009 to the date of transfer and it must be no more than 2 hectares in extent;

There are other areas that need to be taken into account when calculating the base cost for CGT purposes but in essence the overall effect of the Taxation Law Amendment Act will be that the natural person will be regarded as having acquired the residence at the same time and for the same amount as did the company, close corporation or trust.

Once the property has been transferred into the name of the natural person then the primary residence allowance in respect of CGT, which is currently R1.5m, will be applicable. There are, however, certain estate duty implications which may need to be taken into account before deciding to pursue this transfer and we advise that you take legal advice as to whether you qualify and as to whether it would be advantageous to do so.

- Ryan Dingley