It was May 18^th 1980 when Mt. St. Helens blew its top. A friend of mine living in Portland on a houseboat at the time looked up to see a topless mountain where there once had been a pointed top.  The power of nature, once again, proved to be beyond imagination.

There is a power in marketing that is really beyond imagination, but many do not understand it, nor take the time to really internalize what it means. Branding is the essence of blow your top off marketing. However, branding takes strategy, time, patience, measurement, and perseverance.  It is not a quick fix to a dying business.

Introspection is the first step. Think about, study, and figure out exactly what your service differentiation (brand) really is. Do you pride yourself on being customer-friendly? If so, does everything you do—from the FAQ on your Web site to the length of time a caller spends on hold when inquiring on the phone—support this image? If not, revisit the essence of your service’s branding.  As a reminder, here is what “branding” means. Branding is the perception of your business that is created at every point of contact with the public.

Our MOST program provides the opportunity for an agency to reinforce a brand image that is knowledgeable, helpful, resourceful and caring. Everything we do in that program is geared towards enhancing the home care agency brand, and, because we know the power of branding, we continue to help our home care clients succeed in this increasingly competitive world.

Have a good day today, and think about how much better it would be if you subscribed to the theory of using blow your top off marketing.

Revamping programs to meet customer demand is one reason businesses succeed. corecubed has offered a home care specific industry program since October 2007, and in those 2 and a half years, the program has changed a lot. Even the strategy has changed, based on how the industry is changing. What started out as a regulated process for going to market, is now a Web-based library of marketing, sales, design, and recruitment resources available on a point system, based on the agency’s monthly payment.

What this means, is that we now have complete modules that are based on a 30+ home care themes (PPTs, press releases, brochures, resource tips and helpful information, Web links, Web banners) as well as many standalone items. What started out as targeting referrals within the industry has now become a robust resource for an agency allowing an independent agency (or a location of a franchise) to compete in this crowded home care market place with the very best marketing and sales material available anywhere. Communicating regularly is one key to staying in the mind of people who might need services, and the corecubed team implements the direct mail, the email eNewsletter (topical and VERY interesting and well read amongst the agencys’ email lists), so taking time to have regular communication with clients, families, referral sources and prospectives of each of those categories is not only done for the MOST program members, but also the communication adds value because of its helpful and informative nature.

Rising above the crowd is the theme of the next MOST Webinar that is sales oriented (disclosure) but also will take the attendee inside the Web-based resource library and showcase the content and material that has been developed. If you are a home care agency or if you have a friend who owns one, I suggest you either sign or direct them to sign up for the Tuesday, May 18^th one hour free (3 PM Eastern time)  Webinar now. The program is only offered to one agency in any geographic area because it is so good team corecubed does not want 2 people getting the same helpful information. The program maintains a 92% retention rate with our most successful home care companies using MOST and corecubed as their marketing partner. This is really a marketing program that is beyond belief in its depth and quality, and we are proud to say that we continue to listen to our clients and develop new ways for the MOST program members to compete and to rise above the crowd.

Calvin Borel is not called Calvin Bo-rail for nothing. If you watched the 136^th running of the Kentucky Derby with a “seasoned” eye, you would have seen his strategy. He took the shortest route, right on the rail (bo- RAIL, get it?) and when he saw an opening in the stretch, he headed right through it and let his horse go. The rest, as we say here in the Bluegrass, is history.

Focus is what won that race. Alright, he is talented, skilled, experienced as well, but it is the focus that separated him from the others who did not win on Saturday. And it is focus along with persistence and determination that makes businesses succeed. Take a look at your agency’s or business’ marketing efforts, and ask yourself if you are approaching a) the right targets with b) the right message and c) the right way so they will respond as you are desiring. Interested? Read more now. »

BAD gardening joke. Very bad. This weekend I spent the entire daylight hours basking in the warmth of the KY springtime and planting my new raised flower bed with colorful perennials. The result of ice storms recently is that my garden is graced with some unexpected sunshine, so I had a raised bed added to my yard so I could have some plants that thrived in sun and not shade. The joke is that the soil (supposedly top soil for which I paid a premium) is really clay-hard blue clay the likes of which one makes bricks or vessels, but not likely to grow anything at all. If I had had a potter’s wheel I could have been creative in the garden. Interested? Read more now. »

In home care the word “marketing” often means a person who performs the direct sales for the agency. And being a good sales person, is indeed, an incredible talent. Knowing how to sell, however, is vastly different from creating a strategy from which TO sell.

Marketing strategy starts with some basics, and the most basic is branding. Then messaging. Defining targets that are most receptive to the sale, and then creating a process to inform and communicate to all so the potential to MAKE the sale is spread across a wider and wider (although targeted) audience. Interested? Read more now. »

First it was the Cabbage Patch Doll. Then Tickle-Me-Elmo and Furby. Now, hold on to your hat – and your small wood shavings – because this year the must have holiday toy that really rocks the worlds of retailers comes in the form of a tiny robotic hamster. Say hello to the Zhu Zhu Pet – the starring character in the latest holiday toy craze. And say hello to innovative and integrated social media marketing that helped create this craze. Interested? Read more now. »

The coffee wars are on, and according to The Boston Globe, McDonald’s is making headway.

The fast food giant launched its “McCafé” coffee chain in Melbourne, Australia with plans to offer the coffee brand in all of its 14,000 U.S.-based stores by the end of this year. Public reception of the McCafé brand has been surprisingly positive. In fact, McDonald’s has unseated Dunkin’ Donuts from the donut chain’s Number Two slot as the most-preferred coffee retailer. No surprise that Starbucks holds the top position. Interested? Read more now. »

Strategic marketing is built upon the quantity and quality of names written down in that “little black book”. To coin an overused cliché, it’s all about who you know. That means it’s important to fill up your database file (Rolodex, Microsoft Outlook address book, ACT or SalesForce) with as many prospective clients, industry professionals, mentors and business partners as possible.

And gathering contacts is all about three things: networking, networking and networking. However, you cannot simply go to a Web site and sign up for a contact subscription list. Building relationships takes time. And most movers and shakers or designated sales/marketing targets don’t hang out at the same place.

Or do they?

Interested? Read more now. »