Cristal Carrington

Pinterest is fast becoming the hottest little website on the net. Users are allowed to pin their favorite pictures to a virtual board and share those pins with others seeking to express themselves through visual replicas of things they want, need or desire. Don't know how to use the application? Don't worry,with this diagram you will be well on your way to building your brand while utilizing the latest social networking tools. Find me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/thesocialiteprj/ Find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on FB at Cristal Carrington Smooches & Stay Fabulous! -Cristal Carrington

Have you ever called a company with a comment/concern or suggestion and felt like you never got a response? How did that make you feel? Unappreciated? Taken for granted? Did it make you feel like the company really valued you as a customer? Did you decide to purchase that product again, or did you abandon the product/brand of choice for a more responsive, comparatively priced product? How did the choice company’s non-response affect your thoughts about the brand? Did you still believe wholeheartedly in the brand? Could you?

Brand loyalty is a hard thing to build and even harder to keep. New brands are developed each and every day with the desire to replace other brands, even yours. So how do you keep your brand loyalty campaign in tip-top shape? Some of the easy ways to do this is to keep your customer engaged into the core philosophy of your brand and what it stand for, as well as taking the time to reply to your customers, especially the most important ones that are brand loyal, yet are feverishly courted by other brands for their business.

Sometimes it’s not about a company producing a better product as it is the effectiveness of its relationship with its customers and clients. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and the companies that actively apply the Marketing 101 adage that the customer is king rules the roost.

Brand Loyalty Campaigns are much more than loyalty rewards programs or awarding discounts. Yes, customers love gifts and discounts, but true brand loyalists enjoy the thought that their chosen brand cares about them in an individual way instead of just being one in the number. This is where many companies have gone wrong. Compromised brands think that the easiest way to keep a customer around is to dangle discounts as a trade-off for loyalty, when in reality certain consumers prefer not to have a discount, but a more solid relationship with the brand itself. Everyone loves discounts, but people (myself included), love superior products more.

However, just having a superior product is not good enough. Customers value the engagement that a brand provides and this is a deal breaker when it comes to brand loyalty. If the customer feels un-valued, it won’t be long before they find a comparable product that values them. Customers that have proven to be brand loyal don’t mind working hard, paying top dollar, or being a champion for the brand as long as they feel appreciated in the end.

Stay tuned for more fabulous branding commentary at www.theuptowndiva.com and don’t forget to find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and Facebook at Cristal Carrington
Smooches & Stay Fabulous!
- Cristal Carrington

This year, Burberry announced that it will allow customers to create their own trench coats and tap into their own self expression on Burberry's sister site located at http://tiny.cc/BurberryBespoke.

The coats, that can range from $1,800-8,800, are just an example of how brands are putting the customer in charge and giving them the power to create a more personal look.

Some ways this can be done by you and your firm are through rewards programs, surveys and online customization.

Start with the three above mentioned tips and stay tuned to www.theuptowndiva.com for more tips on how to enhance your brand.

Smooches & Stay Fabulous!

- Cristal Carrington

According to Al Ries, Author of the famed book, The 22 Laws of Branding, Ries suggests with the third law that a brand must consistently seek publicity to remain healthy.

Leadership is the most important motivating factor in consumer behavior. Leadership makes the difference between you and other brands. Being a leader means you will attract all types of attention, good, bad and even uneccessary snide remarks. However, I recommend that you take imitation of your brand or snide remarks as the highest form of flattery; it just means that you are that good and highly sought after.

Building publicity means building your subject matter expertise to the point where people recommend you for it. It doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistent hard work and dedication to your dreams, you will be well on your way to the success you desire.

There are many small ways to gain publicity, because quite frankly you may never get on the front cover of Vogue, but with consistent articles written about you over time, you will gain a reputable name with your target market.

Consistency is just as good, if not better than landing the front cover. How many times have you seen professionals of any industry on the front cover and never heard of the next? Many. This is why having a consistent approach is more important that being on the front cover. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shoot for the cover, it just means you need to be in as many issues as possible over time.

A few ways to gain publicity right now:
Hire a professional PR/Branding Consultant to enhance your branding campaign.
Hiring a professional to oversee your campaign is an effective way to get your name in the media. Companies such as Aqua Promos have landed brands and social causes that had no name on large news networks such as ABC and your brand should have a piece of the spotlight. Hiring a professional doesn’t have to break the bank, but it can yield dividends as you become noticed.

Write a blog about your subject matter.
Blogging is an easy and economical way to push your product and services to your target audience and another way to enhance your rankings on Google and Bing. Use a blog service such as Blogger or Wordpress and try to post fresh articles at least 3 times per week.

Chat with other bloggers and pitch stories to them surrounding you and your expertise.
Chatting with other professionals and influential bloggers is a great way to tap into the framework of technology and build alliances along the way. Make it your business to seek out professionals that write about your field and alert them to trends in your industry. This is a great way to become a leader in your profession. Those that spot the trends ahead of time are those that are valuable to the marketplace.

These are just a few ways that you can enhance your brand power right now and remain a healthy brand.

For more information on Aqua Promos and what how we can enhance your branding campaign effortlessly, find me, Cristal Carrington at aquapromos@gmail.com. Shoot me a line about your company and let’s find cost-effective solutions for your Branding/PR needs.

Find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on Facebook at Cristal Carrington.

Smooches & Stay Fabulous

-Cristal Carrington

I recently read in the book Managing Brand You by Ira Bluementhal that to perfect your brand you must begin with the basics of self-evaluation. One of the ways to do this is to create an adjective list of who we believe we are. He suggests creating a 25 word list to do this and I must say it has helped me tremendously.

He was sure to point out that we should be brutally honest with ourselves, not only mentioning the awesome adjectives, but the not-so awesome adjectives as well. As we all have negative and positive traits, it is important that we examine both.
Learning more about yourself helps the process of branding and allows you to concentrate on how to become a better you. This is what the branding process is all about and since I'm also doing it, I find it quite rewarding.

Below is a link to a list of adjectives for you to mention on your personal list. http://tiny.cc/ComprehensiveAdjectives Out of 25, there will probably be at least 8-10 negative traits that you know of. Taking a look at where we fall short, even if our friends think we do no wrong, places us well on our way to a more fulfilling life and a more viable and fabulous internal brand position. It's the inside that counts. Be your best self.

Find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on Facebook at Cristal Carrington

Smooches & Stay Fabulous

-Cristal Carrington

What a busy week. Hope all is well for my fabulous brand builders out there. As promised, I will briefly talk about the second law of branding: The Law of Contraction.

In the masterful book written by Al Ries, The 22 Laws of Branding, the second law of branding suggests that a brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus. Ries expounds on the first law of branding: The Law of Expansion, reinerating that when you put your name on everything, you lose your brands essence and power, at least with those of us with discerning tastes. A powerful branding program always starts by contracting the category, not expanding it.

For more fabulous brand chatter, follow me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on Facebook at Cristal Carrington.