[Terry Kyle]

In our increasingly competitive marketplace, it seems to me that adding the ‘X-Factor’ or unique ‘star power’ to our businesses here is pretty important if they are to grow.

But how?

From my own advertising agency background, I believe that it can be done in (at least) three ways:

1. ‘Branson Your Business’ - Richard Branson has a business persona that is extremely positive, fun, gregarious, generous and one that suggests he sees the world as a place of abundance where anything is possible (even space passenger flights!) rather than as a place of scarcity where there is hardly anything good and just many aggravations. He is completely extroverted and enthusiastic in approaching, talking to and connecting with everyone he meets. These attributes are a great model to follow.

2. Stardom by association - if your business has one or more well known clients, promote that fact. Some catering company vans that I often see around my neighbourhood here have the slogan under their company name, “Supplier to Virgin Atlantic”. The fact is that if your business is associated with ‘big name players’, it implies that you or your business is a heavyweight, has credibility and should be taken seriously. The point is not to merely have one or more ‘name’ clients but to actually feature that association in your business marketing materials e.g. through their logos on your brochures or website. When I used to hire personnel in advertising, I was always far more influenced by who a candidate had worked for rather than one who told me that they were “hard working” or other tired descriptions (which were probably true).

3. Creating a buzz around your business - a business that is up to date, hungry to try new ideas and a sense that there is ‘always something happening’ is quite contagious. Staff should be switched ON, know their stuff backwards and not be time-wasting gossipers. I believe that this sense of ‘something happenin’ here’ is often based on the tempo of the buying experience, the faster and more efficient it feels (depending on the business), the greater the buzz or ‘vibe’ in a business - this is particularly true in many retail businesses. Places where staff are busy, active and seem like they don’t have enough time to do all that needs doing (within reason) are usually much more enticing than those with a snoozing guy behind the counter reading ‘The Sun.’ In short, a business should have the identity of an expert ‘do-er’ not a lazy ‘snoozer’.

I do of course appreciate that these ideas are much easier to apply in some businesses than others.

What do you think?

How can we add more ‘sizzle’ and impact to our business identities?

What have been your ‘hits’ and ‘misses’?