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The "Get Profitable Update" e-newsletter delivers original,

valuable and usable marketing information, success tips, and business strategies that you can use immediately to increase your revenues and profits.

Published by Clark Marketing Group, Inc. © 2000 Issue No. 0010-B

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at the GetProfitable.com website sometime in the last 12 months.

Please forward this e-newsletter to anyone you know who can benefit from

free online and offline marketing information that will immediately impact their sales and increase their profits. This e-newsletter also focuses on helping small to medium size businesses position their company as the "Brand" of choice by their customers and prospective targeted marketplace.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Marketing : Brand Your Business to increase sales and

In today's world of instantaneous results, where e-mail, faxes and overnight delivery have become a staple of our society, business seems to be moving at the speed of lightning and thunder. In addition, the everyday entrepreneur and business owner has become buried in a sea of competitors clamoring to steal your customers, your market share and your profits.

Have you ever heard the saying "Out of sight, out of mind"? Well I rest my case when it comes to being visible in your marketplace and to your prospective customers or clients.

Each competitor is ringing their own bell claiming to be the best, to have better quality, a higher level of service or the superior product. So how in the world do you break away from the pack in a clarifying and resounding way that clearly makes you stand out from the herd on the crowded pathways of commerce?

There is one clearly superior formula that the highly successful companies have figured out and that you can use too. In fact, you can begin using it immediately after reading this mini version of my "Special Report" to start producing your own results. What these companies know is that this one extremely valuable strategy can elevate you and/or your company, product or service as the recognized industry leader.

Branding is the technique you use to position yourself and/or your company as the expert in the industry. Branding is a strategy you can use for building an industry or market image for a person, a company, a product or a service. You possess some level of value or expertise in your field or industry that you should become known for.

By promoting yourself as a brand name in the market place, you develop an intangible asset that is extremely valuable. When you do this, you are essentially creating a visibility and credibility for you and your company that distinguishes you from the competitive pack. It gives you an edge and makes you distinctive and unique. By the way, that is probably the most fundamental element of business and entrepreneurial success.

Stop and think about it for a minute. For example, branding people occurs for famous actors, politicians, athletes, racecar drivers, WWF wrestlers, company CEOs, etc. For instance, a politician like Ronald Reagan constructed a platform on which he built his campaign.

He focused all his energy and media attention on the few key issues and the one essential message that people could understand and identify him with and that they knew he stood for and with that he became a brand or an image. How about other people like Donald Trump, Dave Thomas (Wendys), Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods and the one and only Michael Jordan. You get my point.

Branding also occurs for companies and their products. Wal-Mart, Nike, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, The Pillsbury Dough Boy, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (a personal favorite of mine) and many other companies that pour millions into advertising so we will recognize their products as helpful, comfortable, tasty, nutritious, satisfying, etc.

Many of us have become very loyal to these products and their brand names and wouldn't think of buying anything else. In fact, the manufacturers count on exactly that.

A service can be branded as the industry standard or leader. Take Roto-Rooter, for instance. That's the name I would call if I needed a plumbing service to clean out a clogged drain or toilet. How about Kinkos? If I needed copies quickly or any multitude of office-type services, I'm going to Kinkos. They've established that they are the office support team for the small businessman.

Of course, a company can brand itself by promoting itself as the leader in its field or market or industry. Let's take Disney for example. Mickey Mouse represents a lot more than theme parks, cartoons, and movies. Disney has branded itself as a family entertainment company.

Parents like myself can for the most part be comfortable that I can choose anything that's Disney and feel safe that it will be clean and wholesome entertainment for my children. That's important to me and so I am loyal to practically anything Disney puts out.

How about Xerox? For years their name was synonymous with photocopying. Then there is IBM, which for years dominated as the "computer" company, or Kodak, the "picture" company. I know you understand the value of being the name brand of some product, service, industry or marketplace because brand loyalty builds business and profitability.

Your objective is to establish your company and your product/service as the "Brand" in your business or industry. The fundamental element of this formula is that branding is about making a promise to your marketplace — the promise for predictable results.

Therefore, YOU MUST have a quality name, a "Branding Solution Message" that communicates results, a quality product or service and a reputation for consistently delivering a higher than expected level of service. For if you have that, the rest is just a matter of marketing.

The days of the instant dot.com millionaire along with what may have been considered the Internet gold rush for any business with a dot.com suffix to it has ended. No longer can basement or garage startup companies launch unimpressive, poorly managed websites and still expect venture funding to magically appear overnight, along with exaggerated valuation and an over-the-top IPO fortune.

Yes the fast track train to sudden riches has jumped the track and crashed into a smoking stack of dot-gones. In fact, if you don't believe me go check out the website the "Dot Com Graveyard," a site dedicated to keeping track of the dot.com carnage.

Or is this just the smoke clearing the path to reality. Are the days of Web wealth really over? I don't think so. The fact is that a bad business model makes a bad business whether it is online or offline. Either will eventually crash.

In Phase 1, lousy website design and execution undermined many of the failed e-businesses who in their hurry to get their site up and to drive traffic to their site, gave little heed to the quality of their product, service or customer experience their site could deliver.

Solid marketing principles were overlooked and in place many people closed their eyes to business fundamentals. Perhaps because they thought we were in a new medium and the old stuff didn't apply. Planning out a higher-than-expected level of customer experience geared to the customer was lower on the totem pole than engaging the latest and greatest technology.

Well, that short-sided entrepreneurial style has finally succumbed to the need for diligent planning and substance. Welcome to Phase 2. If you believe as I do in the enormous profitable opportunity that the Web hold for your business, and you are committed to doing it right then lets roll up our sleeves together because I am going to deliver to you over the next two "Get Profitable Issues" the 5 critical customer centered steps you need to implement if you're trying to troubleshoot an unsuccessful site or launch your company's first site... stay tuned!

We welcome your comments, questions and insights.

COMING SOON... Kevin's Hot New Book

Revolutionary Breakthrough Branding Formula Shows Every Internet Entrepreneur How To Differentiate Your

e-Business, Gain a Competitive Advantage, and

Turn Your Web Site Into an Internet Moneymaker!

Check out our newly re-designed Web site. There is a special one-time pre-publication 50% off sales offer on my new book as well as lots of new and valuable information to help make you more profitable. You can take our online poll and see the instant updated results.

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FREE ARTICLES FOR YOUR PUBLICATIONS

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I have many articles available for reprint in your print or

on-line publication, or company newsletter. You may use

articles written by me that you see in my Get Profitable Update.

All you have to do is print the article in its entirely

along with the byline at the top and the following

identifier paragraph at the end:

Kevin M. Clark is a small business marketing consultant and branding specialist and speaker to many nationally acclaimed groups.

(I would appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy too.)

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Kevin M. Clark

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Written by Kevin M. Clark,

"Entrepreneur of The Year Award Recipient," (Regional

Winner) and President of Clark Marketing Group, Inc.

(c) Copyright 2000 Clark Marketing Group, Inc.