I so much enjoyed your article in the recent issue of
Entrepreneur with regard to branding ("Battle of the Brand," March). It was very
well-balanced and did an admirable job of pointing out the pros and
cons of branding.
My company, The Busted Knuckle Garage, is a 3-year-old startup
that is all about branding. We've recently hired a brand
consultant to put some guardrails on our thinking. Your article
couldn't have been more timely. Thank you so very much!
Warren G. Tracy
"Head Wrench"
The Busted Knuckle Garage
Prescott, Arizona
I recently subscribed to your magazine, and the first issue I
received featured an article on branding ("Battle of the
Brand," March). It was an interesting article and served to
show how confusing branding can be for [entrepreneurs].
Content Continues Below
A business can be successful and profitable without having a
brand-building plan if the business understands where the brand
currently is in the minds of the clients or pro-spective clients
and if they can develop a plan of action that will move the brand
where they want it to go faster and cheaper. They end up spend-ing
less on advertising and being more effective.
Small businesses can inexpensively and effectively build a brand
if they are given the knowledge. Unfortunately, brand building is
virtually ignored by academia [and] small-business planners.
Until the individuals who touch the small-business owner start
to talk in their language on branding, [small-business owners] will
continue to believe [branding] is not for them.
I've been impressed with your magazine and wish you
continued success.
Lee Fergesen
Chief Advocate
Brand Advocates
Building Competitive Advantage
Johnston, Iowa
Wow, I almost don't know where to begin in commenting about
the "Battle of the Brand" article featured in your March
issue. Those interviewees "in favor" of using branding
strategies exhibited exactly what occurs when you consciously
include branding in your business growth plans.
Those who were featured on the side of "Branding,
Schmanding" exhibited less than a layman's understanding
of the holistic, in-depth process [that] branding strategy is.
Branding is so much more than name recognition. If done
correctly, it infiltrates every aspect of your business--from who
and how you hire your staff to the making and delivery of the
product, to your customer service, your advertising messaging and
even to how you deal with difficult customers and reward loyal
customers.
Suzanne Tulien
Brand Culture Creative
I.D. By Design
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Keeping It Real
Catherine Seda's "Slam Dunk or Scam Junk?" article in the
February issue of Entrepreneur ("Net Sales") highlighted many common
misconceptions about keyword navigation services, but failed to
paint the complete picture.
Many industry critics are quick to label keyword navigation
services spyware--this is certainly untrue for CommonName.
Protecting user privacy is extremely important to us.
In relation to advertising, we only serve one untargeted pop-ad
per day. This is mild compared to many well-known Internet
companies and is only necessary to enable us to continue providing
a free service to our users.
CommonName is a credible search tool. CommonName's user base
has doubled in the past year, while CommonName increased its sales
by 472 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003, compared to the same
quarter in 2002. The company's keyword and pay-per-click
services continue to show strong growth and provide a valuable
source of traffic for customers.
Yurong Lin
CEO
CommonName
London
Give It Up
Speaking as a recovering CEO for a software company, I think the
worst advice you can give a salesperson is to blindly aim for the
top of the organizational chart ("Sales Success," January). In my
organization, I did not select, review or recommend most goods and
services used by the company--that is why I had a very talented
management team and direct reports. Salespeople calling me were
wasting my time and theirs.
Charles Von Thun
Founder
PositiveWare LLC
Denver
Hispanic Power
I'd like to say thank you for publishing such an informative
magazine and for including Hispanic companies in the magazine.
About $600 billion is spent per year [by] this group of people, and
I, being Hispanic, have always read English [language] magazines.
Your magazine played a part for me in opening my own business.
I am an entrepreneur, and I just want to say thanks. I
wouldn't doubt more Hispanics read your magazine. This would
lead to more business for everyone.
Eric Trevino
Owner
Rio Inspection Consulting Inc.
Harlingen, Texas
Confidence Booster
I thought I would take a moment to let you know how important
your work is to those of us who are just starting out. We recently
opened a business in Anaconda, Montana. The first week was a bit
scary for both of us, but then we received your magazine in the
mail and read it cover to cover. What a great pick-me-up-[it] gave
us that little extra confidence we needed. We like that you tell
stories of everyday people who make a business work. Thank you for
bringing hope to a little business in Montana.
Jeff and Lisa McNeil
Owners
Professional Auto Body & Mechanic Shop
Anaconda, Montana
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