What big businesses can learn from SMBs

Bureaucracy tends to function like a machine with many cogs and gears. This mechanized business approach functions well in predictable environments. However, in today's rapidly changing business world, bureaucracy may prevent big companies from seizing the moment. Several management layers and slow procedures prevents big companies from quickly adapting to volatile situations, combating sudden competitive threats and capitalizing on new opportunities that arise. 

Big companies therefore can benefit from the small – medium sized business approach. 

A small – medium sized business is, by nature, lean and agile. Having fewer layers of management makes decision times much quicker. The pace of a small company is often very fast. Flexibility, adaptability and speed is frequently advantageous in getting new products or services to market. 

Big business would be far more effective if it were to maximise the entrepreneurial spirit of its staff and design a corporate structure to provide the greatest number of employees direct contact with their marketplace, whilst minimizing system-wide bureaucratic procedures.

Channeling that New Year's spirit every day

This year we’ve decided to put a special emphasis on recreating that terrific New Year’s spirit and aiming to channel it every single day. 

Most of us have an altogether positive vibe of optimism, excitement and anticipation when approaching a hopeful New Year. However, at about this time in January, along with New Year’s resolutions, this positive vibe can sadly start to wane. 

So why not recreate and distribute the New Year’s spirit every day, and try with all our might to keep it alive? January 1 isn’t the only day for new beginnings. Every day is a fresh start. By taking the small step of leaning into what feels great, we can give ourselves new opportunities around every bend. We can reflect, reset and be excited each morning, no matter the challenges we’re facing - beginning with reminding ourselves about what the prospect of a New Year felt like and applying it to the brand new day ahead. As we are human we will inevitably slip up, but as long as we realize that we don’t have to wait until December to have a new resolve, a new strength and a new happiness, it’s a step in the right direction … for life and business. 

Easier said than done, but we’re giving it a real go in 2017 and beyond. It's early days but so far, so good. Will you join us?

Planning & implementing your hero brand's marketing

Part 7 of our "Hero branding" series

Your heroic story will become the blueprint to revolutionize the whole inner and outer core of your business. Now it is time to powerfully and effectively tell this story. The lines of communication your business must implement needs to be prioritized.

Every business has an accessible audience. The key is to understand how to reach and connect with them using the most cost effective route and, once there, not wasting the opportunity.

At Cowan & Partners we identify the audience who will make a positive difference to your business. But we don’t just want to talk to these people; we want to excite, stimulate and engage them in an experience which will compel them to come back for more.

We evaluate your available budget to construct a viable marketing communication plan to convey your message, detailing the schedule for each necessary vehicle.

We advise clients on the realistic nature of the goals they wish to achieve. With every project we incorporate a workflow plan for true transparency.

When we implement your marketing communication, you will start to see your company achieving the accolades it deserves. From delivering your copy-writing, press releases, and social media support to the designs of all your marketing collateral, videos, photography, and the development of your new website, you’re sure to see both short term and long-standing tangible results from our activity and diligence.

The thriving company ethos which sets you apart acts as the directive for the implementation of your communication. Your story will be told in the conversations that your salespeople have and through your clients’ word-of-mouth recommendations. Your values and beliefs will inspire your logo and be channelled through the colours, typography and navigation of your website. Your own excitement and purpose will be felt by everyone. Your hero brand will come to the fore of all your marketing communications.

Cowan & Partners will be living and breathing this process with you. We view your business and its communications as if it were our own. We are passionate and determined to tell your story in the most powerful and effective way to build a following for your business.

Hero brand creation

Part 6 of our "Hero branding" series

You as business owners are an unprecedented group of individuals in society; you have fought, struggled and managed to build an enterprise which, without you, would not exist.

Far from being just a set of bricks and mortar, the story that has brought you to where you are today contains some compelling features that, if told properly, can be a source of inspiration for others.  Your story is not just compelling, but also the key to:

• open up doors to new and fruitful opportunities
• increase revenue by strengthening your relationships with existing and new customers and clients
• instill a sense of purpose in your company which will be far reaching, enlivening your staff

So let's bring your ‘heroic story’ to life.  In an initial meeting we must first recognize and document the essential ingredients of your business.  We need to know why you do what you do.  We require a charted time-line of milestone events in your business history.  As an astute filmmaker or author would do, we conduct a brainstorming session with these vital elements to identify which key emotional triggers of your story need to be developed to form a consistent narrative thread that will engage with your chosen demographic. Solid research, imagination and astute editing allow us to add texture, colour and structure to your business story.

Once our writer/s are satisfied with the first draft of your story, a copy will be sent to you for your review and feedback.  We believe in total collaboration with our clients in order to produce our finest, most authentic work.  Together, we continue to develop this story until you're entirely satisfied.  After all, your story will be the core of your hero branding and the foundation for all your other marketing communication in the future. 

Recognizing your business story

Part 5 of our "Hero Branding" series 

When people connect with a business they are not just connecting with a commodity but a living, breathing organism that they have chosen over all the other businesses vying for their attention.

People connect on different levels with companies but the ones that achieve ongoing success, and are of the most interest, are those that invest emotional capital into their brand to create meaningful and long-lasting connections.  All companies are trying to find this missing ingredient which can give them a wide appeal; the 'X Factor' some may say.  At Cowan and Partners we believe finding this inexplicable quality is simple - the answer is right on your front door.

The focus of your business, going forward, will be the most powerful resource you have available to you: your story.  Why is this so powerful?  Your story will resonate the truth, appealing to the hopes and aspirations of those people you wish to connect with.  They will be the biggest allies in helping you grow your business.  There is a hero in all businesses who can become the leaders that set the tide in motion.

The first step in this journey is recognizing the story which will be your foundation for all future communications and reverberate throughout your whole company.  We do this by taking you through an extensive consultation which will reveal the very fabric of your business.  We get to know the real you, your beliefs and values,  your business journey that led you to where you are today, your current situation and challenges, and your vision for the future.  We establish who you need to reach, your available budget and the effective plan to achieve your objectives.

What's your business story?

Part 4 of our "Hero Branding" series

We believe every business has a meaningful, heroic story.  

Telling this story in a distinctive, powerful and entertaining way is the key to creating a deep, long-lasting emotional bond with clients, customers/fans and employees.  Let's dig deep to find your compelling story of purpose.

Every business has a hero story with a meaning that goes beyond the mere limitations of a standard offering.  Maybe it is not your natural instinct to look back.  However, in your life you have been inspired by other people telling their stories of overcoming incredible odds and personal heroes who have taken a stand for what they believe in.  Yet has it ever crossed your mind that the set of circumstances that has brought you and your business to where you are today contain the very same ingredients as those stories which have personally inspired you?

Obviously having the ingredients is not enough.  You need to be able to recognize which parts of your life and your business's journey can be packaged to engage with your relevant audience.  We understand that most people are not storytellers by nature and we know that your time is precious, dedicated to making important business decisions now.  Cowan & Partners can work with you to recognize, package and communicate the inner narrative which will make your business an essential, advancing force in the market.

Every business can be a hero brand

Part 3 of our "Hero Branding" series

The art of telling one’s story has seemingly been lost on most businesses that may think that the world of inspiration lies solely in dark rooms with projectors, in concert halls and sports stadiums.

As the world becomes ever more saturated with little to no distinction between the offerings of different companies, tomorrow’s industry leaders will be those who recognize within themselves their purpose and what they stand for.

This accomplishment will not be limited to a privileged few.  Far from it!  You may ask “How can my accounting firm or cleaning company inspire others?” Every idea and service you provide, as well as each success you enjoy as a business, follows initial sacrifices and challenges which required drive, determination and passion to overcome.  Businesses are unique in that they have a ready-made, inner built purpose whose very make-up can wield a force which is as powerful as those stories that drive people to cinemas, purchase music for their iPods and cheer for their favourite sports team on the weekend.  Your business has an important purpose – it’s now a case of packaging and articulating this purpose through everything you do.