Let's begin by acknowledging that you are reading this entry on our corporate blog and you've probably already launched some sort of interactive communications with your customer base. Even Wal-Mart has a blog, featuring its in-store buyers. Corporate blogging has taken a seat alongside the most traditional communications tools and deserves serious consideration when looking at how you currently develop your brand.

The marketing department has traditionally existed outside the revenue column. But, it's time to demand the same demonstrable results that you would require of any of your business units. Marketing is more than a maker of multi-media; it is a catalyst that reenergizes how the company thinks, invests, acts and connects to your bottom line.

However, traditional business standards of measurement don't tie marketing directly to that bottom line and companies struggle to establish performance benchmarks for their marketing teams. So how do you measure the efficacy of your marketing efforts?

Trim the fat. Make more money. Really listen to people. It's that time of year when we set out to meet new goals and commit to reinventing ourselves.

Our customers are making the same promises. Traditionally, companies have taken notice by offering two-week trial memberships or free toasters. But the marketplace today demands much more than product incentives; it's about becoming an integral part of your customers' lives. Learn how to make your brand a necessity by understanding and facilitating the shared interests, values, and goals of your customer community.

In today's post-"Inconvenient Truth" world, companies of all shapes and sizes have rushed to get onto the "green" train, but many have missed the whole point: It's not about (in)convenience, it's about truth.

These days, announcing your company is "green" is like offering up your sleeve for a scarlet letter to be placed on it. In fact, a recent survey done by marketing consultancy Ipsos Reid showed that nearly 70% of Americans contend that being labeled "green" is merely a marketing gimmick.

Bells and whistles don't work unless there is someone behind them. It's exciting to launch an external campaign encompassing advertising, public relations, and promotions. But before you get caught up in great ideas and make any promises, you better be sure your employees are ready to keep them.
 
In order to reconnect your team and customers as part of a new initiative, you have to begin within your organization. Whether the repositioning of your brand stems from a merger or a desire to recapture lost market share, employees want to understand their role. So, tell them about the changes, why and what will change, and how it will affect them personally. That's how they can feel pride in what they do.

Here is how to make sure your brand is ready to deliver from the inside out.

Delta Airlines just announced that it has eliminated pillows and quit selling food on flights to save money. Clearly they haven't read the growing list of dissatisfied customer postings on flyertalk.com, airlinerage.com, or flightsfromhell.com.

Companies traditionally have looked at customer service issues as separate, and apart, from the sales of the product and based on short-term profitability. Decisions that at first glance don't seem to affect the bottom line immediately are put off if the corporation isn't flush with cash.

Welcome to the InfoFrenzy-where customers are customer service vigilantes using the Internet to publicize positive and negative experiences and investigate the brand and corporation behind the product. Genuine consumer comments have replaced the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports as a reliable source for brand comparison. Anyone with a modem and a blog represents a potential public relations disaster.

Customers today are armed with the technology to look beneath a brand's attractive wrapping. They want to know about the company that made the product, and whether it shares the same core beliefs and values. And that's where a lot of brands get into trouble.

Companies spend so much time focusing on the brand concept that they forget to step back and consider its purpose. You want to make money for your business, employees, and shareholders. But how can you translate fiscal health into a purposeful brand that connects with customers? Start at your core. And then build your company around it.

When Richard Tait and Whit Alexander sat down to create the board game Cranium, they based it on a simple premise-"Everyone Shines." Some of us are good at crossword puzzles, while others might dominate at Pictionary. But the key is that everyone has a unique skill set that allows him or her to compete in a game based on a variety of challenges.

In today's texting, YouTube, blogging, mobile messaging, media-obsessed world, consumers can get to the core of every business instantly. And they do. To them, saying what you do is not nearly as important as doing what you say.

You sell more than a service or a product - you are selling a culture, a set of beliefs and your brand's mission. Consistency and transparency throughout every layer of your company influence buying decisions and are directly tied to your bottom line. So, your brand must be clearly understood and embraced by your entire organization.

To create a well-developed brand that's focused on profitability follow these steps: