Riding on the coat-tails of other people’s ideas.

People without creativity have been taking other people’s ideas, probably since the beginning of time. While there is rarely an original idea, it is important to make sure you look to other people’s work for inspiration and not imitation. Whatever creative services you are offering, whether you are talking about graphic design companies, advertising firms or a branding agency, to have your own source of creative inspiration is imperative to success.

A prime example is the “got milk?” advertising campaign. This is creative advertising at its finest. Pure and simple. Two words that are grammatically incorrect, yet are so effective that they have been branded into the minds of almost every American. So good in fact, a lot of smaller graphic design companies thought it would be good for their clients marketing, and we started to see all kinds of variations on the phrase “got milk?”. So many, that people started to become immune to it and now we see advertisements like “got lawn?”

The point is, taking someone else’s idea or a variation on someone else’s idea and pretending its your own is lame. Unoriginal people do this not because they can’t think for themselves, but because they think it would be more beneficial to ride on the coat-tails of other people’s great ideas. The reality is if people put just a little effort into their brand strategy or brand positioning, they would find that they have what it takes to come up with branding that is original and exciting.

We don’t want this to be taken negatively. We think that everyone has the ability to be creative in their own way. Some people are good at creative advertising. Some people are good at graphic design. All people are inspired by the work of others, but we think it’s important to make sure that your final product could survive if the first product wasn’t so awesome.

We want to tell you about a service we have used called Litmus. They provide a massive value to digital creatives working with web technologies, as their service allows us to test websites and marketing emails for bugs, saving our clients time and money. Most web companies and applications provide great service, but offer a very impersonal relationship experience. Not Litmus. To our surprise, we received in the mail a package containing a notebook, a handwritten note and a one month free referral card that can be given to one of our friends. This is building our trust for their brand because not only do they provide a very valuable app, they care enough about us as a client to reach out to us personally. Remember: Good Customer Service is the best form of Branding.

We work with companies every day to develop their image through Branding. There’s a lot more to Branding than developing a good logo or message. A Brand is developed through the combination of a Quality Product, Exceptional Service and Good Design.

Whatever Product you are selling, whether it is a tangible good, a service, a luxury item or a commodity the quality of your product is only as good as it is perceived by your customers. Brand Perception is established by setting expectations of quality and then delivering them consistently. At Laughing Samurai we do this by determining the client’s needs up front and agreeing on them through our client discovery process. From there it’s easy for us to deliver a quality creative product because we understand the client’s objectives.

Most companies try to set themselves apart through service. However, when it comes down to it this is one of the hardest parts of your brand to maintain. Service takes discipline, as well as creating a company culture that is going to withstand even the most stressful times. Great Service is about giving attention to the small details. No matter what your product is, Great service can mean the difference between a long term and non existent customer.

The final element of enhancing your image is giving your product a recognizable image. Companies do this through branding, which is a combination of logo’s, package design, collateral and other points of contact to their customers. A well branded company will make sure that every time their customer interacts with their product, that experience is consistently wrapped in nice packaging. This means every stage of the process has been thought through and touched by your brand.

If you haven’t already, analyze your sales process and determine where you haven’t already branded yourself to your customers. If you have a retail store, focus on your environment. If you have a website, focus on everything from site flow to the packaging you use to ship your product. If you have a service that works in the field, make sure your trucks match your invoices.