When you hear the word “bull,” does it bring to mind a) a

conversation with a coworker, b) Pamp-lona, Spain or c) Merrill Lynch?

If you are part of Merrill Lynch’s target market, the

financial management company hopes you envisioned its distinctive logo, a bull

that conveys strength, fearlessness and an ability to be bullish in the

market—in other words, the image they want their company to convey.

Images, or brands, are essential in a company’s marketing

strategy. If an image is a good one, it will attract the people and customers

intended. If it conveys the wrong message, it can do harm.

Sometimes, a simple detail will make or break the image,

says Chris Spiro, chief executive officer and creative director of Fort

Myers-based Spiro & Waites Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations. At

a seminar he once saw a slogan—“Our attention to detail is what we built our

business on”—stenciled on the side of one homebuilder’s Cadillac SUV. But to

change the area code from 813 to 941, the owner had put duct tape over the old

number and written in the new area code with a marker. “What does that tell you

about his brand?” Spiro asks.

Know thyself

image is a function of identity, and an organization—large

or small, for-profit or not-for-profit—should know its identity from its

inception, marketers say. “It’s not necessarily the today factor, it’s where

you want to be tomorrow. The day you open up your doors, you should have a plan

as to what your long-range goals are,” explains Spiro, who founded the firm in

1994.

Before presenting itself to its market, a company must

determine who it is, what it does and how it does it, says Beth Preddy,

president and owner of Beth Preddy Public Relations, a two-person Naples firm

that contracts with local copywriters, publicists and graphic designers, among

others.

That soul-searching helps the organization to sharpen its

focus. “It can root out some of its flaws and, in the process, create a better

product and actually discover who they are,” Preddy says. “We can’t even talk

about image unless they do that. That’s how they find out their particular

strengths.”

Gravina, Smith & Matte, a Fort Myers public relations

and marketing firm, tells clients that an image communicates the core values of

a company and its mission and philosophy. “Image comes from corporate

philosophy:

Why you’re in business, what you hope to accomplish,” says

Laurel Smith, the firm’s vice president. And what you want customers to think

about you, adds president Amy Gravina, who founded the firm in 1983.

Know thy market

to develop an identity and strategy, a business owner first

must look to the customer. “It’s not about what you want and what you want to

be,” advises Lisa Peteler, president of AdvertisingWorks, an advertising,

marketing and public relations firm she founded in Naples in 1995.

A business owner should define the demographics (such as

age, income level and location) and psychographics (attitudes and motivations)

of the target market. This essential step should be included in the business

plan, says Gary Firestone, chief executive officer of Firestone & Cimring

Advertising, founded by himself and Diann Cimring in 1990 in Fort Myers.

A business that understands its market can differentiate

itself from competitors. For example, if you want to distinguish your

shutter-manufacturing company from others, you must decide what makes you

different and what qualities will appeal to your market. “Are you the cheapest?

The best? Are you Old World or factory-delivered-tomorrow?” asks Preddy.

Figuring out what is unique about the organization and

establishing its brand differentiate it from “the sea of sameness,” says

Phyllis Ershowsky, vice president and senior account executive with Image

Marketing Associates, founded by George and Darlene Cecil in 1988 in Naples.

“This is especially important as the Southwest Florida market grows so

rapidly,” she says.

Accentuate the

positive

your image should reflect who you are and whom you serve,

say these marketers, so it’s anything but a façade. If your products are

similar to others, marketers need to create a difference in the consumer’s

mind.

“We’re not trying to make somebody something they’re not.

We’re trying to elevate that identity and help customers understand who they

are,” explains Teri Hansen, president of Priority Marketing of Southwest

Florida, which she founded in 1992 in Fort Myers. “One of the first questions I

ask is, ‘Do you have a business plan?’ We can’t do anything for them if they

don’t know what they’re trying to do.”

Convey the image

after a company sets its objectives, the image becomes

clearer. It can then be brought to life in logos, brochures, signs and other

printed materials, advertising, special programs and events, including

charitable ones.

Simple details can be effective. Every choice you make, from

the printing materials you use to the carpeting in your office, should reinforce

your image.

Firestone points to American Dep-artment Store, which had

declared bankruptcy before it contacted him. The company wanted simply to

minimize its losses. Firestone recreated the Fort Myers store, renaming it

American National Close-Out. Neatly organized racks, tidily printed signs and

price tags were replaced with hand-printed signs, merchandise stacked on tables

and special sales areas. The impression was that people were getting very low

prices. “It was very successful. They did finally go under, but they went under

with capital,” Firestone says.

Average or

exceptional?

few businesses can open their doors and expect to be

successful by word of mouth, says Smith of Gravina, Smith & Matte.

Companies that don’t send a deliberate message can unintentionally convey an

undesirable image. It doesn’t take much to establish a poor reputation, but it

can be costly to overcome.

At best, companies without a marketing focus will plod

along, pulling in enough customers to stay in business, but never reaching

their full potential. “McDonald’s could have been an average hamburger chain,”

Hansen says. “They would have been successful by most terms, but they never

would have been the entity they are now. But they branded their organization,

and it’s a national icon.”

Success Stories

City of Cape Coral

Featuring a palm tree with a sunburst over a ribbonstyle="mso-spacerun: yes"> of blue, the City of Cape Coral’s logo

has helped turn its image around. What began as a marketing logo has become the

city’s brand, says Chris Spiro, whose firm designed the logo, now displayed on

police and rescue workers’ uniforms, city vehicles, Chamber of Commerce

materials—practically anything associated with the city.

Cape Coral needed to convey the message that it had changed

since 1960, says economic director Bob Johns. A few years ago, in addition to

the logo, Spiro & Waites launched a marketing campaign that paints the city

as a great place to raise a family, retire and invest in business and industry.

During the state legislative session, lawmakers and their

staff members receive free M&M dispensers bearing the city logo. The

popularity of the candy—and the familiar logo—open the door for Cape Coral

liaisons to convey the community’s concerns, Johns says.

Denny Grimes

“If any profession needs to have branding, it’s real

estate,” says Denny Grimes, an agent with VIP Realty and leader of Denny Grimes

& Co. “There are over 5,000 real estate agents in Lee County alone. You

have to differentiate yourself.”

When Grimes, who had gained sales success instyle="mso-spacerun: yes"> the Gateway community, decided to become

a general agent nearly a decade ago, he had to overcome the image of being the

Gateway guy. “I was watching Frank D’Alessandro, who is perceived to be the

commercial expert,” Grimes says. Grimes decided to become the area’s

residential real estate expert.

Starting with only a small marketing budget, he made sure

that his printed materials looked alike and were cohesive. Then he hired Teri

Hansen of Priority Marketing, who helped establish Grimes as a source for news

media and as a lecturer on real estate. About a year and a half ago, they

reevaluated their efforts. Research revealed that Grimes had a reputation as a

businessman’s Realtor. “No one understood the fun side of him,” Hansen says.

They tweaked his image. An exclamation point was

incorporated into a bold yellow-and-blue logo, conveying liveliness and fun. A

yellow Volkswagen that bears his exclamation point logo enhances that image.

Marketing tactics further the makeover. Grimes has flowers

delivered to customers in custom-designed mugs, throws an annual client

appreciation party, sends birthday cards to clients and lets people use his

moving vans. He also sponsors Denny’s Reading Club. If children of clients read

a book, send him a brief report and give the book away to someone else, he’ll

given them a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.

The branding contributed to his company’s 46 percent

increase in sales last year. “If you can’t afford to market, you’re living

day-to-day,” Grimes says. “Get good accounting advice and make sure you have a

line in there for marketing.”

National Audubon Society’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Corkscrew Swamp Sanc-tuary, a non-profit organization, has

an image of being an “unspoiled piece of Old Florida,” says executive director

Ed Carlson. That’s why visitors come to stroll its boardwalk and learn about

the ecosystem and habitats it embraces.

But that wasn’t enough, Carlson says. He believes his

organization has a duty to teach people why conserving natural resources is important.

He called on Beth Preddy, who launched a campaign under the aegis of Audubon of

Florida with the ambitious mission of touching everyone in Southwest

Florida—and state legislators—with the messages that conservation and saving

the watershed are critical.

They developed education programs for children, families and

adults covering everything from bird and wildflower identification to Southwest

Florida’s hydrology and how to influence government officials.

Through these efforts, Corkscrew has positioned itself as a

lobbying power and source of environmental information, Preddy says.

Five Tips for Creating an Image

Have a business plan and review it on a regular basis. If an

image or objective is murky, it’s probably better to do nothing rather than to

do something poorly. “It costs you 10 times more to change a mindset,” says

Chris Spiro.

Consider everything in terms of your image. Pay attention to

details, especially customer service. “You can put money into a newspaper and

get the phone to ring, but if the phone isn’t being answered right, not only

did that person go away, but they tell other people that they had that

encounter,” Teri Hansen says.

Stay focused. Printed materials should have a consistent

look without having too many messages. Don’t spread your dollars too thin. “A

lot of companies give $100 to 20 charitable organizations instead of

identifying a partnership with one organization and giving a significant amount

to that organization and gaining consumer awareness of what they’ve done,” Amy

Gravina says.

Network. Join an organization that supports your core

values, whether it’s a Rotary, chamber of commerce, or committee, Laurel Smith

says. Those relationships help spread the word about your business.

Invest in research. It can strengthen your position in the

market. Resources include Edison Community College’s business development and

marketing seminars, SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and Florida

Gulf Coast University’s Center for Innovative Leadership.