BrandKnew September 2013 January 2013 | Page 22

Brand Introspection Boost Your Brand Without Inflating Your Budget: Two More Low-Cost Assets You Can Leverage Right Now Brenda S. Bence In my last article, I talked about Brand Positioning, the first of five branding assets you already have that you can leverage immediately to make your brand stand out from the crowd, without needing to empty your bank account. Now, let’s cover low-cost Assets #2 and #3 – your customers and your products/services. 1. Your Existing Customers -- Branding Gold Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Make new friends, but keep the old… one is silver and the other gold”? Well, when you’re running your own business, these “old friends” are your current customers. Just how golden are they? Studies show that it costs six to nine times as much to attract a new customer as it costs to keep an existing customer happy. This concept can directly impact your bottom line. Think of this way: If you have $100 to spend on marketing, would you rather spend it on a customer who already believes in you, who has had a positive experience with