It really is okay to use certain words even if a number are overused and overhyped. A few people I was on a course with yesterday mentioned a few cliches they hate; innovative, unique and community to name but a few. These words including creative, ideas, engaging, diverse, vibrant, inspirational and social are great explanatory words.

Use these words but present them in context. The reason people get bored with them is because we haven’t done our job and made them tangible. There is nothing wrong with using the phrase cutting edge’ if you are. The problem occurs when you are not. Use the word landmark or the best only if you have independent testimony to back that up. If you took all of these fabulous words away, what would we have left? Mundane, flat, uninspiring words.

Word of mouth is still the most important form of human communication. It can be subtle, it can be extraordinary, it can be good or it can be ridiculously bad. Nevertheless, it’s one of the most important tactics in your marketing campaign. Today we are battered by all sorts of advertising and tedious messages trying to get us to part with our hard earned cash. In truth, we’ve closed our eyes and covered our ears. Bored with the rude interruption to our lives, tired of the repetitive messaging, companies apathetic to the things that we are really interested in and the insincere communication which turns us cold.

It’s all a little bit unconvincing. Anyone in the UK who has seen the recent series of television adverts from Nat West will know exactly what I mean. If ever, there was a company that’s lost touch with where their customer has shifted to then there is your evidence!

In essence, at this moment in time, it is word of mouth that needs to be at the forefront of your marketing campaign. Perhaps it’s the only persuasive tool that any of us respond to anymore, fuelled by the enormous amount of blogs, forums and social networks at our disposal. And, perhaps word of mouth is something we all need to deliberately weave into our marketing activities. In short, it may be the very thing that stops you from just surviving and actually helps you thrive.

Is a brand a product, a service, a company or even a person? Is it a logo, a marketing strategy or an attitude or a culture? It’s a question often asked and it’s perhaps understandable why so many small business owners get so frustrated by the lack of a clear definition by the marketing specialists themselves.

It’s an elusive concept, if it’s a concept at all? Naomi Klein in her book ‘No Logo’ provides the most appropriate interpretation of brand as ‘the core meaning of the modern corporation.’ Meaning is the main word here…meaning!!!! I think we can assume she includes small businesses. Brand is something we cannot ignore and should be looking for ideas from. Manchester United, Madonna, Sony, Fairtrade, Mini, VW Camper vans are all strong brands, constantly changing and adapting to market trends.

For me branding is a devolution and communication of your companies core values through an identity, a culture, company assets, specific products/services and through your people. It’s something that is coherent but necessarily consistent and it means something to your customers and employees. What brand does clearly do though is that it encompasses the key point; it’s not what you do, it’s actually how you do it that matters.

Even in a small business communication can be difficult, getting to the bottom of things should be quite easy. Surely it’s just a matter of asking? Call me old fashioned but plain old simple human to human conversation has to be the best way of gauging how things are going.

Instead of getting your people to complete people satisfaction surveys, or have them fill in complicated bench mark stuff…..cut to the chase, get to the core of problem. Just ask your people two questions; what are the things around here that bug them, piss them off, make their life difficult? Then ask them what doesn’t. What things make their job easier? What things are going right? Sometimes an exceptional way of getting people to work in teams….

The important thing is to act on the things that are causing problems. Keep it simple just ask.