Edge has just launched their community branding and development division. After much research, Edge confirmed a need for community services in the marketplace for small cities, towns, communities, and RM's.

Economic Development Officers from across Manitoba and beyond can now look to Edge as their outside partner for their various branding and development needs.

Edge offers a number of services from brand development to community development strategies.

Robert Mensies, Principal, coming from a small town himself, understands the unique opportunities and challenges that communities face and looks forward to working with proactive EDOs.

Visit communityedge.ca for all the details.

A marketing strategy is an ever evolving business building initiative. The planning and execution of a marketing strategy, when done by experts, is a well researched, well thought out plan.

Strategies can be the answer to creating growth, capitalizing on opportunies, and provide comfort and assurance in a time of economic downturn. There are a number of major steps in the ongoing planning and execution of a marketing strategy. Marketing professionals need to continuously monitor these steps that are used to create a strategy.

Who is your target market(s)? Narrowly define these groups.

What is your point of differentiation and how are you communicating it?

What are your short and long term tactics/goals that bring your marketing strategy to life?

Execute these tactics.

What are the indicators that need to be tracked to determine if your individual tactics and strategy as a whole are working?

Analyze.

It is natural and responsible to change or alter course based on the results. Many factors, some of which are out of your control, can cause a need for the change.

Edge builds and execute marketing strategies for many clients.

We've written in the past that social media is not the right environment for selling your product or service. Nothing has changed. Social media simply makes it easier to be in front of a prospective customer. When they are virtually standing in front of you, this is the opportunity to build the all important 'trust.' Once a business has established trust, business success will follow.

The amount of trust that a prospect needs before they invest with you, really depends on the type of product/service you offer. Social media allows for you to start a relationship, build an existing relationship, and maintain a relationship regardless of the degree of trust your business needs to build.

Businesses still underestimate the power of social media. Searching for a product/service or a specific business on the internet provides that prospective customer with much information about you. Some information can be in your control. Some can't. Make sure the controlled information builds trust.

Edge works with clients, optimizing their social media efforts.

Facebook has been tracking everything you say for years now, but even consumers' email is no longer safe from the prying eyes of keen marketers. Marketers who want to promote their product to a very targeted audience, are using gmail users' content. Mention looking for a car in an email to a friend, watch the car ads appear.

The gmail process, a Google product, categorizes and then places you into a target audience for a marketer who is paying for a particular type of consumer. Gmail ads are available to marketers through the AdWords platform.

Edge works directly on clients' social media campaigns, including gmail adwords and pay-per-click.

It is with a great appreciation that we are able to work with Manitoba's pork industry. It's a billion dollar industry that creates 10,000 jobs for Manitobans. Edge's multi media campaign hit the air waves and streets in April. The campaign was created to create an emotional connection between pork producers and urbanites.

Recently CBC TV picked up on the campaign. Click here to watch.

Edge has once again been published. Western Canada Highway News magazine, western Canada's official trucking industry magazine, requested an article focussing on branding for their special report "Improve Your Business" for the spring 2010 issue.

As promised, here is the sidebar that ran along side the article.

9 Advantages of Branding:
1. Top of mind - a company that is top of mind is usually perceived as a company to trust
2. Trust - people are creatures of habit; when they trust the brand it gives confidence
3. Cross-selling opportunities - expand offerings of company with new services and strategic partnerships
4. Emotional connection - if the consumer has a positive emotional connection or reaction, trust and loyalty will follow
5. Price de-sensitivity - consumers tend to invest more in top brands and names
6. Reduced sales cycle - if a solid trust relationship exists, people buy more easily and more often
7. Greater exposure means more ink - a proactive company with an established brand has a higher profile in media
8. Decline in lost opportunities - you are considered for more contracts
9. Employee recruitment and employee retention - people work for successful companies

Edge has once again been published. Western Canada Highway News magazine, western Canada's official trucking industry magazine, requested an article focussing on branding for their special report "Improve Your Business" for the spring 2010 issue.
Below is the article that appeared. We'll post our '9 Advantages of Branding' sidebar shortly.

Branding defines who you are: how the client and general public sees you and what they think when faced with you.

The trucking industry is like most. There is much competition and the services offered can easily be reproduced by a competitor. Trucking companies that are most successful, typically have developed a strong brand. Their brand will communicate why a potential customer should choose them over a competitor.

Edge Business Strategies works with many industries, and when it is time to brand a client, the methodology is similar. Researching where a client currently fits within their industry; deciding the client's niche; setting out a list of objectives that the client wants to achieve through the branding process.

Many times, what's being communicated is not unique to the company. They have chosen to focus on a positive aspect of their industry, communicate it and 'own' it as their own. Anytime that a company has a strong brand and position, they soon will be seen as a leader in the marketplace.

When branding your identity, it is not just the customer who will notice and respond positively to the new messaging. Existing employee morale and loyalty will be increased as well. The brand will unite the family of employees. Well developed brands attract and retain the strongest employee talent. Players within the trucking industry already know the importance and ongoing struggle of growing their companies through attracting, retaining and utilizing the talent of their employees. Edge offers solutions to companies' HR-related branding objectives.