They’ve met you online, probably through LinkedIn the world’s largest professional network—where your writing speaks for you. You can be well dressed, highly educated and highly skilled with many years of experience, but if your writing has grammatical errors or poorly punctuated sentences you can appear uneducated and unprofessional.

It’s ironic. Today when writing matters, when just about everyone communicates online, writing skills have declined whether it’s knowledge of grammar and punctuation or of writing techniques.

Parallel to this decrease in writing skills, is the increase in the need for good writers. In other words, a decrease in the ability to project a professional and highly skilled online image has occurred at a time when we form new connections and build careers through online interactions.

How do you build a professional online image when you lack the writing skills to do so? You can take an online writing course; read Eats, Shoots & Leaves, a wonderfully funny book about the zero tolerance approach to punctuation by Lynne Truss; pick up The Canadian Style, a guide to writing and editing by Dundurn Press Limited; and study The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White.

The best way to learn how to write is to write. And then to have your writing critiqued by either a writer or editor. It’s through rewriting, editing and revising that you’ll achieve a well written and professional piece—one that boosts your image and supplements your skill set.

As for relative abuse, I’m referring to “that,” “which” and “who.” Frequently used as relative pronouns to introduce a clause that modifies the noun they follow, they are generally overused, misused and abused.

Yesterday, you made a first impression based on your physical appearance; today you make a first impression based on your online image. And you can make that irresistible. Just learn to write well.

One of the most common mistakes in marketing—and a simple way to tell whether your marketing professional truly knows what he or she is doing—is logo development.

To be clear, I’m not talking about the behavioral science that lies behind graphic design. That’s something I’ll let our Director of Creative Services rant about. I’m simply speaking from a basic, Marketing 101, communications perspective.

Far too often, with organizations large and small, the basics of the marketing message are forgotten or neglected. As an industry, we speak constantly of value propositions, tag lines and elevator pitches—to this day I’ve never pitched to anyone in an elevator—but what about simply explaining what you do in five words or less?

As the title of this article states, is your logo broken? If your logo is without a simple industry positioning statement, you’ve made one of the most common and junior mistakes in marketing. After all, if someone doesn’t know what you do based on your logo—think of your business cards, letterhead and other marketing collateral—how on earth do you expect to market your company successfully?

Your industry positioning statement ties directly to target demographics, vertical markets and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Without it, you are suffering from what I call “The Nike Syndrome”––thinking that if the biggest brands in the world can do it, so can you.

Simply stated, if your company is named “XYZ” and your logo simply states your name, how are your potential clients to know what you do? You could be anything from a restaurant to a computer company, no one would ever know.

Further complicating the issue is the overabundance of clever made-up names, technical terms purposely misspelled, or the ever-popular Latin, Greek, or Oriental terms (I’m guilty as charged). With these confusing company names, you’ll further muddy your message. Why would potential clients hire you if they don’t know what you can do for them?

Thus my advice—before you create your next marketing plan, site redesign, or national ad campaign—is this: If your company creates “Asian Fusion Food,” then your company logo should read “XYZ Asian Fusion Food.”

If you follow my advice, then your logo won’t be broken. It will be whole and will clearly state what your company does and what your company can do for your prospective clients.

 “BFI Canada Inc., Toronto, is very pleased to have partnered with EyeVero Marketing Communications Group for the creation and production of all our digital media content,” said Adrian Dougherty, District Sales Manager. “The service and quality of work I receive from EyeVero I have found to be unmatched in the creative digital space.”

 EyeVero’s CEO and President Scott Williams stated: “With an already long-standing relationship with BFI, this partnership gives us the opportunity to further expand what we can do for the company. As a large corporation, they fit our business model and experience perfectly––thus, we are very much looking forward to creating tremendous results for them in the new year.”

 The partnership between the companies became official on December 1, 2011, with a multitude of campaigns and strategic marketing plans already begun. The program is scheduled to be rolled out in early January 2012.

 About BFI Canada Inc.

BFI Canada Inc. strives to be the premier provider of environmentally responsible waste management services. It has been providing Canadian residences service excellence in waste management for over 25 years. Its ongoing commitment to excellence has led it to invest in new technologies and alternative waste management solutions that streamline waste management.

 BFI Canada Inc. provides complete Waste and Recycling Services—container rental, haulage, disposal—for office, commercial, construction and manufacturing/industrial firms, as well as for home renovation projects.

 As North America’s third largest solid waste management company, BFI Canada Inc. serves its commercial, industrial and residential customers in Canada and the U.S.

About EyeVero Marketing Communications Group

EyeVero Marketing Communications Group provides a targeted approach to strategic branding, graphic and website design, communications plans and new media communications. Its clients range from multi-national corporations to small-, medium- and large-sized businesses.

 Behavioral science lies at the heart of everything the company does. As a result, it understands how people cognitively retain information, emotionally connect to it, and become advocates of it. Since its marketing communications strategies flow from its behavioral science methodology, they are not only successful but also qualifiable and measurable.

 EyeVero also delivers and implements solutions. Its business process assesses the effectiveness of its clients’ marketing communications. It then provides recommendations on how to integrate brand language and how to strengthen and promote brand image. EyeVero ensures improved results because it builds integrated marketing tools that create a demand for its clients’ brands, creating a better brand experience and a higher conversion rate.

 EyeVero’s comprehensive strategic planning methodology not only results in improved efficiency and brand effectiveness, but also results in higher sales through targeted messaging that converts prospects into customers.

Smelly sneaker socks are the equivalent of web copywriting that’s chock full of turgid prose and overflowing with glaring grammatical errors, poor punctuation and spelling mistakes.

I read an article recently on Why Spelling Matters for SEO, source Brandignity. Spelling and grammar matter not only for SEO, but also for communicating clearly and for writing copy that sells. Do you really expect a visitor to appreciate a website that’s written poorly with spelling and grammatical errors? Or, more importantly, does a visitor spend time on a poorly written site? And does that poorly written site motivate the visitor to change from browser to buyer?

If you want to turn your visitors into buyers, grammar, punctuation and spelling aren’t the only factors to consider. To create killer copy you need web copywriting that appeals to the psychology and mindset of the online buyer.

That’s what we do; therefore, our web copywriting speaks the visitors’ language. And it’s polite—we don’t insult them with grammatical errors, poor punctuation and spelling mistakes.

How do you ensure that your web copywriting doesn’t insult your visitors? That’s easy. Just find a writer or editor who understands the English language and the intricacies of marketing and web copywriting. You need a writer or editor who doesn’t mystify your reader and muddle your message through the misuse and abuse of the English language.

We have the writers and the editors here at EyeVero. They are all perfectionists and purists—essential characteristics as they write the words that are read by search engines and website visitors. Words that mean the difference between the success or failure of your website.

If you can’t see the shoes for the old, smelly sneaker socks, then give us a call. And if you want to know what our socks are like, just check out our website.

“We chose EyeVero because it offered more than just a website redesign. They didn’t offer us just a pretty website, they offered us one that was measurable and quantifiable,” said Erika Godwin, Manager Exploriem.org. “We’ll also benefit from EyeVero’s Brand Strategy Process as it will help us meet our key target audience’s requirements and our organization’s goals and objectives.”

EyeVero’s CEO and President Scott Williams said he was delighted that EyeVero was chosen. He stated, “We at EyeVero are very excited to help Exploriem.org enhance their web presence. Its ongoing efforts to help entrepreneurs is an integral part of Ottawa’s business community. The network and tools Exploriem.org provides to its members is unparalleled. It is a great honor to be part of the organization and to help them continue their work here in the national capital region.”

Exploriem’s new website is just one component in the organization’s ongoing commitment to the Ottawa business community. The Exploriem.org team and its members continue to mentor, teach, perform research, conduct events, network, provide early stage funding, and provide office/incubator space to assist in the furtherance of entrepreneurship in Ontario and around the globe.

The enhancement to Exploriem.org’s web presence will now include EyeVero. This is an opportunity for the company to give back to the community and to the businesses just starting out—businesses that may not otherwise have the resources available to them.

About Exploriem.org

Exploriem.org is a registered Canadian not-for-profit professional entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs organization. Founded in 2001, Exploriem.org appeals not only to entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs, but also to intrapreneurs and high achievers interested in participating in shaping the technological, economic and sociological future.

Its goal is to mentor, teach, perform research, conduct events, network and provide early stage funding and office/incubator space to assist in furthering entrepreneurship in Canada and around the world.

About EyeVero 

EyeVero Marketing Communications Group provides a targeted approach to strategic branding, graphic and website design, communications plans and new media communications. Its clients range from multi-national corporations to small-, medium- and large-sized businesses.

Behavioral science lies at the heart of everything the company does. As a result, it understands how people cognitively retain information, emotionally connect to it, and become advocates of it. Since its marketing communications strategies flow from its behavioral science methodology, they are not only successful but also qualifiable and measurable.

EyeVero also delivers and implements solutions. Its business process assesses the effectiveness of its clients’ marketing communications. It then provides recommendations on how to integrate brand language and how to strengthen and promote brand image. EyeVero ensures improved results because it builds integrated marketing tools that create a demand for its clients’ brands, creating a better brand experience and a higher conversion rate.

EyeVero’s comprehensive strategic planning methodology not only results in improved efficiency and brand effectiveness, but also results in higher sales through targeted messaging that converts prospects into customers.

The call was regarding their website––wondering why it wasn’t the #1 hit on Google. This, of course, prompted me to investigate the technical attributes of the site, review the analytics, update frequency, etc. My findings: He hadn’t touched his website in over a year. In fact, the last update to his site was a post that we added introducing the new brand. Is it any wonder that Google was punishing him?

It never ceases to amaze me what people expect when it comes to websites. The idea seems to be that the moment a site is built, it will “Automagically” appear as the #1 hit across all search criteria known to mankind.

It’s too bad this isn’t the case. In fact, the reality is that good search results are far beyond that of your web developer––it’s your full time communications staff that must live with the ongoing battle that is search engine optimization (SEO).

To put it bluntly, content is king. The more relevant, well written materials you add and deliver to the masses, the better your search results will be. Gone are the days of meta tags leading the masses to your online presence. Even the spooky black magic that is SEO with all of the technical prowess in your corner isn’t going to lead the world to your doorstep––no matter how much you abuse Google Webmaster.

Think of your website in terms of the Internet as being like high school––it’s all about popularity and how many people show up to your party. The more invites you send out promising the best party ever, ultimately gets people to your door.

Your content is that invitation. If you understand how to write for the web, take into consideration keyword density, and write compelling materials that make people want to read and stay on your site, you may just start to win that popularity contest.

Unfortunately, everyone else wants the masses to come to their party; thus, how popular are you compared to the rest of the cool kids?

Speaking of popularity, there is the ever-looming content distribution model that is “Social Media.” The explanation here is a simple one. Remember when we were kids and there were these crazy things called newspapers. Then technology grew and we had TVs and the evening news. Okay, I know…you’re sensing just a little bit of sarcasm here. My facetious nature aside, those were simply the delivery vehicles that were available to us at the time. Then came the Internet, that in the past few years has added more vehicles with real-time speed, but in reality it’s the same methodology.

Social media is unto itself a phenomenon to say the least, but in reality it merely gives people more options as to how they convey and share their messages. Each of us have our preferred method of delivery––I happen to live for RSS feeds. I have colleagues that live for “The Tweeter,” and some that live far to much of their online lives on Facebook and LInkedIn.

All in all, though the delivery methodology is slightly different in each case, the result is content that drives us to react, to click, and to share with the masses. Just like high school, hasn’t popularity always been about the number of friends you have?

Hence, when battling the masses for Google supremacy, remember that your website content is just the beginning. Once you build it, you need to entice them to come to the party. Invite everyone, everyday with great content, shared articles through as many avenues as you can. In the end, you may just win that coveted crown of popularity.

Here’s a quick example of an experience a friend of mine had with a major telecom provider pertaining to a cell phone bill. While my friend was on vacation, the telecom provider over charged on data usage by more than $500. When confronted, the company’s response was simply “pay your bill.” Because of the lack of flexibility, or the willingness to take any responsibility, the person exercised their right to cancel their contract and to move to another provider—all of which did not seem to bother anyone at the telecom company, including those in the customer retention department.

Now, let’s do the math—the average business person spends $250 a month on their mobile phone and, if happy with the service, could remain a client for five years. At that billing rate, the average client will spend $15,000 over the five years. If a company lost 100 clients a year due to what they perceive as bad customer service, that company is losing $300,000 a year or $1,500,000 over five years.

The question is this: If you were asked to absorb a $500 cost to keep $15,000 would you do it? Furthermore, if you didn’t absorb the cost can you afford the damage done to your brand by making a client angry? By simply rolling the cost into your marketing budget as a brand defense / client retention program, the likelihood of the same number of customers leaving could drop significantly.

With the mass adoption of social media, an environment where thousands of people can be updated with new information in real time, how much effort do you expend on defending your brand?

Here’s an example of social media in action. My daughter, who is seven years old, likes to go on what we call “Daddy Daughter Dates.” We go for walks, out for lunch, and, of course, shopping—usually on the hunt for anything that has a Hello Kitty emblem on it.

One fine Sunday afternoon we were strolling along Sparks Street looking for place to have lunch. We walked up to a patio and asked for a table for two. I was told that I was not allowed to enter the restaurant because I had a cup of coffee with me and to move along. I guess it to be a brand issue.

Rejected from our first choice we simply walked to the patio next door. They welcomed us in, never mentioning my coffee cup, and served us lunch that came to a little over $40 with tip. Later that day, still a little angered by the service, or lack thereof, I took two minutes to comment on Facebook––a message that was delivered to several hundred people. I posted what had transpired and named the restaurant. Immediately, I received multiple responses all of which included a “I’ll know not to eat there again” message.

If the restaurant that turned us away had asked me to transfer my coffee to one of their cups, I wouldn’t have cared and I would gladly have taken a seat. The restaurant not only lost money from lunch but, more importantly, future business.

The moral to this story: Make sure you keep your clients happy. And if for whatever reason you drop the ball, be prepared to make amends—you’ll be defending your brand and you’ll be keeping your clients happy—it could make the difference between success or failure.

We’d love to hear your big brand stories—good or bad. If we can relate to what we have all experienced, and learn from that experience, perhaps we can alleviate the bad and enhance the good. Doing so will defend our own brands, mitigating risk while building customer loyalty.

RjR Innovations is an industry leader in IT Service Management (ITSM) and Business Service Management (BSM). By aligning IT objectives with business goals, ITSM and BSM accelerate productivity and ultimately provide better services to end users and clients. Both ITSM and BSM facilitate and support business goals, providing a high degree of functionality and flexibility.

To ensure that clients can effectively implement ITSM and BSM, RjR has created a unique and dynamic IT Business Management Solution (BMS). RjR BMS is a user-friendly, adaptive and cost-effective methodology. BMS incorporates strategies formed from a blend of processes, procedures and products that are easily customized to fit each client’s goals and objectives.

Visit RjR Innovations online at www.RjRInnovations.com.

In today’s business world, companies struggle daily with the challenges of multiple locations, tele-workers, and travel. Additionally, the costs associated to keep team members and clients connected remains ever-looming. Coupled with these challenges, businesses now face downsizing and the challenge of reducing costs in all categories and cost centres.

In this webinar RjR Innovations will discuss the emerging world of advanced collaboration including video conferencing, interactive whiteboards, and solutions to remote support that many have yet to consider. You will learn:

1. The realities of emerging collaborative technologies
2. How to better collaborate with your team, colleagues, and clients.
3. How to reduce travel costs while remaining agile.
4. The positive impact on expenditure reduction across business units

This misperception drives me crazy. And it drove me to make a difference by implementing measurable and definable processes within companies. Here’s what our process enables a company to do:

• Increase sales.
• Achieve a competitive advantage.
• Focus on the company’s brand message.
• Meet financial goals.

Marketing strategies are an integral part of the process because they generate quantifiable and qualifiable results and reports. Marketing departments should, therefore, drive the business: they generate measurable, quantifiable results and reports and are accountable to all other departments––most importantly, to finance and the C-level.

Marketing should also be the driving force behind the company’s public perception; its messaging; its lead generation; and its sales success. Here’s an example of the success we achieved when we set up a marketing process and marketing strategy for an international company.

The company CEO challenged us, as their marketing department, to generate a pre-determined amount in income for the company and accurately measure marketing success. Not only did we surpass the 12-month goal in the first 30 days of the contract, but we also surpassed the company’s sales goal.

The moral to this story… Don’t cut marketing––invest in it. Implement measurable and definable processes. Then sit back and watch. You’ll enhance your messaging; increase your lead generation; and surpass your sales goal.