How To Boost Your Business Through Proper Branding

Businesses don’t just want to be businesses, they want to be brands. Distinct, recognizable, unique, lovable brands. They want to project an image that embodies the values of their company and the value of their product. They want a voice that speaks to their customers, makes them listen, and convinces them to act (by spending their money).

A business, however, isn’t the only thing that can benefit from branding. You, as an individual, can be a brand too. Personal branding will have the same benefits for you as it would for a company. Your personal brand will clearly show who you are and what you have to offer. How do you get your personal brand’s message out there? With the best self-advertising tool you have in your possession at all times – your business card.
What is Your Personal Brand?

Before you can make your business card a clear representation of your personal brand, you need to determine what your personal brand really is. Ask yourself a few questions. What feeling do you want another person to have about you? What attributes of yourself are most important for them to recognize? Come up with a few strong adjectives and skills that describe you. That list is the inspiration for your personal branding. Everything that you do – way beyond designing your business card – should fall in line with that list and portray that image.
Your Brand in a Business Card

Once you’ve defined your personal brand, how do you convey it through your business card? A business card is a very small thing, physically speaking, but it packs a very big punch. Your business card will give off a strong impression about you, so you need to make sure it’s the right one. You can play with many different features on your card to create the look that best represents you: Texture, font type, font size, graphics or photographs, colour, included information, and layout, among others. All of these elements combined should represent you.

Making It All Work

You don’t need to be a designer to create a business card that works with your personal brand. You can hire one if you prefer, but it really comes down to your own taste. You can take a basic business card template online and slowing tweak things to make it more “you.” If you want to give off a professional vibe, start by choosing an authoritative-looking font. If you want to give off a positive, cheerful vibe, choose a bold colour. The possibilities are endless, but in the end, you should be able to look at your business card and love it. It should give off the vibe you want.

Standing Out from the Crowd

Finally, remember that your personal brand is what is going to set you apart from everyone else. Try to include at least one element in your business card that is unique or memorable. A powerful image or a textured edge will make someone look twice at your card and remember you. 

NDUKWE IGWE KALU

@ndukweigweGCFR

Igwe Kalu is a Brand Management professional with Blue Opal

Ever Wondered Why You May Need An Event Planner?

Why You Need An Event Planner?

Event planning is a relatively new career field. Although the job itself is not new, many colleges and universities in the developed countries are beginning to offer event planning as a major or field of study. Event planners are trained to handle special events. However, in this part of the world, many people are still ignorant of the relevance of professional event planners.

Not too long ago, I attended a pre-marital training, where I met with some couples whose weddings were few months ahead. Upon interaction with them, I realised how much people misconstrued the job of an event planner. While some think that only the very wealthy in the society can afford the services of an event planner, to some there was absolutely no need for a planner since they can put together a committee of friends to help out with stuffs, while others haven’t even heard much about professional event planners.

Anyone who has been assigned to plan an event knows how much work and stress go into making sure every element comes together on time and as directed. A venue must be found and secured for the correct date. Food must be ordered and delivered or a pick-up must be coordinated. Entertainment must be found and booked. Multi-media concerns have to be taken care of as well. Guests need to be invited. Not to mention all of the thousands of other tiny details that must to come together on time to make an event work.

The truth is that, if you're planning an event and trying to attend to other duties at the same time, it can be maddening.  Also, for an inexperienced planner, you can spend most of your time just trying to find a good caterer or a good venue. But unfortunately, most events like weddings etcetera happen just once in a lifetime. Even other events that you may yet have other opportunities to get right, you may not have the luxury of making a first impression twice. Therefore, I can only equate planning your event by yourself to self medication, which is tantamount to suicide.

Apart helping cut cost and make sure you stay within your budget, most professional event planners are invaluable for their contacts and lists of approved caterers, venues, entertainment, décor, etc. Many event planners are also trained to handle advertising and marketing of the event. They are also responsible for the planning of the event as well as on-site coordination on the scheduled day. If planning an event is in your company's future, then an event planner will be an important asset. For this reason, many companies find that when it's time to plan an event, it's best to hire a professional event planner to handle the job.

At BLUE OPAL, great events is one of the cornerstones of our business.  Attention to detail in event planning and management is particularly important to our team.  At a 70,000 foot level, the process seems easy. Establish the purpose for holding the event, determine the target audience and a preliminary agenda. Then, we go deeper into the process by incorporating time frames and general space needs.  From this point onward, it’s possible to establish budget projections, timelines, milestones and assign staff resources.

Appropriate risk management demands that planners follow established meeting management protocols (particularly in the areas of contracting and budgeting). Being sure approved agreements are in place for all manner of resource providers also protects all parties from the unexpected (speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, vendors, partners, event facilities, etc.)

Most importantly, however, is the customer experience. Seamless coordination and attention to detail contributes greatly to customer satisfaction. Simple things like setting rooms to achieve the best learning environment, providing “ask me” support people and unexpectedly fun networking activities, all contribute to a memorable experience.  Combine great planning with great programming and attendees will come back year after year.

For full list of services we offer and other information, you can speak to us by sending us a mail at

Info@blueopalconsult.com or visit www.blueopalconsult.com

Follow our twitter Handle @blueopalconsult or on linkedin Blue Opal Consult

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+234 803 699 0923

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