5)Make sure you PR agency and Interactive or Traditional Agency are all in concert when it comes to building a branding campaign. Your various messages and processes should be mutually reinforcing.

6)Select an Interactive or Traditional Agency that understands your unique B2B needs. Consumer branding is much different than B2B Customer Acquisition Branding. By "understand" I mean ask them about types of campaigns they've set up for previous clients, what types of media they've used, do they know how to develop creative that speaks to a potential B2B client – I love "do Dew" campaign, but this isn't type of branding you would want to deploy for an IT Manager who is contemplating a purchase of your software.

7)How do you measure effective branding on web? I am not sure if I have any answer or if I have unlimited answers – this is such a difficult marketing characteristic to measure. But, again, be "customer-centric" – ask people who purchase your software or services what they think. Why did you purchase (or why not if you can), did our marketing address your needs, was it meaningful and informative?

8)Think digital shelf life when branding on web – you have to build messages and content that will only last for a finite amount of time. You have to continually refresh your branding and positioning by developing new content for a web site, opt-in e-mail or banner advertising campaign.

9)Incorporate your offline branding (creative, content, graphics, etc.) into your online branding when/where you can. So your customer has a sense of continuity when they review all of your marketing and communications processes. This also sends a signal to them that you have carefully thought through your overall campaign.

10)Last but not least – build net speed into your overall campaign. I've said it before in many articles, but always essential to underscore; better to be quick to market with something that may need slight calibration later on that to delay a facet of a campaign of entire campaign to get everything perfect! Revenue is engine that makes a B2B Branding campaign work and you can't drive sales unless you are putting your branding message out there in front of your potential customers!

1) After finishing a job for a client, always "hand write" a thank you card stating how much you appreciate their business.

2) Keep your eyes open when online for anything that may interest or affect your customer's business. Send them a quick e-mail with URL or send page itself. It only takes a minute but really shows you care.

3) When you find a newspaper or magazine article that may interest one of your customers, rip it out and send it to them. Watch for business-related as well as anything personal you know that they enjoy.

4) When adding new services or updating prices, make sure you send your existing clients a copy. This not only keeps them up to date on new products or services but also serves as a reminder to call if they need anything.

5) Make sure that anyone you have done work for is subscribed to your ezine (you do have one, right?) An ezine keeps you fresh in clients' minds and helps to establish trust and credibility.

By giving customers more than they paid for, they'll perceive you and your business as a "real value," resulting in return visits and increased sales.

Work on building relationships with your customers and profit margins will take care of themselves. After all, they can buy from anyone; make them *want* to buy from *you*.