Investing in your company’s most valuable asset

By Lancashire Business View

24 Jan 2019

paul-white-wise-owl-creative-1000x501.jpg
When it comes to marketing, some businesses owners are reluctant to invest. Whilst some might be sceptical, it’s more important than ever before. Standing out is harder than it’s ever been.

By Paul White, managing director, Wise Owl Creative

It’s a dog-eat-dog world and whilst many people have traditionally thought of marketing being just about selling more, it’s much more than that. Business-to-consumer operators have been forced to commit to marketing budgets earlier because of the online shopping world, but now it’s something more and more business-to-business operators are having to get to grips with too.

It might be attracting the right candidates to your business. They’ve got the world at their fingertips and employees are in a position to be choosy. If you’re not getting the right candidates, could it be down to your company image?

Your brand is your company’s most valuable asset. You might manufacture a product for someone else’s label, but they’re still a customer. Just as important, there might be other labels looking for a manufacturer. They’ll be digging around and if you look like you’re stuck in the 80’s they might well scroll straight on past.

Your brand is the most accessible it’s ever been. There isn’t a single time I’ll pick up the phone without looking at that company first and if they’re not up to scratch I’ll just move on to the next.

Brand and marketing used to be two quite different beasts, but things have moved on and in many cases they’re one of the same now, particularly for anything you put online or, as is often the case, by a lack of presence online. That’s because almost everything you produce online is accessible to anyone and because of that it’s all part of the brand your company presents.

Just having a presence is now vitally important for any business. Those operating in a business-to-business environment have sometimes thought that a presence isn’t too important, particularly in manufacturing. A field based sales team has often been the only marketing, but times are moving on.

Recently we’ve been called in by manufacturers who’re struggling to recruit both skilled and unskilled workers, simply because nobody had heard of them. They were paying well but other local firms looked slicker. Brand presence is now something that’s important to them, because without a brand they were struggling to recruit.

In the past 12 months we’ve seen an increase in the number of business-to-business customers, the kind who wouldn’t have considered their brand, engage us to give them an identity. There was a time when brand was logos, business cards and letterheads, and marketing was product brochures. We’re in the integrated era, where your brand is everything that you do and the marketing element is about how you sell every part of your business, to customers, to employees and potential employees and to stakeholders. Investing in your brand is more important than ever in this competitive digital era.

Latest news

1

VARS Technology team up with debt resolution specialists to fight fuel theft David Nichol John Garnett Aydan Jones and Laura Tilley

VARS Technology team up with debt resolution specialists to fight fuel theft

12 Sep 2025

2

University of Lancashire unveils Preston campus installation to celebrate name change University of Lancashire new feature

University of Lancashire unveils Preston campus installation to celebrate name change

12 Sep 2025

3

PM+M welcomes ten new apprentices for 2025 intake Lucy Field, Kate Walsh, Ellie Fisher, Zainab Aswat, Reece Jones, Aisha Bibi Patel, Finley Vila, Uzair Zariwala, Richard Prest, and Charlie Harrison

PM+M welcomes ten new apprentices for 2025 intake

11 Sep 2025

4

ROCCIA strengthens commercial division with senior appointment Andrew Grove

ROCCIA strengthens commercial division with senior appointment

11 Sep 2025

5

Final call for investors: Rossendale community solar project must hit target by November Gary McEwan managing director of Interfloor

Final call for investors: Rossendale community solar project must hit target by November

10 Sep 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
Sub36 Networking - Follow the signs
Sub36 Deaf Village Social1200
Networking
17 Sep 2025

Sub36 Networking - Follow the signs

The Deaf Village, Blackburn, BB2 5EN

10:00 - 12:00

LBV124 September/October Launch Event
MBP Arc Cinema Preston Opening 205
Networking
18 Sep 2025

LBV124 September/October Launch Event

The Arc Cinema, Preston, PR1 2BL

08:30 - 10:30

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

Longridge Soap Box Derby
Screenshot 2025-06-10 090035.png.png
LBV Hub Fundraisers
14 Sep 2025 - 14 Sep 2025

Longridge Soap Box Derby

Berry Lane, Longridge, PR3 3WH

10:00 - 16:30

Preston Tech Connection - The Ultimate Tech Quiz!
Preston Tech Connection Sept 25.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Sep 2025 - 16 Sep 2025

Preston Tech Connection - The Ultimate Tech Quiz!

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 19:00

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
17 Sep 2025 - 17 Sep 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

Cumbria Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-880461633-4862066883-1-original.20241022-110415.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Exhibitions
19 Sep 2025 - 19 Sep 2025

Cumbria Business Expo 2025

Carlisle Racecourse, Carlisle, CA2 4TS

09:00 - 15:00

Your Business, Your Region: Making sense of devolution and Local Government Reorganisation
Chorley Council breakfast event new
LBV Hub Networking
23 Sep 2025 - 23 Sep 2025

Your Business, Your Region: Making sense of devolution and Local Government Reorganisation

Worden Hall, Leyland, PR25 3DH

08:00 - 11:00

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: September
Sept Freelancer (1).png.png
LBV Hub Networking
23 Sep 2025 - 23 Sep 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: September

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Speed Networking with BNI
2.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
24 Sep 2025 - 24 Sep 2025

Speed Networking with BNI

Chorley Football Club, Chorley, PR7 3DU

16:00 - 19:00

The Marketing Meetup IRL: Lancashire - September
TMM Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
25 Sep 2025 - 25 Sep 2025

The Marketing Meetup IRL: Lancashire - September

Chorley, PR7 2SL

18:00 - 20:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV 123 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin