Amtruck Limited is one of the premier sellers of refuse and municipal vehicles in North America. Founded in 1984, they remain a family run business. Russell and Peter continually strive to maintain a high standard of quality and customer satisfaction. Constant improvement is always on the forefront. In this effort they contacted Mystique Creative to help update their brand -- starting with a new logo design.



How's your image?

Paul Bies

President,
Mystique Creative

While the economic situation seems better now than it has for some time, cash flow is still a problem for many of the small businesses that we talk with. A resulting challenge is how to build your brand when there's little or no money to invest in brand development? Keep in mind that it's absolutely essential that you continue your branding efforts even in lean times. Stay committed to a long-term strategy.

Here's six practical ways you can brand with a small budget:

1. Research. Do your homework. What's your competition doing? Strengthen your knowledge of your industry and competitive products. Read books on branding. Take the time to evaluate your brand - possibly repositioning it to ensure that you differentiate from your competitors.

2. Embrace free and low cost tools. There are many online tools available to you that you should consider integrating into your branding strategy. Use social networking tools such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious and others to promote your products and services. Use a blog or comment on other blogs to help build your network. For that matter, network by phone or in person in an effort to extend your brand presence.

3. Work in phases. Consider your needs and categorize them into Essential, Non-Essential, and Potential categories. Focus your efforts on the essential needs, and work on other areas when possible.

4. Build relationships. Create a list of your customers or clients outlining strategic marketing information such as their industry, and their general interests etc.. When you come across relevant articles or information send these to the appropriate contact. And while email works… don't under estimate the power of a hand written note attached to a torn out article or a simple card.

5. Co-brand. Look for colleagues, fellow business owners, or others who may be interested in co-branding their organization with yours. Discuss ways to help boost each others' businesses. Possibly host marketing initiatives together such as seminars or webinars sharing the cost of the marketing materials.

6. Negotiate Terms. Chances are your consultants, designers, and agencies are hurting too. Don't shy away from negotiating options such as deferred compensation with interest, a percentage of future revenues, or payment plans. Depending on your business, you may even be able to work out a barter arrangement. Some may not be able to make such arrangements, but others may be willing.

So even if finances are stretched out, you need to stay positive and keep focused. As long as you're working hard towards your goals, you'll be closer to achieving them. Bottom line is that when it comes to growing your brand there are ways to do so even with a small budget. Be creative. Stay informed. Develop a strong brand idea, and solid brand strategy, and you'll profit from you branding efforts.

Paul Bies

President,
Mystique Creative

Want to know where and how traffic goes to your website? Well in brief, Google Analytics is a free service where when added to the pages of your site, you can learn a lot of information about visitors to your website, such as traffic that is referred, visitor loyalty and even the keywords used to get to your site.

To get Google Analytics to work on your site you need to sign up for a Google account where you can have Google Analytics generate tracking code which you add to your site's pages.

From then on, you can follow visitor trends like visits: meaning the number of sessions or times visitors interact on your site; or bounces: meaning the number of visitors who instantly left; or page views: which include how many pages were requested in those visits and how many in each visit; you can even check how long each visitor spent on your site.

All in all, Google Analytics is more than just a web counter. By looking at the visitor trends to your website, you can target certain landing pages for maximum traffic. You can also alter the way visitors navigate to your site by changing keywords to direct them to you. You can also track certain blogs and email marketing tools as well. The more visits you get the more business you'll garner.

Talk to your web specialist today about Google Analytics and watch those hits coming in. You can get some more information and tips by watching YouTube videos at the Google Analytics channel: www.youtube.com/googleanalytics

Frank Beecham
Webguy
Mystique Creative

It had been quite a while since Doris and I took time to hike, so we jumped at the chance when Suha Jethalal of Bullfrog Power invited us join them for a hike on the Bruce Trail. This would give us a chance to spend some quality time together with Mother Nature, giving back while getting a bit of exercise and a mental health antidote in the process.



The trek began with a bus ride to Thirty Mile Creek (Grimsby). After applying insect repellant (in hind-sight, more was needed) our Bruce Trail leaders led us on a ~2km hike. We traversed the forest coming across the Mountainview Conservation Area, a passive natural area located in the Town of Lincoln, where we planted approximately 150 trees on behalf of the Bruce Trail Conservancy. When all of the trees were transplanted we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the forest with pleasant conversation among others in the group. After refueling our bodies we hiked back to the bus for the trip home - windows open, a breeze in our face, mindlessly scratching at the numerous black fly bites.



If you're interested in exploring the Trail yourself… here's a link to get you started. http://brucetrail.org/ (bring plenty of bug juice!)

Paul Bies

President,
Mystique Creative

Toronto Summer Music – An international classical music festival and academy brings world-renowned performing artists to Toronto for an unparalleled combination of performances and summer music education - with a fresh new site for its fifth season.


Visit the site at:http://www.torontosummermusic.com/


Wild on Media – If you are interested in getting noticed, than Wild on Media’s unique Out-Of-Home mediums are for you. Their non-conventional approach to advertising using cutting edge outdoor mediums, grabs attention by providing the “WOW” factor.


Visit the site at: http://wildonmedia.com/


Vast Exteriors Incorporated needed a fresh showcase for their award winning landscape design and build services. Whether you are looking to create a backyard oasis that sees your swimming pool surrounded by lush vegetation and waterfalls or creating a sleek contemporary outdoor living area utilizing foreign materials and textures, Vast Exteriors will bring style and creativity to any outdoor environment.


Visit the site at: http://www.vastexteriors.com/


Is it time to freshen up your online presence?

Paul Bies

President,
Mystique Creative