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wbjournal.com | May 1, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 17 A ttracting the right audience doesn't just happen, it takes a strategic approach. For decades, companies used advertising to reach prospective clients and customers. They would put out their message, often in the only avail- able media options: radio, TV, print or outdoor. That seemed to be enough to do the trick. Consumers were entertained, they connected and they became loyal to the brands resonating with them. The internet turned that all on its head. The number of digital media outlets born in just the last decade alone is in the thousands. Consumers are quick to change brand loyalty based on comparison shop- ping and flash sales. Even though there are more options to target your audience, the new savvy consumer doesn't necessarily want to hear your advertising message like they used to. Today, consumers can turn your messages on and off like never before. They are in the driver's seat and control the con- tent that comes to them. So, what is the secret sauce that will help you attract not only more pros- pects, but the ones that are a good fit for your business? The answer is to utilize a dual strategy of building an amazing brand that commands long-lasting attention and layering on a perfor- mance marketing approach that con- nects with the right audience to drive revenue. It is this one-two brand-and-marketing punch to attract more of the top-tier clients. Build a strong brand to command attention, build loyalty and stand the test of time. A brand is not your logo, jingle, tag- line, website or mascot. A brand is a claim of distinction – it's your stake in the ground saying what you stand for, better than anyone else. Building a strong brand is a consistent drumbeat of your promise. It may not change business overnight, but it strengthens over time. Strong brands live at the intersection of management's vision, internal culture and audience motiva- tion. That last part – what drives your audience – is the basis for creating your marketing plan. Implement a customer-centric mar- keting plan to provide the right value to the right people at the right time. You can't be everything to everyone, so it's important to figure out who your best prospect is by studying your ideal client types. Dive deep into details like the buying habits, pain points and media consumption of your top customers to get clarity around who your best prospects are. From there, map out the customer journey to ascertain which types of messaging and deliverable will be most welcomed at each stage of that journey. Think about today's consumer; chances are they have already done a ton of research prior to reaching a conclusion. If they are talking to you, you may very likely be already in their consideration set. How are you connecting with them at the proper stage? Provide something of value that creates trust and confidence. When you take the time to build a brand that your audience can relate to and when you implement strategies that connect with your consumer on their terms, you will attract, not only a larger number of leads, but better qualified ones at that. Great leads turn into great clients. 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . . . . P u b l i c W i - F i By Michelle Drolet Michelle Drolet is CEO of Framingham data security services provider Tower- wall. You may reach her at michelled@towerwall.com. K N O W H O W Attract more and better clients C ollaboration is so much a part of the business world nowadays, it's unrealistic to think teams always reach goals without any dis- agreement along the way. Healthy dia- logue and exchange of ideas is one thing; a dead standstill in progress due to team members' opposition is anoth- er – and will likely hurt your company. As a leader, it's your place to step in and do damage control if differing views are impacting a project. All conflicts are not created equal. There is a very big difference between a healthy conflict and a personal con- flict, which is toxic to the team and possibly the organization as a whole if not contained. "If the conflicts are personal, conduct a fair, frank discus- sion with the involved parties and indicate that behavior adjustment is expected immediately. If the conflict continues, eliminate the individuals from the team," writes Dan McCarthy at TheBalance.com. Conflict can elevate understanding. Conflict can reveal important issues and gives team members a chance to communicate and interact in a more high-level way, according to an abstract at InnovativeTeamBuilding. co.uk.com. Conflict can reveal barriers like poor communication, differences in interpretation, or the missing of nonverbal cues. "Conflict can lead to new ideas and approaches to [organi- zational] processes, and increased interest in dealing with problems. Conflict, in this sense, can be consid- ered positive," the abstract states, as long as it doesn't develop into a cloud of mistrust and defeat. Focus on common ground. With a team, there has to be some. "Make the best of conflict by turning disagree- ment into a brainstorming session where each member is invited to offer input on solutions," writes Joan Bunashe and Lindsay Broder at Entrepreneur.com. Ask questions like, "'What can you agree on in this situa- tion?" or, 'What is useful about con- tinuing this discussion?' or, 'What are you hoping will come out of this?'" BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: T e a m c o n f l i c t s 10) Freely hackable Free public Wi-Fi connections are treated like a public utility, but they can be making you vulnerable to hackers. 9) Sign me up By default, most mobile phones/devices are set to ask your permission to join a network. Once you obtain credentials, the known network will join your phone automatically. 8) Sniffing you out Public Wi-Fi hotspots are vulnerable since anyone sharing the same hotspot can use sniffing software to intercept your browser session while you're visiting websites. 7) Session hijacking Hijacking your browser session allows hackers to pick up your session cookies, allowing hackers to impersonate the victim, even if the password itself is not compromised. 6) SSL encryption Many websites use SSL encryption for their login pages to stop hackers from seeing your password, but do not use encryption for the rest of the website. 5) Cross-site scripting trickery Using cross-site scripting, hackers can trick the victim's computer into running code that appears to be trustworthy, allowing the attacker to perform hacks. 4) Stealing your cookies Malware or other unwanted programs can use session hijacking to steal a browser's cookie to perform unwanted actions without the user's knowledge. 3) Download a VPN The best way for to protect yourself on public Wi-Fi networks is to download a virtual private network (VPN) app to your mobile device, which utilizes encryption. 2) Safer in the cloud VPNs create a virtual network within any Wi-Fi network, thereby hooking into a secured Internet connection via the cloud. 1) Worry less With a VPN, users of public Wi-Fi need not worry about a device automatically detecting and connecting to an unsecured network. BY CHRISTINE TIERI Special to the Worcester Business Journal W W W Christine Tieri is president and certified brand strategist at Idea Agency in Sturbridge. Reach her at christ@ideaagency.biz.