Posts tagged "amazon"

Advice Marketing

5 Steps to Start Creating a Brand

September 9, 2008 0 Comment Usman Sheikh read

“A business based on brand is, very simply, a business primed for success.” David F. D’Alessandro

The brand creation process is a long one, it requires perseverance, consistency and an underlying emotional connection with the target segment. Its aim is to instill a level of brand loyalty in its customers, which will in turn generate exponentially increasing recurring streams of income. This process needs to be thought through thoroughly from the very beginning of developing a business model. It is far more challenging to change the perception of your product/service in the mind of your customer once it is established. Therefore, focus on first impressions and how to position your product/service from the onset.

Listed below are 5 steps to help you get started in the brand creation process. I believe these are vital foundational steps. The development of a brand is however not limited to these steps alone, and I will discuss advanced branding concepts in later posts.

1. Brand Personality: A brand personality consists of two important components. The first being a thorough understanding of what your business is, and what it stands for. These can be goals, objectives and core strengths. The second component is understanding your target segment. One should be completely aware of their needs, pain points, competition and goals. When these two components are brought together a better understanding emerges of how to get across to customers and stakeholders. To learn more about creating a brand personality please click here.

2. Competitive Edge: Why should a customer pick your product/service over a competitor’s? Your brand needs to communicate its competitive edge clearly to help develop a connection with the target audience. Use your competitive edge as an integral part of brand development and positioning strategy to enable you to not only build a worthwhile brand, but also a strong business model. To learn more about integrating your competitive edge into the brand development process please click here.

3. Positioning: Every customer classifies a business or brand internally. This internal wiring is the definitive feeling at the interaction point with your product/service. The last thing you want as a start-up organization is to be known as “Oh you do the same thing as say… Facebook”. Much thought needs to be put into how you want the customer to perceive your brand. How is it distinctive, what are the common associations with your business model and how can you use them to your advantage? To learn more about positioning your brand correctly please click here.

4. Selecting a Name: Once you have a good understanding of the steps mentioned above, sit down and brainstorm possible names for your business. I find it useful to follow basic guidelines of keeping them simple, avoid generic terms, the name should be easy to pronounce and spell and, should be unique. Apart from that, formulate a list of questions highlighting word associations, emotional associations and other factors which help formulate a right name. After this process, shortlist and get feedback from friends, family or even stake holders. Take your time with this step, do not force a name just because you cannot think of anything else. This is something you are going to have to live with for a long time. To learn more about selecting a name please click here.

5. Key Brand Elements: The devil is always in the details. The final step in the process focuses our attention to key brand elements which include, logos and word marks, tag-lines, colors and typography selection. These elements need to reflect your brand personality and positioning. These factors are integral for instigating a connection with your target customer. It also helps to establish consistency in how we communicate with our customers and stakeholders at every touch point. Without this consistency we will not be able to establish a level of trust which results in brand loyalty. To learn more about different key brand elements please click here.

As you can see, the brand development process is a lot more than selecting a name and creating a logo or word-mark. It requires us to think deeply about the business we are establishing, the message we want to communicate and how we want to communicate it. There needs to be a story behind your brand and what it stands for. When you look at world class brands today, each one of them means something different to each and everyone one of us. Why are some individuals fanatical about drinking Coke and not Pepsi or selecting a PC compared to a Mac? When did the brand become more than a symbol, to being an integral part of who we are? I hope we all get the opportunity to create such a brand one day. Best of luck!

Related Presentation:

This is a very well developed presentation on branding. I hope you all enjoy it.

[slideshare id=28886&doc=the-brand-gap-14630&w=425]

Advice Marketing

Key Brand Elements

September 8, 2008 0 Comment Usman Sheikh read

“The stronger the dialog, the stronger the brand; the weaker the dialog, the weaker the brand.” Larry Webber

I used to think, when you have a reasonable story to tell, along with a catchy, smart name, one was doing quite well in the branding process. However, there are many other smaller elements which need attention to develop a consistent and strong dialog between your customer and business. The key word to summarize today’s post is consistency. Without it, one could pour millions of dollars into brand development and yield very small returns. Consistency builds trust, which inevitably takes your business to the next level. Looking or saying something different every day confuses your target audience. We need to think through the finer details with a fine tooth comb to ensure that our projections in the workplace as well as the market place are aligned.

A couple of key brand elements are:

1. Logos & Word-Marks: In today’s information rich world, we are constantly bombarded with advertising messages. I prefer word-marks over logos. The reason being, I would rather a potential customer remember our name, rather than a logo. In some cases however, logos work well. My first company had a very interesting logo of intertwined rings, signifying the bond between our agency and our customers. A lot of our customers remembered the logo, and forgot the name of our company which was more complicated. I learnt my lesson the hard way.

2. Tag-Lines: Often, well crafted tag-lines can convey a business philosophy or company focus in a most succinct manner. Let’s take Mercedez and BMW for example. To differentiate themselves from the prestige appeal of Mercedez, BMW chose the tag “Defining Innovation”. That one tag line has the ability to tell potential customers about their positioning strategy, competitive edge and key differentiating factor when deciding between the two. I am not a fan of long winded tag lines. Keep them short, focused and to the point. They need to be consistent with the image you want to portray.

3. Colors: In the past, if someone had talked about the importance of colors, in relationship to the persona a company wanted to portray, chances are, I would not have paid too much attention to it. It is only recently that I have been paying greater attention to the importance of something as simple as color selection. Another lesson I learned the hard way, stay away from gradient based colors when you are designing logos or word-marks. These create a lot of problems when printing on different colored backgrounds. Choose a color you feel reflects your business’ persona. Research how different colors put us in different emotional states, and decide what state you would like your customer to be in. Another piece of advice, don’t choose Red or Blue, choose a pantone color whose shade will always be consistent.

4. Typography: In order to maintain consistency, decide from the very beginning, which font to use for the website, marketing material, emails, invoices, newsletters and any other communication that you may have with customers and internally. Avoid changing font styles on a whim, this is not recommended! Pay attention to minor details and make sure that everything has some baseline logic, and is in accordance to your brand personality & identity.

I would recommend getting help from a creative design firm, if this skill set is not available in the team. I believe these are necessary expenses and need to be incurred to ensure that the brand is built on solid foundations. It helps to remain consistent, and to understand why a certain color or font was selected. All of these elements, along with the factors discussed in earlier posts, provide a basic structure and help start the thinking process about the importance of brand building.

Related Video:

Since we were talking about BMW and their “Defining Innovation” tag line I thought this video will help get across, how all the elements come together to create something truly memorable.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Ny5BYc-Fs]

Advice Marketing

Selecting the Right Name

September 7, 2008 0 Comment Usman Sheikh read

“When you think of the blur of all the brands that are out there, the ones you believe in and the ones you remember, like Chanel and Armani, are the ones that stand for something. Fashion is about establishing an image that consumers can adapt to their own individuality. And it’s an image that can change, that can evolve. It doesn’t reinvent itself every two years.” Ralph Lauren

If you think coming up with the next million dollar is challenging, correct selection for the name of your business is not going to be any easier. A name formulates the foundational base of your entire business. It communicates what you do to your target segment, what differentiates you from the competition and is ideally meant to instigate curiosity to find out more. A logical argument often used against this methodology of thinking, is that names such as Google, Amazon and Monster do very little to reflect what they do, yet, they have become mega brand names. The fact of the matter is, the businesses mentioned above were pioneering companies which revolutionized internet search, online shopping and online recruiting. They are built on very sound business models and due to the sheer superiority of their products/services they have become household names today.

Getting the name game right is something I have been giving more time towards, in my more recent ventures. We named our first design agency “Synaptic Creations”. I am not a biology student but picked up the word from a friend who told me synapses were the gap between two neurons, over which impulses lead to learning. It made sense at the time and we went with it. The word creations however, is too generic and reduced the ability for us to expand into other areas as well. It also confused some individuals who thought we may be some genetic based start-up. The name would fail several of the benchmarks I now have, for appropriate names for a business. It is important is to learn from mistakes made in the past to help you get it right the next time.

Most of the time, start-ups have to select their own name unless you have managed to secure some major early stage funding. If you have I would recommend NameLab or similar brand name consultants. If you are on your own, there are basic guidelines, namely, keep it short, keep it simple, avoid generic terms, the name should be easy to pronounce and spell and, should be unique. I do advocate a structured process to help you think in a more focused manner, which will in turn help you in deciding on a name which has been looked at from all angles, and has had major thought put into it.

Firstly, we need to think through the space we will operate in. Use questions to get your team thinking along the same wave lengths. These could include:

1. What would be the word you would want customers to associate your business with?

2. Who are you target customers?

3. What are the unique components of your business model?

4. How are you different from your competition?

5. What words best describe what your business does?

6. What emotions do you want your name to instigate in the customer?

Develop similar questions based on your business concept, and come up with as many permutations as possible by mixing and matching. Create a filtered list of names which passes the basic guidelines. If possible do a focus group or collect feedback from friends and family on the names you have shortlisted. This process will take a lot of time, so plan in advance for it so that there is no need to make a rushed selection. This is a name you are going to have to live with for a long time, you need to make it count!

Advice Strategy

5 Essential Facts about Revenue

June 10, 2008 0 Comment Usman Sheikh read

“A computer can tell you down to the last dime what you’ve sold. But it can never tell you how much you could have sold.” Sam Walton

An organization can have a great product and a great team, without any revenue however, they have very little. Revenue is the life blood of any enterprise; it fuels growth, motivation and success. Every organization strives to develop perfect products/services, most of the time however, they are developed with inadequate attention to revenue streams. What follows are shattered dreams and expectations, because a business without solid recurring revenue streams has nothing to stand on. Over the course of this week I have shared some basic facts with you regarding revenue streams, I have re-capped briefly below:

1. Revenue & Business Models: If you are writing a business plan or, are in a new startup venture, identify your revenue streams as clearly as possible, and understand what resources need to be put into place to realize their true potential. The future of your organizations rests upon these strategic initiatives. The business model must be based on sound revenue streams in order to succeed. To learn more about revenue and business models please click here.

2. Revenue & Market Segmentation: Once identification of a business model has been made, correct mapping of its target market is essential. Having a strategy to aim a product/service at ambiguous market segments results in spreading yourself too thin, especially when resources are tight. Market positioning of products is of paramount importance for successfully generating revenue at a quicker pace. To learn more about revenue and market segmentation please click here.

3. Revenue & Investment: Investing in correct revenue streams can be the difference between an organization that succeeds and one which does not. It is critical that metrics are put into place to ensure that all revenue streams are closely measured. This will lead to informed decisions on whether it makes financial sense to continue investing in a particular revenue or to focus energies on another stream to ensure that financial stability is maintained. To learn more about revenue and investment please click here.

4. Revenue & Change: Our world is in a constant state of flux. We are living through a time where we need to become adept at forecasting as also adapting to changes taking place. This principle applies to all aspects of our lives, in the business sense, it has far reaching implications. We have to avoid becoming rigid at all costs to maintain a competitive direction in the global market place. Failure to do so will result in an inevitable downslide of your organization. To learn more about revenue and change please click here.

5. Revenue & Metrics: Metrics are mandatory components of any successful business. Measuring your revenue streams is essential as you need to be aware of the growth rate of your streams, how quickly your pipeline is being converted, what sort of market share you hold and how the industry you operate in, is changing. Such metrics provide information that will allow you to make informed choices. To learn more about revenue and metrics please click here.

In todays day and age there are a plethora of startups which have no clear business model, some are purely developed attractive acquisitions while others wait to see how they develop. My advice is, go in with a plan on making money from day one if you want to build a strong and well founded organization. When developing your streams ensure that you cater to each level of your market segment and create opportunities for scalability and cross selling. Doing so will put you in a favorable position to succeed.

Advice Strategy

Metrics for Revenue Streams

June 9, 2008 0 Comment Usman Sheikh read

Every company has metrics that track performance. The key question is whether these metrics really provide visibility to performance as viewed by the customer.” Steve Matthesen

Working at a startup, there are always a host of things which need to get done. It is a constant battle with time to stay on track and achieve goals and targets. In the midst of this daily commotion, we are inundated with information from all sides. To keep abreast of all these developments, it is essential to develop a system which provides dashboard views about current standings. This is where metrics come into play. They need to be incorporated into every major business function to provide real-time statistics and keep the focus in the right direction.

The metrics for revenue streams used at some of the organizations that I work with, range from being very simple to relatively complex depending on the nature of the business. I have experienced that there are a few metrics which need more focus than others where revenue is concerned. They are:

1. Revenue Stream Growth: This metric provides data regarding development of each stream of revenue by quarter. It involves data which includes percentage growth numbers, pipeline activity and deal closures. These figures provide detail analysis on streams that are growing at a faster pace than others, the stages of revenue facing plateaus and how projected business is forecast in the coming quarters for each stream.

2. ROI on Revenue Streams: It is one thing to have an extremely high turnover and a completely different story when that is not being converted into bottom line results. This metric provides data regarding the profitability of each segment and a break-down of investment into the stream, as well as marketing costs and cost of goods/services. Constant vigilance helps regarding which streams need to be promoted and which need to be ceased.

3. Market Share & Industry Analytics: This metric keeps track of current growth trends in the industry the organization operates in. It constantly updates data regarding major changes on competition, government policies, economics climate and company position. This requires constant study to stay current with the rapid changes taking place.

While keeping all the metrics in mind make sure that you take time out to compare them with related metrics to customers, vendors, suppliers and distributors. This will ensure a complete picture of the current situation. At an early stage startup, complicated metrics are not necessary, what is required however, is the ability to put these metrics into practice at basic levels. This will ensure that the position and development of the company is dealt with more effectively.

Advice Strategy

Change and Revenue Streams

June 8, 2008 0 Comment Usman Sheikh read

“The key to success is often the ability to adapt” Anonymous

Our world is in a constant state of flux. We are living through a time where we need to become adept at forecasting as also adapting to changes taking place. This principle applies to all aspects of our lives, in the business sense, it has far reaching implications. This story has been heard time and time again, companies become complacent and rigid about rapid changes taking place and soon find themselves compromised. A story, very much in the news these days is, Yahoo!. This company once dominated web search. Today, it finds itself in a messy situation involving corporate raiders and hostile takeovers. What went wrong?

Yahoo! pioneers and leaders of web search throughout the 90’s became complacent about changes taking place in their domain space. A new entry startup called google started to develop traction. Before you knew it, they became a formidable player in the search market. Yahoo! failed to adapt to this change and continued diversifying their business model into new markets. They failed to defend their primary revenue stream, including a missed opportunity to buy-out google for $3b. This is an example of how the pace of change can turn positions in a matter of years, even for such a large firm. However, this is not the first story of its kind, nor the last, these mistakes take place on a daily basis.

If your organization has developed revenue streams which have potential of exponentially increasing over the years, it is your foremost responsibility to protect fiercely. This is done by continuous improvement of the processes, as well as developing complementary assets as barriers around that stream. If done diligently, you will be able to protect yourself from inevitable complacency, which could lead to an unfortunate outcome. On the flip side if you are struggling with your current revenue streams and not being able to develop them further, pay close attention to changes occurring around you. If you are promoting a product/service which has no place in the current market, you need to rethink strategy, and, as soon as possible.

Incorporating systems to account for changes in domain, industry, economics climate and external factors is critical to success. Make sure you have them in place to avoid trouble !

Advice Strategy

Investment and Revenue Streams

June 7, 2008 0 Comment Usman Sheikh read

“Sometimes the best investments are the ones you don’t make.” Donald Trump

Multiple revenue streams are extremely valuable assets for any business. Each revenue stream has to be positioned to address certain components of the overall strategy. Every revenue stream is not created equally, some are based on low margin and fast moving products/services while others facilitate growth of higher end products/services. The key factor to be addressed here is not only the creation of renewable revenue sources positioned for the right markets, but also correct investment into these streams.

For example, if your business currently provides you three streams of revenue, you need to have certain measures in place to gauge the level of growth of each stream. These metrics will provide you critical data to measure which streams have the potential of exploding, as compared to others whose growth is relatively stunted. Without these metrics, we could make a fatal error of investing in wrong revenue streams which could have negative impact on the overall bottom line. Concentrating your investments on the right revenue streams is a strategy used by all successful companies.

In my personal experience, one of the most telling signs of focusing on wrong revenue streams, is near the end of the quarter when the entire team has to push itself ridiculously hard to reach set targets. If this happens in a consistent fashion, quarter after quarter, you could be backing the wrong stream and costing the organization dearly. Develop flags for each of your streams and when things seem to be going off course consistently, look into revenue streams rather than blaming the economy or your team.

Are you investing in the correct revenue streams?

Advice Strategy

Revenue and Market Segmentation

June 6, 2008 0 Comment Usman Sheikh read

“The perfect business model must have a way to build in its own high-margin products that can be sold while processing reliable renewable revenue streams at any margin.” Mitch Thrower

Once identification of a business model has been made, correct mapping of its target market is essential. Having a strategy to aim a product/service at ambiguous market segments results in spreading yourself too thin, especially when resources are tight. Market positioning of products is of paramount importance for successfully generating revenue at a quicker pace. For example, I was consulting with a startup organization who is launching a business in the mobile social networking area . They have specifically developed a service for the 15-21 age range, exclusively for the Chinese market. Even though the market is exploding for mobile usage in China, by selecting a niche segment they can become a much stronger adversary to competition.

It is only after a market segment has been selected , a niche market to operate in identified, that you have to develop revenue strategies. These strategies can be aimed at capturing multiple subsets within your market segment. For example many online service providers give you multiple options to sign up for their service. At one my companies we use Highrise(CRM tool) which allows you to sign up either as a single user, small medium enterprise (SME) or a full fledged enterprise implementation. This strategy gives them the capability to develop revenue streams faster, at multiple levels. Ultimately this provides the company with growth, stability and flexibility to adapt itself to changes in economic situations.

The example mentioned above shows a company which has not selected any clear market segment to promote its products in. Many SMEs find them a more cost effective alternative to other such CRM tools. Positioning a product for mass market appeal is a strategy which I have not used extensively in any of my ventures. It is a harder process and one, I think, you could grow into rather than jumping into the deep end for it. For every facebook, google or amazon there are thousands of similar services which never got similar traction. Correct market segmentation provides you with structured direction and enables you to develop specific competencies. These can result in major competitive advantages in the long run.

When developing your Go To Market strategy, paying attention to niche markets and building multiple level revenue streams around it, could become your winning strategy.