The 80/20 rule is a powerful framework, one that helps us understand the dynamics between inputs and outputs. The rule asserts, that a minority of causes and inputs of effort, results for the majority of the output. When the rule is applied to a customer base, a skewed imbalance is often seen, where a small minority of customers contribute towards a majority of top line revenue. Many business owners overlook this fact and do not spend enough time and effort in ensuring to give exceptional service to their top 20% of customers. I was reading an article on techcrunch a few days ago regarding how Amazon is planning on giving free Kindles to its Prime customers. Prime customers are Amazon’s most frequent customers, they are the ones who apply for yearly memberships to get free shipping on the goods they buy.

This news clearly demonstrates how Amazon is focusing on ensuring that Prime customers get access to the very best products that they have to offer. By providing these customers a Kindle, not only will they be able to increase the amount these customers buy from Amazon, it was also boost loyalty, given that Kindles are not very cheap. The investment in this however should be recouped relatively quickly, and it would further help avoid defection to Apple’s upcoming iPad which poses a serious threat to Amazon’s Kindle.

This example goes to show how a company can successfully create a higher level of service for it’s best customers and focus more effort on them. For most smaller businesses, a similar analysis to customer base can be applied to determine which ones are actually contributing the most to the bottom line. These customers are essentially cash in the bank, and if any of them defects, short term losses will need to be faced,  the longer term impact will be far greater. If you have not taken stock of your top 20% customers, I strongly suggest you do so as soon as possible. Next, find ways to provide them with exceptional service and be in constant touch with them. They are the life blood of your business, and should be treated as such!

In the book “22 Immutable Laws of Marketing” by Al Ries & Jack Trout, they mention that “owning a word in the prospect’s mind” is “the most powerful concept in marketing”. When you think of words in the online space, words such as “bookstore” or “search”, the direct connection to “Amazon” and “Google” by many participants is overwhelming. The word “online” helps to focus our attention to a certain category, the single word then helps to forge a connection with a brand which is strong in that space. Similarly with cars, the words, “safety” & “driving” are often unconsciously associated with “Volvo” and “BMW”.

In a world that is becoming increasingly more competitive and being continuously filled with new brands , single word associations are more powerful today than ever before. So how does a startup business go about owning a word? For starters, take the strongest core benefits of your product/service and link them with certain key words. For example, a brand like Rolex wants the word ‘perfection’ to be one of their key association words. To do this, they need to link the word to certain attributes such as the painstaking detail their watchmakers take, or the quality assurance processes that each watch must pass through. By linking the word to a tangible process or attribute the customer is able to connect the word to the brand with greater ease. In essence, it provides a framework for association.

Newer businesses and startups should strive to set strong and reliable foundations to build their brand names on. This process takes time and should never be rushed into. Words need to be picked with great care and thought, since they will shape and establish how you want your customers and prospects to think about what you do as a business. Once this is established, it is hard to dislodge the association, so avoid confusion about your brand by stringent initial brand strategies.

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]

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!