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!

When you walk into a supermarket with the intention of buying eggs, do you actually pay attention to the branding on the eggs or do you pick up whatever is available? I usually pick up whatever I find. However the decision is more complicated when I want to get a soft drink. Brands such as Coke and Pepsi have spent billions of dollars positioning their products as the only cola alternatives. A frame of reference has been created and no matter how many new rival products are introduced in this category, it is almost impossible to dislodge the current leaders. 7-Up did something very interesting with its positioning when it rebranded itself as the “Un-Cola”. Since it could not use the word cola in the customers mind, it reframed it’s positioning relative to its competition and took up a unique position in the minds of customers.

Naturally having the edge of being first in a certain category, has it’s advantages. However, competing in markets where there is already some competition, we need to figure out a way to convince potential customers, to use our product/service instead. This requires a lot of creativity and understanding for your target market and your competitors offering. As mentioned in prior posts, we have to take into account the sort of persona we want to project and what competitive edges we want to bring to the forefront. Take for example the rent-a-car business in America. Hertz had a large edge over the No.2 provider Avis. That was until Avis capitalized on its position by using the tag line “Avis is only No.2 in rent-a-cars, so why go with us? We try harder.” This statement dramatically helped the profitability of the company and more importantly helped customers develop a reference point between Avis and Hertz.

As a start-up organization we often cannot afford to pay tens of thousands to brand consultants to help us develop positioning strategies. However all is not lost. The end goal is to own a word in the mind of the customer, or be able to communicate your business concept in 5 words or less. Much effort needs to be put into name selection and the use of words as discussed in the brand personality post. These will be discussed in greater detail in the next post in the series.

To get you started on what your product/service should be, there is a great positioning rule called the 4D Rule:

1. Desirable by the customers

2. Distinctive from the competition

3. Deliverable by the company

4. Durable over time

A well positioned brand will lie at the intersection of all four requirements.

As a business owner one needs to continually assess one’s own company as well as those of the competition. It is essential to have the ability to look at the larger picture and see what is working, and what is not. If you are younger start-up company looking to raise money, or attract potential team members, you need to have well thought out answers to key questions which will be asked. Listed below are five key questions which I believe every business owner must be able to answer.

1. Why does your organization exist?: To answer this question, one needs to have clear understanding of the problem the organization is wanting to solve and how it plans to do that. The answer needs an opening sentence which has the ability to get the other person interested instantly, and wanting to know more about the business. To read more about answering this question please click here.

2. What is your competitive edge?: This question requires you to identify three main components, customer needs, competitor capabilities and your own organizational capabilities. This will help to clearly identify the space your organization is going to be operating in, and your customer value proposition. To read more about the answering this question please click here.

3. What is your business model?: In essence this question is asking how your business makes money. The answer to this question requires you to clearly pin point your target market, financial estimates, scalability and originality. All assumptions and forecasts used in the answer must be based on extensive research. Investors see far too many hockey stick projections, without substantial evidence of how and why demand will pick up to reach those estimates. To read more about answering this question please click here.

4. How do you acquire customers?: The answer to this question is all about your marketing strategy. Clearly outline metrics used to measure performance, market positioning and price point strategies. These objectives and strategies need to be translated into executable tactics through your promotional campaigns. Avoid using generic answers when answering this question and focus on key metrics you want to achieve, and how. To read more about answering this question please click here.

5. Who is on your team?: This question requires you to tell the assessor the business plans for execution. The answer to this question is I believe, by far the most important aspect of assessing a business. One needs to mention the teams past experience, achievements, leadership examples and responsibilities. Highlight strengths and how they will be used to help reach your target goals. To read more about answering this question please click here.

One needs to have the answers to these questions, always prepared. They require much initial hard work and research, the benefits however, far outweigh the time spent on them. One needs to remember to be clear, concise and confident when answering these question. It is all about passion for the business and the industry one operates in. This passion must be conveyed when talking about one’s organization. In the end if the story makes sense, numbers are fairly correct and you have managed to assemble a talented team, success is closer than you think.