Branding basics for a new business

 

By Ken Gasque

 

Branding rules for starting a business, launching a new product/service or refurbishing an old brand

1. Know your prospect (immutable law of marketing). 2. Determine if anyone really needs this product or service. 3. Differentiate—offer something that is different—a difference that matters to the consumer (do they understand your differentiation?) 4. Choose a name that will be easy to remember and easy to spell. (This may seem obvious but it is a huge stumbling block for many.) 6. Choose a name that is easy to say and sounds pleasing. 7. Use good design—name, logo, stationary, website, storefront, trucks, advertising, order forms, everything that the consumer will see has to be designed to be inviting and to project the image you want for your product or service.

You’ve done your homework and you have a service/product that is differentiated and needed. And you have a persona of the ideal prospect written so well you can draw a picture of them. Now it is time to create the name. This is the second most important thing you will do (differentiation is the first). What is the right name? Is it something cute or clever—Lands End, 479º Popcorn, or Revolution Tea? Or do you use your last name like many professional firms do—Taylor, Thompson and Toby, or pick a name with no meaning like Starbucks, Macintosh Computer, or Apple Computer? Or do you use a name that has a different meaning altogether such as Panic, Mustang or Colt 45. You can choose a name that states what the business does—International Business Machines (IBM) or Maximum Heating and Air Conditioning. I would not recommend using acronyms unless you are the size of IBM—people do not remember letters unless you do a lot of advertising.

Selecting a name is often a make or break decision and it is amazing how often it is decided on a whim. Do not use something cute unless it makes sense to your product personality or to the user. There is a new product just coming to market called Oral Fixation Mints—it got its name from someone going out to smoke a cigarette and saying, “I’m off to serve my oral fixation.” Cute, when you know the story. It might work, but it is a stretch. Knowledge of your customer is essential — will she think it is cool or that you are trying too hard to be cool.

Pick a good name but remember, “Image…always has the last word.” Roland Barthes* (and he was a linguist.)

Good design also begins with a thorough understanding of your customer because design will set the tone for your communications. Design will create the expectations.

Design is emotional. Sales are emotional. Do you see a connection?

Design helps to create the brand experience. Apple Computer is the best example I know. Apple embraces design from its operating system to its innovative retail stores and elegant package design. Design is in everything Apple does. Design should be involved in everything you do. It is a process that continues as your business grows. Design (or lack of it) establishes the image of your product or service. Good design carried throughout your business will amplify the brand and produce a greater experience for your customer. Lack of design will enforce the feeling that your service or product is a commodity and should be priced accordingly.

Design is in part about how something looks but it is also about how something functions. If your website is beautiful or “artsy” but it is hard to navigate or hard for the consumer to get the information, then it is poorly designed. If your forms are hard to understand or are redundant, your process is poorly designed and it lets the consumer know that you don’t care about their time or their experience.

Create your differentiation and choose your name well. Then let the design make it exceptional.

 

We buy with our eyes! Read more.

 

* Roland Barthes, 1915-1980, was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist and critic.

 

© Copyright Ken Gasque 2014 all rights reserved

Ken Gasque is president of Gasque Marketing and Advertising, a brand development and marketing planning company in West Columbia, SC.   www.gasque.com He can be reached at [email protected]