The Value of a "Brand"
Wouldn’t it be terrible to get 2-3 years into a business venture and suddenly realise that not only have you got the wrong name – in fact your whole brand is not inline with your intended audience. This happens to a lot of businesses whether they realise it or not – they have inappropriate names and associated brands for their intended audience.
At work I talk to people everyday about creating an online presence. Many of these people have existing businesses, however a few are start-ups or new businesses. As part of the process I ask people “so what are you calling your business?” So often I’m told “Oh, I don’t actually have a name yet. I’m going to have a chat about it with my friends…” this is where the troubles begin.
The name & brand of your business should say:
- Who you are and what you do
- Why you do what you do
- And how you’re different from all your competitors
I am continually astonished at people’s hesitation to spend money on creating a name and associated brand which has an intelligent/educated/professional reasoning behind it.
The name of your business is very important. The brand of your business is arguably even more important.
My experience is, If you are starting a business and you have no marketing, branding or naming experience – get help. If you’re not a heart surgeon you shouldn’t perform heart surgery, Pay Someone! Yes that’s right, pay someone, it might cost you hundreds/thousands of dollars but at least you won’t end up with a name/brand which is not only worthless, but detrimental to your business.
This is an extremely good video which covers the importance of a brand which differentiates itself:
After naming several businesses myself, with fairly average results, I finally paid someone. This guy is good – Scott Lawrie, Creative Director @ XXVI. He’s professional “namer” and “brander” who aims to connect brands with people through simple engaging words. Money very well spent:
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