Entrepreneur's Tip of the Week: Branding
Posted by Vicki Donlan on Fri, Jun 18, 2010 @ 08:20 AM
Every entrepreneur understands, or at least should understand, the importance of branding. However, knowing that a strong brand is critical to your success and actually figuring out how to create one are two different things.
The first question is do you brand your business, the product or yourself? To some this question may be very simple. A strong company brand like the checkmark Nike has developed is recognized by as many as 60% of adults around the world. That is branding at is finest.
A new unique product or service might naturally cause the entrepreneur to brand the product or service. A quick example of this is the iPod, iPhone and iPad. This brand is already very strong and easily distinguishable and will certainly be expanded further by Apple.
But there is also the situation when the entrepreneur is what needs branding. Great examples are Martha Stewart, Oprah and Donald Trump. In these cases, the consumer is given an awareness of what all the products and/or services produced by or for these individuals will be like in quality, price and value. Take one moment to think about what comes to mind when you think about one of the three names referenced here. Once again that is what successful branding is all about. And, you can do it too!
First, ask yourself what is it you want others to know about when they hear the company name, the product name or your name? Which of these three is most important to the success of the business? If the business brand becomes strong will it help or hurt an eventual exit. Think Reebok's sale to Adidas. I am not suggesting that the Reebok's brand helped or hindered a sale. I am suggesting you consider your exit while thinking of branding your business name. If your business will produce a variety of products do you want each to have its own brand or a similar brand so that the consumer believes to have one means collecting them all. Apple has certainly become the master in this style of branding. And, if you decide that you are the brand what will this mean when it comes time to sell the business? The first objection must entrepreneurs hear when they begin the exit process is that the business is all about them and that the without them at the helm the business will lose its value. This is a critically important decision you must make when branding yourself rather than the business.
However, every successful serial entrepreneur that has ever gone the rounds of venture capital seems to have mastered a little bit of branding themselves. Once again - branding is all about letting others know what the quality and value is of the entity by just seeing the symbol or mentioning the name.
I recommend reading Branding For Dummies because it doesn't get more basic than this and you can't afford not to start building a brand.
More on branding to come..............
HIRE VICKI TO SPEAK AT YOUR NEXT EVENT!