Contents
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INTRODUCTION
A recognizable and loved brand is one of the most valuable assets a company
owns.
According to Nielson’s Global New Product Innovation Survey, 59% of
consumers prefer to buy new products from brands familiar to them. As a small
business, you may be competing against big brands with devoted customers.
That’s why you have to find ways to differentiate–with a solid brand building
process of your own. Branding is much more than just a cool logo or wellplaced advertisement.
A successful brand has to be consistent in communication and experience,
across many applications:
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Environment (storefront or office)
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Print, signage, packaging
•
Website & online advertising
•
Social media & content marketing
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Sales & customer service
1. Building brand name process
Now, brand building being simple? The truth is: it doesn’t happen overnight…or
even in a few months. Brand building is definitely a process. However, the
ongoing effort will result in establishing long-term relationships with your
customers.
Step 1: Identify and research target clients group
Who are your target clients? If you say “everybody” you are making a very big
mistake. Our research clearly shows that high growth, high profit firms are
focused on having clearly defined target clients. The narrower the focus, the
faster the growth. The more diverse the target audience, the more diluted your
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marketing efforts will be. So how do you know if you have chosen the right
target client group? That’s where the next step comes in.
Firms that do systematic research on their target client group grow faster and
are more profitable. Further, those that do research more frequently (at least
once per quarter) grow faster still.
Research helps you understand your target client’s perspective and priorities,
anticipate their needs and put your message in language that resonates with
them. It also tells you how they view your firm’s strengths and your
current brand. As such, it dramatically lowers the marketing risk associated
with brand development.
Step 2: Define a branding mission statement.
Before you can build a brand that your target audience trusts, you need to
know what value your business provides. The mission statement basically
defines a purpose for existing. It will inform every other aspect of your brand
building. Everything from your logo to your tagline, voice, message and
personality should reflect that mission.
We all know the Nike tagline: Just Do It. But do you know their mission
statement?
Nike’s mission is: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the
world“.
You can see the Nike mission everywhere. They focus on all types of athletes
using Nike products to be their best self. Nike goes even further with their
mission, by adding a footnote to the statement: “If you have a body, you are an
athlete“. Think about how wide their target audience becomes with a
disclaimer like that!
The company has built up such a reputation and brand following, that they are
able to increase their target to accommodate every “body”.
Step 3: Develop website and content marketing
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Your website is your single most important brand development tool. It is the
place where all your audiences turn to learn what you do, how you do it and
who your clients are. Prospective clients are not likely to choose your firm
solely based on your website. But they may well rule you out if your site sends
the wrong message.
Further, your website will be home to your valuable content. That content will
become the focus of your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts so that your
prospects, potential employees, and referral sources will find you and learn
about your firm. Online content is central to any modern brand development
strategy.
These days, professional services websites come in two varieties. The first is a
branding site. Such a site tells your story and conveys who you are, who you
serve, and what you do. In short it conveys your brand message. The other
variety does the above and also generates and nurtures potential new clients.
We call these High Performance Websites.
Step 4: Create a great brand logo & tagline.
The most basic (and arguably the most important piece) of brand building, is
the creation of your company logo and tagline.
For many firms, a name change is not required. But if you are a new firm, are
undergoing a merger or are burdened with a name that no longer suits your
positioning, a name change may be in order. Even if you don’t change your firm
name, a new logo and tagline may make sense to better support your brand
positioning.
Remember, your name, logo and tagline are not your brand. They are ways to
communicate or symbolize your brand. You must live it to make it real. And
don’t make the mistake of showing the new logo around internally to get a
consensus. The name, logo and tagline are not for you. They are for your
marketplace and should be judged on how well they communicate, not how
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much the partners like them. This graphic will appear on everything that
relates to your small business. It will become your calling card, and the visual
recognition of your promise.
Be
willing
to
invest
the time
and
money
to
create
something
exceptional. You’ll be putting the logo on everything, to reinforce visual
identity of your brand.
Hire a professional designer or creative agency with branding and identity
design experience, to help you build your brand. Their expertise will ensure
that you get a unique and timeless mark for your business.
A designer can also develop brand guidelines, to ensure consistency for any
future application of the logo and associated color palette.
Step 5: Integrate your brand into every aspect of your business.
Brand building never stops.
Your brand should be visible and reflected in everything that your customer
sees (and doesn’t see).If a client walks into your office, your brand should be on
display both in the environment and with personal interactions. Anything
tangible–from business cards, to advertisements, to packaging–needs the
stamp of your logo. When you design your website: incorporate your voice,
message, and personality into content. Profile pages for social media networks
should be branded visually, and with your chosen voice for engagement.
Step 6: Stay true to your brand.
Unless you decide to change your brand into something that is more effective
based on measured consumer response, consistency is key.Once you’ve chosen
a voice, use it for every piece of content you create.Don’t constantly change
your branding, The inconsistency will confuse your customers, and make longterm brand building more difficult.
Starbucks is the world’s leading specialty coffee retailer, and their brand has
always promised to bring people together.
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The Starbucks mission? “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person,
one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”
That’s why at every store you’ll find free Wi-Fi, large tables, and soothing music
to make conversing easy. They always write your name on your coffee for an
extra personal touch.Even despite a logo change in 2011, the Starbucks brand
perception remains strong. When you see that simplified green mermaid logo,
what do you feel? I guarantee it’s something.
Step 7: Be your brand’s biggest advocate.
Once you have built a brand that works for your small business, you (and your
employees) are the best advocates to market your brand. No one knows your
brand better than you, so it’s up to you to spread the word. When hiring
employees, ensure that they are a culture fit–aligning with the mission, vision,
and values of your brand. Encourage employees to establish a personal
brand that aligns with your company’s, further strengthening reach. Give your
loyal customers a voice. Encourage them to post reviews, or share your content.
Three Tips for Developing Your Brand Name
Creating cool company names takes a lot of work. However, with the right
approach and strategic processes, you can find one that works for your
company. Let's take a look at some practical tips you should consider:
2.1. Check Availability
When you come up with a name, the first thing you should do is check the
availability of that name. Putting blinders on and ignoring your surroundings
could end up being an expensive or embarrassing mistake.
Your first step in this process is to run the name through the Trademark
Electronic Search System (TESS), which tells you whether or not there are any
registered trademarks or prior pending applications for the marks you want to
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use. You can find this free database on the United States Patent and Trademark
Office’s website.
The next thing you want to do is check that the domain name is available for
your brand. In today’s internet-based economy, it would be a disaster to
register a brand name, only to find out that someone has already scooped up all
of your domain options. This is one of the benefits of working with a company
that provides an all-in-one package with the brand name, domain, and logo tied
together.
Finally, a very practical way to check on a brand name is to run some targeted
keyword searches on Google. Put your brand name in quotation marks and
conduct a handful of queries. Look for any results that may require further
investigation.
2.2 Don’t Get Cute
Over the past few years, the trend in startup branding has been to come up
with a clever name that sounds like a real word, but is actually contrived by
combining a couple of other words. This does work in certain situations—think
about Spotify or Snapchat—but it’s not necessarily the best strategy for all
companies. Getting too cute can often hurt your ability to grow. For best results,
choose names that meet the following criteria:
Easy to spell: Spelling is important. Even if you’ve made up the word, it needs
to be easy to spell. For example, if you heard the name Spotify without seeing
the word written out, would you be able to spell it? Most probably would.
However if you were asked to spell the name Saucony (pronounced SOCK-anee) without ever seeing it, you’d probably find the task challenging. This poses
a problem when it comes to customers searching for products online or sharing
names with friends.
Easy to pronounce: This goes hand in hand with spelling, but your brand name
needs to be easy to pronounce. Take, Guerlain for example. Most people
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pronounce the brand name “Grrr-lane,” when it’s in fact “Gher-lahn.” How awful
would it be to have a brand name that nobody can correctly pronounce? You
don’t want to go down that road.
If you can develop a brand name that’s easy to spell and pronounce, you’ll be
well ahead of many of today’s startups and small businesses.
2.3 Aim for Simplicity
While it’s hard to find an available one these days, one-word brand names are
always ideal. They’re easy to remember, strong, and relatable. If you think
about some of the most successful and recognizable businesses in the world—
Target, Amazon, Apple, etc.—they all have one-word names.
Sometimes you have to invent these words—i.e. Twitter, Google, Starbucks, etc.
—but the effect is still the same. Two words are acceptable when one word is
not an option, but avoid going with three or more words if at all possible. Long
names complicate everything from domain selection to future product
packaging.
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CONCLUSION
A solid brand building process can transform your business from a small
player into a successful competitor. You’ll discover that your customers will
develop a deeper level of trust for your brand, and be more likely to
purchase what you are selling. Develop a consistent message and visual
identity to reinforce your mission. Integrate your brand into every aspect of
customer experience: from your storefront, to your website, to your personal
interactions!
Former Nike and Starbucks executive Scott Bedbury once said: 'A brand is a
story always being told'.
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Discussion Content
Introduction & Step 1
Step 2 + 3
Step 4 + 5
Step 6 + 7
Tip 1
Tip 2
Tip 3
Full Name
Duong Huu Nguyen
Dung Viet Tran
Dat Binh Ngo
Dung Thi Cao
Chinh Thi Tran
Dong Thi Ngo
Chinh Thi Truong
Rating
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