Archive for the ‘branding’ Category

This morning is day three of  Start-Up Weekend 2010 and I’m uber excited that my idea for a new tech company got selected.  We’ve been locked in a room since Friday, with necessary breaks for food, sleep, etc.  Today, we’ve got to brand our project.  In searching through the corners of my mind for a compelling brand, I took a quick look on the web and found the article below that I wanted to share:  Why Weird Words Make Great Brand Names, by Phillip Davis.

In the interim, we’ll do a brainstorming activity today and hopefully leave the room with a great name!

Here’s that article I mentioned:

When creating a truly great company name, the number one consideration should be the level of “engagement.”

“Engagement?” you ask incredulously.

Yes… engagement.
While there are all sorts of naming strategies… metaphors, acronyms, coined/invented, key attributes, positive connotations, etc., the one common denominator that separates the mediocre from the memorable, is the degree to which the name engages the mind of the consumer. Most new business owners opt for company names that inform and describe, leaving nothing to the imagination. They often fail to realize that the context surrounding the name (the ad, the store sign, the proposal, the brochure copy, etc.) will define what they do, so the name can be free to describe how they do it. In other words, no customer will hear or see the name in a mental vacuum. Yet this is the way we often judge names when “brainstorming”. And it’s why focus groups are such

notoriously bad judges of good names. It’s not the people that are flawed, it’s the process itself. Most of the feedback takes the form of free associations, all in an effort to determine if a name is “good” or “bad.” It goes something like this…

Interviewer: “What do you think of the name Monster?”

Respondent: “Ew! They’re scary and dangerous!”

Interviewer: “What about Amazon?”
Respondent: “Jungle… drowning… snakes… piranhas…”

Interviewer: “Apple?”
Respondent: “A bad apple spoils the whole bunch.”

Interviewer: “Caterpillar?”
Respondent: “Squishy, soft, and squirmy.”

Interviewer to new business owner: “I think we can safely assume these would be bad brand names…”

So if it’s not a matter of free associations, then what determines a good name? Again, it’s that all important element known as “engagement.” Engagement is what causes you to lean forward, ask twice, invite more information and pursue the conversation. A good name should invite a discussion, start a conversation and “engage” the other person’s interest and attention. That’s why Amazon, even though it says nothing about what it does, works better than Books-A-Million. Amazon is open and inviting and Books-A-Million is literal and descriptive. Amazon speaks to the process…flowing, easy, abundant. Books-A-Million speaks to the products… books. And while Amazon leaves room for the company to grow in any number of directions, Books-A-Million leaves the company in a bind. I once heard an ad for a company called Just Brakes. Since they had outgrown this narrow niche, they adopted a new tag line… “We’re more than just brakes.”

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If you read nothing else in this article, remember this – be compelling.

This week I’ve been in many conversations about website and marketing content, and to me, it all boiled down to communicating in a compelling and memorable way. So, I thought I’d share some of the dialog with you from two sources: 1) from a collaborative partner on my team, Gerry Black; and also, from an article I posted entitled:

Creative vs Technical – the battle of website development! (on The Virtual Wire’s blog, Saturday, December 13, 2009).

Excerpts from Gerry’s article “Is Your Marketing Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish?”

Even though many of us become knowledgeable about effective marketing strategies, somehow, some of what we learn never makes it to the front line – the point where our sales proposition is laid bare in front of our prospect for consideration.

Here are three things that could be hurting your marketing results along with some suggestions on what you can do to correct them.

1. Thinking a web site is ready for prime-time because it was created by a “web site designer”.

This can be a costly misconception. Many web designers rely on their clients to supply content. Most web designers have no idea (or any interest) how to write compelling copy. Nor should they. That’s why they’re designers.

But here’s the problem: Many have no basic understanding of how to create a home page that presents a client’s selling message effectively. Unless a web site designer is getting content from someone who knows how to write and present a sales argument, chances are the site will do very little other than occupy a spot in cyber-space for which the client pays a monthly hosting fee.

Much of the content on web sites today has been cobbled together from brochures, competitors web sites and presentations that are equally as weak.

Don’t believe me? The next time you’re in surf mode, check out how many home pages – where the all important first impression occurs – are missing most critical selling element of all – an attention getting headline that offers a clear benefit to the reader. Happy hunting. Many home pages don’t even mention the word “you” in the copy. It’s all about me. Them. You know what I mean.

So, why would companies lay out all kinds of dough to have a web site designed and then cram the home page with copy the reader won’t respond to?

Many simply don’t understand that the best design in the world can’t make a web site with dull “me too” copy perform. If you think your home page copy falls into this category, it may be time to have it reviewed. You may be spending valuable marketing dollars driving customers to your web site only to have them click away in search of a competitor who has a better answer to the question they arrived with, ‘What’s in this for me?’

2. Not marketing to existing customers.

It’s amazing how many businesses will spend money trying to get new customers while leaving one of the greatest incremental revenue streams sitting untapped right in their own backyard in the form of their current customer list.

To win a new customer, you have to cut through the clutter like everyone else is trying to do. Not only is this becoming more difficult to do for even the most sophisticated marketers, it’s very expensive. Every year, the potential customers we chase after are bombarded with even more sales messages.

Meanwhile, our existing customers, the people who have already done business with us, represent a prime audience predisposed to hearing about other ways we can help them solve problems. We may have added a number of new services or products since they first became customers. If we don’t let them know about how we can continue to add value to their lives, they’ll probably find what they need from a competitor. Worse yet, the customer will probably end up buying from someone else simply because he or she didn’t know we could help them with their needs.

Keep your customers informed. Treat your customer list like the goose that laid the golden egg. By staying in touch, you’ll learn about new needs and wants and you’ll be able to minimize your cost of sales.

3. Not creating “pull” marketing material.

None of us likes to be sold. But we love to buy. Your marketing material should be carefully crafted so it grabs the reader by the lapels and creates the feeling that doing business with anybody else would be a huge mistake.

Every day, our eyes glaze over as we are hammered by ads, home pages, sales letters and brochures that just blah, blah blah us to death. And guess what? Millions of dollars go into creating these messages that don’t attract attention or create desire.

You see this all the time in the local community newspaper. The advertiser pays a king’s ransom to have the ad run in the paper. The ad ignores every fundamental of effective advertising. Instead, it announces what is being sold. And that’s exactly how it comes across to the reader. He’s being sold something.

If you’re not sure how to create marketing material that “pulls”, think about looking outside for a competent professional who will get you started down the right track from the beginning and help you create marketing materials that reflect an understanding of what’s working in today’s competitive selling environment.

You can’t push people into buying today any more than you could 20 years ago. But you can make sure you create the type of environment that gives you a chance to allow them to buy what you’re offering. Start getting into the habit of analyzing the sales and marketing messages that come at you during the day. Try to distinguish between those that just bounce off your sales resistance armor and those that make it past and create a desire within to learn more.

To be successful in today’s marketing and selling arena, we need every edge we can find. Especially those over which we have full control.

About The Author: Gerry Black is an independent copywriter and marketing consultant specializing in helping solo professionals and small businesses develop and implement simple, proven website marketing strategies that attract clients. Visit www.gerryblackcopywriter.com for his free report, “The #1 Website Mistake That Is Costing You Clients.”

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Don’t forget to check out The Virtual Wire’s blog post: Creative vs Technical – the battle of the website development! (on The Virtual Wire’s blog)