Have you ever stood in a group of people and heard a comment that only made a couple of them laugh historically? Building the brand of your business on persona, inside information, that is only clear to you is a huge mistake.
Your pets name isn't good branding.
Your pets name isn't great branding unless your selling pet supplies and equipment and plan to create your brand story around that pet.
When people start their business they are faced with many difficult decisions including what to call their business and what logo best represents them. Entering into a business endeavor is a very personal journey and many small businesses lean on their emotions to select their branding. They are creating the foundation to their brand story based on the emotions behind the idea of their business and not the story of how a customer will connect with their brand.
We joke that a pets name is not good branding but our team has worked with companies whose brand origin stems from inside information so personal to them, people have to ask what they do. Let's be clear, this won't make or break a business. But, we believe in breaking down barriers to success and we've seen this strategy create more questions than answers and more confusion than clarity.
We're not telling you to be so clear you call yourself "company that mows lawns" but we are advising you to take a moment to think through how your business name connects with your logo, connects with your services, and the type of conversation you can have with your target customer.
Let's add some clarity.
Sitting in this coffee shop slash wine bar I witnessed a wine tasting event. The winery was started by a musician and the label for the wine said "Boom Boom Syrah". I heard the barista inform the participants that the owner was in the music industry. Everyone nodded their head in a unified response of understanding to the name, the label, and the story behind it.
Come to find out he was from the Napa Valley area and managed bands throughout Europe. His story is available on the website and his wine has become well known in Sommelier circles. His branding is built around his name, history is connected to his upbringing and world travels.
You may think this is contrary to the purpose of my article. I used this example to prove the difference between a well connected brand stacked with personal information versus branding your business based on your favorite pets name.
Brand carefully.
Many business owners start on their own or with a small circle of trusted friends. The biggest concern is to obtain the business an customers in order to be successful. There is little time or concern to fully understand how the brand story will communicate over a long period of time. Five, ten, or perhaps fifteen years or longer. Most businesses can only dream of making it that long. Many will succeed in spite of their brand. You are likely succeeding based on service delivery, product demand, or your ability to connect with people. But, what are the chances your losing customers to competition because the hold a strong position and clear brand story.
We encourage to at least sit down with a profession and explore the potential variations of your brand, how it speaks to potential customers, and how it will be perceived over a diverse range of marketing channels.