Wes Hamilton offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: A Good Business Name And Branding Must Be Bold And Stick Out from The Crowd Author: Wes Hamilton Category: Advertising, Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning Word Count: 1208 Keywords: advertising,business,small business,entrepreneurship,pay per click, PPC Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
Visit just about any blog of a high-priced naming consultant, and they'll tell you with oracular confidence that a business name, to succeed, must be X, Y or Z. This is bluster. It is a branding statement of their own, arguing for the kinds of company names they like to create and against the kinds of company names they personally look down on. Such rules are not a valid-for-every-situation fact. The naming "must" you'll encounter most often is this one: A Good Business Name Must Be Bold. It must make a statement. It must stand out. It must call attention to itself. Yes, that's often a good idea, especially for a new operation that needs to earn publicity, word of mouth and market share. But not always. Consider a community bank that is expanding into new territory, across a river that to residents marks a mental boundary. Its number one concern is whether or not its current name encompasses the new geographical area in residents' minds. If not, they may be looking for a new name that provides continuity with their current name yet includes the locations where they're opening new branches. Boldness is nowhere on this bank's list of naming criteria. Indeed, it's a rare bank that goes for, or should go for, a bold name, one with emotional impact and shock value. Much more important for banks is engendering trust. Other goals might be emphasizing rootedness, history or connection. Banks - and many financial services companies - need different naming criteria than a footwear company or an adventure travel firm. It might surprise you to know that I have had clients hire my naming company wanting a name that didn't stand out. In one case, a financial advisor was moving to a new city and wanted a company name that would blend into the background, not attract any attention and make people assume he'd been doing business there forever. I encourage you to wipe the slate clean of what you've read or heard and think first about what you hope the new business name you are looking for will accomplish. Do consider guidelines and "musts" because they point to naming factors you might otherwise overlook. Don't let your goals get overruled by someone else's branding agenda. Don't be intimidated into looking for or accepting a company name that can't take you where you want to go! Branding Your Business In today's image-conscious world, branding has never been more important. If you are able to tap into the Zeitgeist, you will be well on your way to success. Walk down any high street and take note of ten household brands. What style have they chosen for their logos? What image does the logo project? Your business may never need to appear on the high street, but imagine if your brand is eventually just as powerful and recognisable to the casual onlooker. Creating a logo and a name for a business are closely connected and should really be decided upon at the same time. Remember, your business name and logo will become your brand. There's always a rush associated with launching a new business, often because there has already been a financial outlay and you need to get to market as soon as possible to recoup, or because you fear that someone else might be about to launch a similar business. Either way, you simply cannot rush the creation of your logo. Do not be tempted to use one of the pre-designed (copyright-free) logos you can find in computer design software. Even if it is only supposed to be a temporary measure, people who see this logo may recognise it as not your own creation; even if they don't, they will probably think that it looks a little tacky. Don't forget, the people you will be meeting during the creation of your business will be people or companies that you are hoping to have a long-term relationship with, such as your suppliers, customers, solicitors, accountants, investors and the bank. Of all the people that you will be dealing with, these should be the most important in terms of creating the right impression. Don't sell yourself short so early on. Pay the fee and have a designer create your logo; they may not be particularly cheap, but good designers are worth their weight in gold. When considering a design or briefing a designer it is important not to insist on too many boundaries. Although you might have a very clear idea about how the brand should look and even the colors or fonts to be used, make it clear that you would like to see any other ideas the designer might have. The results will be strange, exciting, worrying and sometimes amusing, but what this exercise shows is how brands elicit powerful reactions in people. Use focus groups and informal market surveys to see how people feel about your logo. The more people you can find to comment on the designs for your logo, the better. It will quickly become apparent which one will work best to project the image that you want. Another consideration when designing your logo should be whether it is suitable for all media. Although you may not intend to launch a website for your business, you should still find out how your logo would look at the top of a web page. Would the logo work on a TV screen or on an enormous advertising board in a big city? If your staff are going to wear uniforms, or if you plan to issue company T-shirts, is the logo transferable onto clothing? Does the logo work for you when it is very large, or very small? Ask your designer to work with a range of color and also to create a version using only black and one other color. Sometimes simple colors work best and if you use a whole rainbow of colors in your logo it will cost a lot more to reproduce. Full color letterheads, business cards and adverts are considerably more expensive than two-color versions. But don't lose sight of the main goal - you are creating a brand that you want to be stunning, instantly recognisable and with the potential to become synonymous with your business. If it costs a little extra to create the sign above the door because you simply have to have aquamarine blue, so be it. If you are able to tap into the Zeitgeist, you will be well on your way to success. Walk down any high street and take note of ten household brands. What style have they chosen for their logos? What image does the logo project? Your business may never need to appear on the high street, but imagine if your brand is eventually just as powerful and recognisable to the casual onlooker. Creating a logo and a name for a business are closely connected and should really be decided upon at the same time. Remember, your business name and logo will become your brand. There's always a rush associated with launching a new business, often because there has already been a financial outlay and you need to get to market as soon as possible to recoup, or because you fear that someone else might be about to launch a similar business. Either way, you simply cannot rush the creation of your logo. Wes Hamilton is the owner of PLUMB PRO, INC a full service plumbing company in Alabama. Visit our website for more Free Information and PICTURES. Visit http://www.plumbpro.net/ and http://www.plumbproinc.com/ ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
