Developing an excellent product does not necessarily mean that a company will become the success story of their respective industry. Entrepreneurial lore is ripe with stories of companies whose less than adequate products outshine their more capable competitors. The primary reason behind this is the former’s ability to effectively brand their product, regardless of whatever shortcomings it may have. The ability to do so has become the determining factor to the success and failure of many companies, especially in a market saturated with so many similar solutions.
We spoke to several startup CEO’s and asked what their most important branding strategies are, here’s what they had to say.
Branding should embody the business, its an extension of the personality of the founders and the mold they set for all employees. They key strategy is consistency, from the internal ethos, to the color of the logo, they all flow from one another.
Ian Naylor, AppInstitute
Our approach for branding is “association by simplicity.” We create associations for our customers to remind them of our product.
I’m sure you’ve heard all the other creative approaches out there,but spend a few minutes truly reflecting on the value of the simplistic strategic approach I have mentioned above. The deep rewards that grow exponentially from such an approach should become very clear. If I can borrow the successful branding of someones already successful efforts & associate it with my product firmly, and do this at least three times with three different associations, then I will certainly reap a great reward. Then I can put something new in front of my customers which will become the official unique branding of my product.
Clinton Crawford, QwikTube
First strategy – Good old word of mouth. This remains one of the best ways to do branding. That’s why we have a forever free package at Marketizator, which involves branding for us versus free usage. Actually, this technique provides not only branding for us, but it’s also a good way to generate leads. Last month for example, more than 20% of our qualified leads came from our product branding.
Another one is to communicate value through all the touch points. We always remember the services that really care about us and we always forget the ones that are just passing by.
Valentin Radu, Marketizator
Building and exposing your brand should to be done consistently and continuously, not just once. As the branding continues make sure you have defined your brand concretely with a differentiating identity and position.
Tim Nichols, ExactDrive
photo credit: observista
To effectively brand a business, a company needs to create a voice and position itself with a mission statement (whether officially or unofficially), and be consistent with it. A successful company must make itself stand out by pushing a consistent message to their target audience across all platforms and marketing endeavors.
Muneeb Mushtaq, AskforTask
Getting visibility is the key.
Amos Ahola, Collaboration Objects
Clarity with our UVP. Our software does a lot of things, so it’s important we keep our messaging clear to highlight our UVP and show benefits and solutions to our target audiences challenges and pain points. Keeping our messaging short and concise, while still highlighting our value is challenging but necessary.
Zack Hanebrink, MassageBook