How to Position Your Brand for Success

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Our experts share insights on naming, branding and starting a new venture.

Trap: Picking a Name That's Not Your #1 Choice.

If you select a name that was your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th (or yikes) 6th or lower choice, you are sacrificing something. Keep in mind that your name is the keystone of your start-up. Don't sacrifice the success of your business on a second-tier company name.

Tip: Don't Be Different, Be Outstanding.

Any company can choose a name that's different. Your goal should be to select an uber-cool company name that stands head-and-shoulders above your competitors.

Trap: Don't Use Hyphens or Dashes in Your Domain Name.

If you use a domain name with a hyphen or a dash you're telling the world you couldn't obtain the non-hyphen domain name. Hyphens and dashes look unprofessional and will compromise your online status. They’re also incredibly difficult to communicate and you’re quite likely to be sending people to the wrong site, hopefully not your completion. Hyphens only stand as an obstacle between your customers and website!

Tip: Harmonize Your Company Name With Your Strategic Objectives.

Many start-ups fail to align their name with the key strategic objectives of their firms. A great name communicates a core message in a flash of a second.

More Naming Tips & Traps

Check back regularly for new start-up tips and traps to be avoided.

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Elements of Brand Positioning

The Importance of Brand Positioning

The key to a successful brand is clear positioning. How a brand is perceived by your target market -- relative to the competition -- is vital to both the success of the product and the success of the firm as a whole.

To whet your appetite, consider the brand positioning possibilities of these recently developed brands from the Brandings Brand Development Team:

Framework for Brand Positioning in Four Steps

Brand Positioning Step 1: The first step in brand positioning is defining the market in which the brand will compete. It is critical to develop a clear understanding of the demographic and psychographic characteristics of the target consumer; without defining who you key target market is, you brand can become easily lost and diluted
Brand Positioning Step 2: Next the key attributes and characteristics of the market environment are assessed. This is the stage where competitor analysis is undertaken. It’s critical to learn what it is that your firm and your competitors do well ... and where you each fall short.

We have a great article on this topic Strategic Planning for Start-Ups where we apply the principles of strategic planning to small business and delve into the process of internal and external environmental forces that condition the vision, mission, goals, objectives and action plans for a firm.
Brand Positioning Step 3: Research is undertaken to ascertain the perceptions of the brand and the perceptions of competitor brands by the target. It is critical at this stage to get a realistic grasp of the perceptions of the brand.

Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are employed to “get into the head” of the target consumer. It is important to understand their underlying needs, the social context of their wants and a laser-sharp understanding of their attitudes, values and perceptions of the brand.
Brand Positioning Step 4: The brand is then positioned to align with salient market variables. The challenge for the firm is to achieve congruity between the brand and the marketplace.—positioning the brand to meet the perceived wants and needs of the target consumer.

What is Brand Management?

The process of brand management is the art and science of creating and maintaining the brand from the very inception through every stage of the product and industry life-cycle.

A strategic plan for the brand is developed and executed for every stage of the life of the product ...

Embryonic – Developing and managing the brand while it is just a concept
Introduction – Managing the brand at its launch and early adoption stages
Growth – Steering the brand through the labyrinth of a competitive marketplace
Mature – Managing the brand to increase profitability, innovation and reinvigoration
Decline/Harvest/Reinvigorate – Strategically managing the brand at the end of its life cycle

For large enterprises this process is typically undertaken internally with organizational staff. For small and mid-sized enterprises the brand management process is often outsourced.

Brandings is here to assist you at every stage of the brand management process. Call Brandings Client Service Team today at 1-800-852-8900 (international callers 1-310-246-5100) or simply click here to contact our office via e-mail: info@brandings.com

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New Brands With Significant Positioning Potential:

Looking for a Great Brand Name?

Now finding the perfect company or business name has never been easier. There are two easy ways to search ...

Search by KEYWORD. Find company names that contain a key word (or partial word) important in your business. Use the KEYWORD SEARCH function -- located at the top of this page. Simply enter any word or word fragment ... then click “GO!”
Search CATEGORY. You can also search names by category and subcategory. Check-out the category list in the column to the left. (Note that categories have more specific subcategories.) Just select a category or subcategory and browse!

Whatever your new business needs, we are here to help. Call Brandings Client Service Team today at 1-800-852-8900 (Toll Free USA) +1-310-246-5100 (Worldwide) or simply click here to contact our office via e-mail: info@brandings.com

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