Your Brand: The Predictor of Success

When people start a business they often wonder, what is the first thing I should do? The answer is simple but can have serious implications on the future of your company. The first thing you need to do is create a brand; a brand that will define and position the product or service at the heart of your business.

According to the American Marketing Association, a brand is “a name, a term, a sign, a symbol, a design, or a combination of some of them that identifies the products or services of a company and differentiates them from competitors.”

According to Margarita Eberline, owner and executive director of Social Margarita 360 ° Marketing, we all have a personal brand that influences the brand of our company. Eberline says that the first step to follow to choose the brand, is to ask; what is the goal of the company or product?

In order to develop a brand, we must also answer the following questions about the product or service: what is it, why does it exist, how does it behave, when is it relevant, where is it needed? Answering these questions can help you think through and select the most appropriate name and symbols that will identify the company or product.

How to choose the name of a product or company?

1.  Choose a name that is brief enough for people to remember.
2.  The name should sound pleasant and should be easy to pronounce.
3.  The name should be descriptive of the product. Example: PlayTime (games, park, fun).

What should we avoid when we choose the name of a product or company?

1. Avoid geographical names: this could limit you from expanding if you decide to move the company to another place.
2. Avoid combining terms that are already branded: this puts your company at risk of being confused by another. For example stay away from terms like micro, com, web.
3. Avoid using adjectives: this can saturate the brand with competition Example: avoid words like better, excellent, superior.

The visual design of the brand is also fundamental to its success. The logo is the first impression that a client notices and the element they are most likely to remember. Simple logos are ideal, especially if they communicate what the product or service is.  

A graphic designer who is well versed in the use of simple shapes and colors to create visual concepts is highly recommended. However, today there are free resources with easy to use design tools that you can use to design your own logo. A popular design tool is https://www.canva.com/.

Do not hesitate to follow these tips, if you want your company to be successful, it is important that your brand has an impact on the target audience.