branding for startups
TRANSCRIPT
10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT STARTUP
BRANDING
Assaf Guery, Managing Partner, NascentPresented by:
www.nascentgrp.com
INTRODUCTION TO NASCENT
NASCENT HELPS COMPANIES INNOVATE
by aligning brands, products, services, software and user experiences with business goals and processes, nascent delivers sustainable competitive advantage, from strategy to execution.
A SNAPSHOT OF RECENT WORK
CLIENT TYPEENGAGEMENT TYPE GEOGRAPHY
Branding A-Z
Websites
Brand strategy
GUI
High Tech
E2
Local for international
US & EU
BRANDORGANIZATION
finance
technology
operations
human resources
marketing
sales
finance
technology
operations
human resources
marketing
sales
branding
ORGANIZATION
PAST FUTUREEVOLUTION
ORGANIZATION
ONE. YOU ARE YOUR BRAND AND YOUR BRAND IS YOU
At the beginning, your brand personality and that of your startup are one and the same.
Your passion, drive, integrity, and total belief will shape:
• the employees who join you• the investment opportunities you receive • the media coverage the company receives• the overall perception of the company
TWO. MESSAGING & POSITIONING
Messaging and positioning are at the core of everything the company does. If you can’t articulate what you do, which market you’re in and who your key target audiences are, you need to think again...
Messaging and positioning should be communicated:
• internally - to employees• externally - to investors, the media, analysts, partners and
all other key stakeholder groups.
Your brand’s equity is built in the minds of the two groups above. Your brand is what they say it is, shape their perceptions
THREE. STRATEGY, THEN TACTICS
Branding is a strategic undertaking and not a tactical one. Brand strategy deals with issues at the core of the business, things like:
• vision • mission • messaging• positioning • naming• brand architecture • identity
these things, when aligned, build brand equity over time.
FOUR. CUSTOMERS & POTENTIALS. THE NEW PARTNERS?
Companies succeed when their brands and products delight their target audiences, by answering an unmet or unknown need, or by radically improving on an existing product or service.
Startups need to understand the needs of their customers and elicit their feedback at every opportunity, to gain rapid market traction. This is true for both B2B and B2C startups.
“Peer production is about more than sitting down and having a nice conversation... It's about harnessing a new mode of production to take innovation and wealth
creation to new levels”
Eric Schmidt, CEO Google
FIVE. THE 80 / 20 RULE: IMPLEMENTING NPS
Q: How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?
Sort the responses into three groups: promoters (9's and 10's), passives (7's and 8's), and detractors (0's through 6's). The percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors equals your score. A company with 75% promoters and 15% detractors, for example, would have an NPS of 60.
Bain & Co. (who invented the system) estimate that 80% of a company’s new business leads are generated this way.
SIX. MANAGE YOUR BRAND LIKE YOUR FLAGSHIP PRODUCT
Often times, internal marketers are hired relatively late in the start-up recruiting cycle. Most startups (especially Israeli ones) are technology driven.
N.B. The majority of end users have no interest in technology.
While there is always an urgency to get the product to market, think of your brand as a parallel or even flagship product.That means it needs to be:
• actively managed• have a development roadmap • be discussed regularly at senior management level• be someone’s key responsibility • aware of other competing brands
WHATS GOOD FOR YOUR PRODUCT...IS GOOD FOR YOUR BRAND
SEVEN. USER EXPERIENCE IS BRAND EXPERIENCE
In today’s digital, always on world, the user’s experience of your product is synonymous with the brand experience of your company. Give your users something to celebrate and talk about:
• aim for simplicity • believe that less can be more• invest in your product’s user interface and usability• enable some level of personalization• let the user experience design lead the technology• Involve design thinking earlier on in the process
EIGHT. CREATE A BRAND BUDGET
Brand building takes time, a rich skill set and the development of smart, relevant content to touch and inspire your audience.You should budget for:
• a brand strategy• a brand identity• technical and or product marketing writing• SEO / SEM• corporate / product social media content development• public relations
NINE. BRAND BUILDING IS A TEAM SPORT
Brands are built by teams not individuals. In most cases, the domain expertise resides with you, the company, while the brand expertise is delivered through an ongoing agency relationship, built over time.
• spend time with your agency, learn to trust them• share your ideas but be open to others• provide as much information as you can• be focused but patient• enjoy the process, learn from it, develop your brand skills
TEN. A BRAND IS A LIVING ENTITY
Tom Peters, the famous marketing guru and bestselling author said “you cannot not communicate”. So remember:
• your brand is being built, with or without you• you can chose to shape perception or let it be shaped• your brand makes it “easy to tell and easy to sell”• Its simplifies complexity but is in itself complex• It makes things clear to those inside your company and
outside• Brands need to be nurtured in order to grow strong and
stay relevant. Spend a little time each day, thinking about how to improve and communicate yours!
RESOURCES / INSPIRATION
http://www.fastcompany.com/resources/marketing/post/120606.html?page=0%2C0Serial entrepreneur_startup branding
Sun startup camp_branding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7P-XQetSEg
Sun startup camp_messaging / positioning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4zJQ8OPjM&NR=1
Net Promoter Score_NPS http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/21/smallbusiness/customers_sell_for_you.fsb/index.htm
Tom Peters http://www.tompeters.com
Brand channel http://www.brandchannel.com
