Julia Raven asked:


You know how the old saying goes, ‘you get what you pay for’. It’s true, you get what you pay for. This rule applies to anything you spend your money on, no matter how big or small it is. When it comes to business, your main asset, which is your credibility is on the line. Since your credibility is at risk here, you should never hesitate to spend on the best products and services, which will benefit your business. Of course this does not mean you should spend more than your budget can handle.

The main objective of any business is survival, and in order to survive a business has to grow. The key to business growth is branding. The easiest and fastest way to grow a business is to create a brand name and better yet a business logo, which people will easily remember. A great example of superior name and logo branding is google. It’s rare finding someone who does not recognize the multicolored google logo.

Choosing an easy to remember name is the first part in branding yourself as a professional. Even more importantly you got to choose a logo to match the name. Getting a professional logo designed is one of the areas where you want to look at spending a good amount of money. Getting the right designer to do the right logo for your purpose can be expensive, but this should be considered as an investment in your companies future. The right designer does not always come cheap and you should be prepared for that.

The earlier you begin branding your company with a logo, the better chance you have of forming a highly recognized and successful cooperation in future. So the earlier you make such an investment the better. The reason why all of the big corporate giants spend huge amounts of money on designing a logo, is because they know that people’s minds work with images better. Having someone remember a picture is far easier than getting them to remember a few lines of writing. Now that you know this take advantage of it. Sooner or later you will beat your competition in your market area, and they won’t even know it.

We live in a branded world, if you ask someone what they would rather have a cheap leather bag or an expensive Gucci leather bag, you will be surprised that most people will go for the expensive one, not knowing that both bags are the exact same, the only difference being is that one does not have the name ‘Gucci’. The sooner you take action and start your campaign of branding, the faster you will be on your way to a highly valued and sought after business.



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Nazeer Daud asked:


Developing a cool business brand isn’t as easy as you would think. You can throw money at some problems, and they’ll get fixed, but branding is different. You have to think outside the box, and be innovative, if you want to build a brand that’ll stick. In this article we take a peak at businesses that have managed to build the best brands, and the strategies they have used to make their branding happen.

Google

Google’s spent approximately zero dollars on traditional media buying. You won’t see their adverts in the middle of Coronation Street, and nor will you find their adverts in page six of the Guardian. Google’s growth comes from grassroots support and public relations, and that helps to mould their branding efforts for their business. There are countless other examples of companies that have succeeded without spending a penny on media. Many people would argue that Google’s strong brand comes from having great products and being willing to buck the trend with the way they run their business.

Allen & Company

Allen & Company is an investment bank with less than one hundred staff. They are known for shopping some of the web’s hottest start-ups and getting big bucks for their effort. However, Allen & Co’s approach to branding is slightly different than most. They don’t have a website, they don’t issue press releases and you won’t find their adverts anywhere either.

However, they have an excellent track-record for doing deals, and are often mentioned in the press when associated with the transactions they have participated in. Anyone looking for an investment bank to help them sell their internet business is likely to give Allen & Co a call. Not because they have came across their website, or because they seen their advert, but because they know they’re a player that can get things done. An example of branding yourself as a business that’s too cool to advertise.

Burberry

Burberry is a high-end fashion label with a tartan print that was associated with celebrity and prestigious – at one point at least. The print was worn by celebrities in the public eye, and this in-turn helped to drive mass-market appeal. Their approach to branding was to focus on social proof.

However, as the brand managed to gain more and more market-share, this – for some people – killed the very essence of the brand. It was no longer for the elite. Some would say the success of Burberry has meant the death of the branding they worked hard to build. Others would say that it has catalysed its transformation into an accessible high street business.

Apple

Apple, to some people, is seen as they number two to Microsoft. However, unlike Microsoft, Apple customers are extremely loyal followers who are often willing to pay more to be associated with the brand. Apple prides itself on innovation, and often claims to be the first company to come up with an idea that others will follow. Apple, like Google, prefers to focus on products and let their customers and the press do their marketing for them. Apple also understands that product design forms an important role in how their business is perceived.



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Henriette Martel asked:


As prices have never been so low, you may consider buying multiple domain names as a cost-effective option to drive more traffic to your website.

When it comes to choosing a domain name, there are two schools of thought. You can either elect to register a domain name based on

1- a new or existing brand name e.g. business name, trademark, product brand name or

2- one or more keywords that you perceive will help your target market to find you.

Both methods have their pro’s and con’s.

(For this article, to avoid filter penalties, my domain name examples will start with a Capital letter and end with /.)

Domain name based on BRAND

The web is populated with unusual and recognised domain names e.g. Google/, Amazon/ and Yahoo/. Naming your domain using a new or existing brand name can be a powerful and rewarding long-term strategy. Developing a brand name from anonymity to stardom is any marketer’s goal.

Pro’s

A branded domain name may

- Attract attention for its originality and for being catchy e.g. Yahoo/ or Dogpile/.

- Stand out from competition e.g. compare Google/ with Searchengine/, Searchengines/ and Bestsearchengine/. Which one stands out? Sorry, no price for this easy answer.

- Facilitate direct search. Repeat visitors can guess your name and type it in the address bar or location field and find you directly, bypassing competitors.

- Encourage brand recognition. Each time people are exposed to your domain name, it reinforces your brand.

- Increase credibility and loyalty. In general, people prefer to be associated with a brand name rather than a generic name. If price is not a consideration, wouldn’t you prefer buying Chanel branded sunglasses from Chanel/, Eyesave/ or Sunglassesportal/?

- Promote viral marketing. It is easier to refer someone to a domain name that you can remember and spell without difficulty.

- Provide flexibility. Your domain name can be used on business cards and offline promotions.

- Protect your intellectual property. Get in first before someone names their domain with your product brand, business name or title of your book.

Con’s (for new brands only)

A domain name using an established brand name may not encounter the problems below. A domain name based on a new brand may:

- Be difficult to choose. Selecting a name to convey instantly business core values and benefits of website is a very difficult task.

- Need time, money and effort to break through the online noise and be recognised.

- Necessitate a strong unique selling proposition.

- Require an arsenal of internet marketing tactics e.g. linkage strategies and search engine optimisation to improve the search engine ranking.

Domain name based on KEYWORDS

Keywords are the words that web users enter in the search box of the search engine to retrieve information on a specific subject.

The current trend is for web searchers to enter a string of keywords or keyword phrase rather than single keywords e.g. a person may look for ‘free family tree’, ‘decision tree software’, ‘artificial Christmas tree’ instead of ‘tree. This practice provides less search engine results but of better quality. Similarly, website owners are creating generic domain names made of a string of keywords to reach their target audience e.g. Paylesscarrental/, Collectorcartraderonline/ and Carbuyingtips/.

Pro’s

On one hand, generic keywords domain names may:

- Generate instant results with drive-in traffic from search engines.

- Attract qualified prospects looking for your keywords.

- Communicate and position instantly your site’s benefits and core values e.g. Justfreestuff/, Best-home-mortagage-loan/, Indoorgardensupplies/.

- Improve search engine ranking. (The use of keywords in the domain name is a strategy which you cannot rely on to increase your search engine ranking: it is only a very small part of search engine optimisation.)

Con’s

On the other hand, generic keywords domain names may:

- Be perceived as boring, lacking in imagination and sometimes dubious.

- Require more effort to remember. This could lead to domain names being misspelled e.g. Barnesandnoble/ or Barneandnobles/ or placed in the wrong sequence e.g. Homefinancialservices/ or Financialhomeservices/. These common mistakes have prompted shrewd business people to piggy back on popular websites e.g. Ezinearticle/ benefits from spelling mistakes of customers from Ezinearticles/.

- Restrict the usage of the domain name. A long string of keywords does not look good on offline promotional material.

- Be wasted if you don’t choose your keywords carefully. It is important to research the words used by your customers and not rely on your assumptions. Jeff, a Printer, had optimised his site for ’self-publishing’ only to find that self-publishers were searching for printers using keyword ‘printing’.

The best of both worlds: consider complementary domain name strategies:

1. Create a short, easy to remember brand name using keywords e.g. Diabeticgourmet/, Netdoctor/ or Houseweb/.

2. Purchase a few domain names made up of keywords and have them pointing to a main branded domain name. This strategy requires you to buy an URL forwarding option when you purchase your domain name. A word of caution: if you overuse this tactic, Google may respond negatively to these ’sneaky redirects’.



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