How to choose a name and corporate identity of your business

To sell a product, it is important to pay attention to everything: his appearance, feels that he is a buyer, your style of communication with the audience. This is the components of the brand, which experienced entrepreneurs think through carefully when developing the company's strategy.

If you have a team, involve her in all stages of the creation of the brand. This will help to come up with more ideas, and miss nothing.

We talk about how to approach the task to make a name and find a buyer.

1. Explore the market

Who are your competitors

first learnHow to Do a Competitive Analysis In 5 Simple Steps (Plus Free Template) competitors, their services and serve. So you will find a place in the market, understand, from whom to learn and how to stand out, to overtake all.

Step 1. Make a list of rivals

Turn to us from your industry who believe competitors.

Step 2. Divide into two groups

In a write current rivals, the other - the Giants, with whom want to compete in the future. For example, if you produce yogurt, enter the local dairies and international brands (eg, Danon, Valio, Ehrmann and others).

Step 3. Compare the points

Determine the depth of analysis themselves. Take the most common items or disassemble the wrong approach to pieces. The main thing - to find similarities and differences.

For example, compare the product price, packaging design, the attitude towards customers, a platform for advertising space sales, social networks, promote the values, mission, slogan, strengths and weaknesses.

Step 4. Take note that like it

Get inspired approach of the company to which you are equals. Avoid making those competitors who do not like you. Let's say you like one of the local producers. He makes yogurt made from natural ingredients, and you decide to compete with them on quality. Another company uses artificial additives and preservatives, and compete with the rest of cheapness. Do you think it's not suitable for yourself and do not follow suit.

Step 5. Find your niche

Schematically Draw your position in the market relative to the other participants. To do this, take two points on which you are comparing company in step 3, and put them on the axle. Try different combinations. For example, price / quality, traditional / modern, and others.

Who is your buyer

The idea for the business may be brilliant, but it does not matter if you do not understand what customers want. They may be diverse group with different needs and interests. Make portraitsHow to Create Marketing Personas in 4 Steps (With Free Template) at least three different people who may be interested in your product.

Step 1. Ask the right questions

The more detailed you describe clients, all the better. Replenish or reduce the list below to your discretion.

Note the items on the work, as they could not be better reflects the daily care of people. Age, interests and hobbies come in handy when choosing a tone of communication with customers and design.

• Age;
• floor;
• marital status;
• place of residence;
• salary;
• enemies: who or what is threatening your customers losing their jobs (technically advanced young, stern superiors);
• heroes to whom they are equal at work and in life;
• career goals;
• preferred drink;
• favorite movie;
• inspiring music;
• favorite books;
• Clothing worn by your customers;
• a travel method (car or public transport);
• interests and hobbies;
• haunted websites;
• political position;
• fears (personal and professional);
• Unfortunately (personal and professional);
• desires (what your customers are dreaming, as they want to look in the eyes of others);
• problems (difficulties faced at work and in life).

Answer the questions:

• Why do people apply to your company?
• How is your product different from others?
• How do people find out about you?
• What do they benefit from your product?
• That may prevent them from deciding to use your product?

Step 2. Talk to people

Your task - to find out about customers as much as possible. To begin, ask friends, relatives and friends who might be interested in your product. Carry polls in social networks and order research.

When you have formed a client base will be able to collect feedback by email, phone, online and in social networks. On the compilation of portraits will take time, and you will complement them throughout their careers.

Step 3. Combine data

Assemble a team and look among the responses received similar: general desires, hopes and concerns of people. Decide how many customers to create portraits. For example, your yogurt may like schoolgirls and female students, girls from 14 to 21 years, who follow the figure and want to eat; working youth from 21 to 35 years old in search of a useful snack; mothers buying products for children.

Spend brainstorm and fill in for each portrait's step 1, taking into account the responses of people. Give the name and save the profiles in the Google Doc or Excel.

2. Think strategy

Offering ideas, checkHow to Create a Powerful Brand Identity (A Step-by-Step Guide)Whether they are consistent with the expectations of buyers.

Step 1. Identify your target

What is your company aspires to become in the future, she wants to change the lives of consumers? The goal is designed to guide and inspire the team.

"We wanted to make people healthier and give a good mood every day."

Step 2. Describe the mission

The company helps people now? If the goal - it is the inspiration, the mission - this action.

"Our company makes dairy products made from natural ingredients, talks about proper nutrition and helps to maintain a healthy lifestyle. "

Step 3. Think about your values

How do you approach your work?

To understand on what a start, ask the team to name a few of the qualities that are associated with your company. For example:

openness

• Workshop where we produce yogurt, located behind a glass wall in our store. From time to time we spend on it a trip for everyone.
• Putting feedback online and in social networks, in order to improve our offer.

Caring for people

• We produce useful products, including diet, which improves the health of consumers.
• We give employees a decent wage, comfortable workplace and social package.

Environmentally friendly

• Implement new technologies to reduce the cost of natural resources.
• We take our packaging, and are renting it for processing.

Step 4. Choose a style of communication with customers

How to talk to your customers? As they want to be treated? What they sense of humor? How do they express themselves and they read?

For example, yogurt produce for the young women who follow the body shape and eating right. Such a company will choose the tone best friend and will call on social networks "breakfast like a queen" and "sometimes themselves something to indulge." yogurt maker for the whole family to address the audience on you and offer to give joyful moments close.

Step 5. Find your flavor

How are you different from the competition?

Remember the strengths and weaknesses of other companies. Those yogurt can be made only from the milk of local, seasonal fruits and berries, or come up with an unusual combination of flavors.

3. Choose a name

Oskar Hartmann, a serial entrepreneur and founder KupiVIP, CarPrice, Aktivo and FactoryMarket.com, highlights two types of items. Technically names describe services - for example, "kinopoisk" and "Cupid." Emotional turn to images and fantasies - such as dating Teamo (from the Spanish "I love you"). Both are good in their own way.

Step 1. Spend brainstorm

Repelled from goal, mission and values. Call as many words as possible that are associated with your business, and combine them in the sense of the group.

Step 2. Compare Hotel Deals

Choose the best titles, invented in the course of brainstorm. Oskar Hartmann advises create a chart and compare them point by point: sense, euphony, writing, originality, conciseness and durability. The latter is important in case someone will call the company "Volgograd yoghurt", and then wants to open up in other cities, or decide to produce more and glazed curds.

Add your own items. For example, if the word does not cause failure of association are not in tune with whether curses in other languages, if it is clear.

Step 3. Check to see if the name is free

Find out if the liked the name as a trade mark registered. If you accidentally steal someone else's idea, right holders will be able to apply for you in court.

You can also protect their name. Paid service, so if you are doing business in the first steps, it is better to wait and see how successful the strategy and image of your company.

How to register a trademark and to check whether the name of the freely read here.

Step 4. Find out whether the domain name is not available

To start the site, you will need to address, through which people will open your page in a browser. Check whether the domain is available for websites REG.RU, NIC.RU, WebNames, Go Daddy.

4. Develop a corporate identity

CommitHow to Create a Powerful Brand Identity (A Step-by-Step Guide) this business professionals. Designers will offer you different services and eventually create a brand book - a guide, which will include a description of your style and tips on how to use the individual elements. For example, how to place the logo on branded T-shirts and notebooks.

If you have a small budget, limit the most necessary set. For example, design logo, Packaging, corporate colors, fonts, icons for social networks.

Give the designer all your wishes. What more do you explain the strategy and vision of your style, so you get what you want is more likely. Remember that in the future should be kept in the same style all the promotional material, point of sale and profiles in social networks.

logo

With him begins the company's image. Before going to the designer to understand, how you present yourself logo. Try together with the team to outline its shape in pencil. The logo should be strong without any embellishment, in black and white.

Colors

Designers will offer you up to three main brand colors and up to five additional. When choosing colors, keep in mind that they may be associated with emotions.

Note the palette opponents to figure out how to stand out or, conversely, to imitate those whom you admire. Same colors chosen are often companies from the same industry. For example, blue logos in yoghurts and yoghurt products Fruttis, Danon, «Ermigurt". The red color of Netflix and YouTube. Blue - the Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype, «In contact with», Telegram.

fonts

If you are offered any font just because he is now in fashion, give up. Such trends are quickly becoming obsolete. It is better to take care that the headset was in harmony with the logo forms. Enough two or three different kinds.

Photo

Pick up shots in the same style and the same way they were treated.

drawings

Here, too, should not be raznostilitsy. Make sure that Pictures and combined with the rest of the decor.

Other

Pay attention to the design of other elements:

• icons;
• graphs and tablets;
• animation;
• video.

5. Explore again

GetEvery Question You Need to Ask Before Starting Your Rebrand feedback to correct errors and to hold rebranding, if necessary. Collect customer reviews. learn from employeesWhether their way of vision and strategy of your company and see if they have suggestions changed.