A Branding Broadside

Guy Kawasaki says the biggest mistake startups make is not budgeting for marketing, because entrepreneurs tend to think the product will sell itself.

I see lots of folks not paying attention to branding, for the same reason: If the product is good enough, they think, it ought to open doors all by itself.

Here are three counterexamples from my own experience:

My client Artesys is rolling out nationally this coming week as a featured investment choice in retirement plans from OneAmerica Insurance. (Check out their new site from Atomicdust.) Could that have happened if the product was still called "Global Strategic Asset Allocation?"

Kimberly Schneider, The Manifestation Maven, knew it was time to get a real brand in 2009. She was starting a major expansion into television, radio and public speaking - and had just booked her coaching schedule solid. She knew in advance - unlike most entrepreneurs - a hodgepodge of homemade package designs wouldn't cut it when she was presenting to major media representatives.

TransFigure Total Health could have chosen to be just another mom and daughter selling a diet. But they're building a company that's changing people's lives, 40 days at a time.

In each case, they needed to do more than pass the four-second test. That's that test that asks if you're a legitimate businessperson:

• How smart are you?
• Do you have any money?
• Can I trust you?
• Do I like you?

They needed to create a real look and even a language all their own, a way their prospects and customers can identify them and, down the road, each other. They knew they needed to create a culture that would grow a following, that would build their businesses and grow their incomes.

Most of my clients know their new brands will bring them new levels of success and growth. They knew their new brands would ultimately make them more money.

As we got started, they were each excited about the process and the future. 

But once they had a real brand working for their businesses, I think they were genuinely surprised at how much more successful they felt.

They had a new level of confidence.

They weren't just business owners anymore. They were company presidents and CEOs. And the world started to treat them that way, too.