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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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by Devon Thomas Treadwell
October - November 2009

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Is second chance right move for your company?

Think back to when you were starting your business. You were probably focused on developing your products and services, researching the market, looking for office space, and the thousands of other details that precede launching a company.

If you’re like many entrepreneurs, you may not have given enough consideration to the name of your company and/or product, its competitive positioning or how the brand is represented visually.

Unfortunately, it’s a common mistake, but one that has repercussions over the lifetime of your business.

Even after they’ve been in business a while, many business owners make the mistake of continuing to invest in a weak brand—particularly a weak brand name—because they believe they have earned “equity” in the name and they fear the expense of rebranding. But when a brand name is costing you customers, it’s better to cut your losses and reinvest in a more effective name.

Take this example: In its rush to get its new voicemail-to-e-mail transcription service launched, a mobile software company christened its brand Simulscribe—a name that severely hampered word-of-mouth sales. But after it changed the name to PhoneTag, sales from customer referrals tripled and daily signups rose 40 percent in six months, according to Inc. magazine.

It’s particularly helpful to have a strong brand during a market downturn, when you need every advantage you can get. A clear, compelling brand can add to customers’ perception of value and quality and help lift your company above the competition. Conversely, a weak brand makes it even tougher to succeed in a down economy by costing you potential customers at a time when every sale counts.

Signs to rebrand

Here are some signs that indicate you may need to rebrand:

1. You’re unable to trademark your name. Going to market with an unprotected name is like buying a house without a clear title. Own what’s yours. If your name is too generic to trademark, or worse, if it’s already trademarked by some other company, you need to rebrand.

2. You’re losing business to lower-priced competitors. Do customers perceive your offering as a commodity? Rebranding would enable you to develop a differentiated, focused positioning supported by a powerful name and brand identity.

3. You learn that potential customers have confused your business with another. This is bad. Not only are you not getting the business you could be, your marketing dollars may be sending customers to your competitors. Try testing your brand name’s potential for confusion by using it as a search term in Google. Do the top search results show competitors’ sites as well as your own? If so, your brand name is too similar to theirs. Let your competitors pay for their own marketing by making sure your brand name is completely unique in your industry.

4. People have to be exposed to your brand name many times before they remember it. A good brand name sticks after just a couple of repetitions. A powerful brand name earns a place in the memory bank with only one exposure.

5. You hardly ever hear anyone say, “I like your name.” Remember, no matter what industry you’re in, no matter who your target market is, you’re dealing with people, and their first reaction to a brand will be emotional, not rational. When your name connects emotionally, you’ll engage customers and have opportunities to support your offering with rational reasons to buy.

6. When strangers at an industry conference read the name of your company on your badge, they rarely ask you for more information about what you do. Your brand name should pique interest, not attempt to tell your entire story. A literal, descriptive name can be difficult to trademark, is often similar to competitors’ names and does not evoke a rich set of associations that help people connect to your brand. Suggest, don’t describe.

7. You’d like to launch a new product in a different category. Don’t fall into the line extension trap. Unless your new product is very closely linked to your current offering, you’re better off developing a new brand than creating a line extension. Protect your current brand perceptions while staking out new territory with a new brand.

8. Your brand name is limiting your business opportunities. New companies are often named after what they do, where they’re located or who they were founded by. This type of name is easy to outgrow. If your brand name no longer reflects your aspirations or desired competitive positioning, you need a new name.

When to rebrand

1. In tough economic times. A downturn is an excellent time to rebrand or launch a new brand, because most competitors will have cut their marketing budgets and reduced the visibility of their brands. A powerful new brand will garner even more attention now than in a prosperous economic climate, and you’ll be better positioned to compete when the recovery begins.

2. You’re growing and/or relocating. If circumstances require you to invest in new branded materials—signage for a new location, new brochures, business cards and letterhead with your new address, updated sales materials, etc.—it’s smart to create your new brand first.

3. At least nine months before your industry’s biggest trade show. Give yourself ample time for your rebranding project. It’s best to allow three months just to get to your new brand name—longer if you try to do the renaming yourself. Then be sure you have time to rebrand all your materials, including your trade show booth.

4. You can’t shake a negative image. Your brand has suffered from negative perceptions that you have been unable to reverse. First, fix the problems that contributed to these perceptions, then relaunch with a new brand as supporting evidence of real change.

5. You’ve received an influx of venture capital. Set aside a portion for the rebranding that will propel your advertising and marketing going forward. Then seek help from the pros.

Devon Thomas Treadwell (top) and John Stucker are principals at Pollywog, a Minneapolis branding agency: 612.326.4207; dttreadwell@pollywoginc.com;

www.pollywoginc.com