One of the biggest mistakes I've made when I founded Sampa was not having a clue about what "brand" and "positioning" are. It was worse than that because I thought I knew about it.
I just finished reading "Branding for Dummies". I know the "for Dummies" and "Idiot's Guide..." have a pretty bad reputation, but I actually love the series. This book has just been released and is quite up-to-date.
I finally can say that I understand the value of positioning, branding, naming and logo into a business.
A few key concepts (poorly described by me):
A brand is a promise;
Positioning is your space on the marketplace. If two companies have the exactly same positioning, they become commodities (not good);
Every time you deliver on that promise (to your customers) you re-enforce your brand;
Your customers define what your brand is, not you. You can influence it.
Your name/logo is what will make people be reminded of the promise you've made.
Now, this might sound obvious to a lot of people, but my life has been around lines of code, and, as a technologist I couldn't be farther away from marketing. The only common trait between technologists and marketers is "creativity".
So, if you are about to found your startup and you have a CS degree, you better read this book *before* you pick your company name, logo and brand image. Enlisting professional help is a good idea too (spare $30-50K for that).
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October, 2007
