How to Select a Branding Solution

When brands work on their offerings they often take an inside-out approach. (1) Figure out the offering (2) Assess the competition  (3) Try to retrofit it into something customers want And then have long discussions about why folks aren’t buying…. When we work on positioning it’s the opposite: (1) Understand your customer’s needs (2) Assess the solutions they might consider (3) Find the areas of the offering that satisfy those needs and create separation from competitors When everything you do depends on creating alignment with your customers it makes sense to put it at the front of the line. It’s tricky though to know who the ideal target customer is. It’s about finding the best possible fit between their needs and your solution. To help with that you can use this simple rubric of questions (the “core need” here refers to the brand’s primary focus area): ⦿ Pain Intensity How much of a blocker is the core need for the target customer’s critical work functions if it isn’t resolved? ⦿ Pain Frequency How often does this core need repeat itself for the target customer over the span of a typical month / quarter?  ⦿ Value Alignment How well does the target customer’s core need align with the most valuable aspects of the brand’s offering? ⦿ Solution Awareness How much familiarity and depth of knowledge does the target customer have with possible solutions?  Score each one on a level of 1 to 3 and then add them up. The higher the score the better the alignment between the customer and the brand. (See the graphic for more details) Whether you’re debating between potential segments to focus on or just trying to find one that works, this gives you a way to tease apart the qualities you want to consider. This is key for getting in a customer-first mindset. And it’s absolutely essential for creating positioning that customers actually understand and remember.

Too often, we’re brought into RFPs by our partners, only to discover that the end users who authored the brief don’t yet have clarity on what they actually need. Without rapid prototyping, field testing, and iterative feedback loops, these RFPs default to catalog driven solutions. Products with limited configurability that fail to deliver a cohesive brand experience or drive measurable results. Speaking from experience, the better approach is to identify a handful of qualified vendors and pilot the product or solution internally, whether in a corporate office or mock store, before deploying to select locations for in-field testing against control stores. It’s essential that your partners are integrating the right tools and technologies to capture meaningful engagement data and actionable insights. Insights are the foundation for continuous improvement. In-market testing also requires a sufficient number of locations to produce reliable results. There is a real cost to doing this right. If you’re not allocating the necessary funds to test effectively, the entire effort risks being in vain. If your goal is innovation, work with a partner who can help you shape it. Engage a product design and innovation firm like Glass-Media early in the process. Don’t nickel and dime vendors into mediocrity. Instead, value engineer collaboratively, preserving quality and functionality while delivering a solution that actually meets your expectations.

Choosing a designer for a rebrand? ⬇️ Use these 5 checklists. ⬇️ (Based on my experiences in 100+ designer collabs It comes down to this.) 1 → Baseline skills 2 → Strategic approach 3 → Experience match 4 → Professional process 5 → Personality fit ⬇️ Let's break this down into 5 checklists.⬇️ 1. BASELINE SKILLS Do they know their stuff? A skilled designer: ✓ Can demonstrate how they use visual hierarchy to manage eyeballs ✓ Can explain why they chose specific colors, fonts, or imagery for any given project ✓ Can talk intelligently about how psychology impacts design ✓ Will tell YOU the best design approach for your rebrand, not the other way around 2. STRATEGIC APPROACH Are they trying to help you meet goals? A strategic partner: ✓ Wants at least a minimal brand strategy before beginning design ✓ Talks the language of “sales,” “authority,” and “recognition” — not just “palette,” “logo,” and “font” ✓ Puts their personal preferences aside to work on achieving your sales or branding goals 3. EXPERIENCE MATCH Is their experience a good fit for your needs? A good-match designer: ✓ May or may not have experience in your industry or vertical ✓ Can answer the question, “Who else have you helped with a problem/need/desire like mine?” ✓ Can answer the question “What have you done in the past that will be helpful when working on my project?” 4. PROFESSIONAL PROCESS Will they take all the steps you need them to take? A professional designer: ✓ Has a research method that covers YOU, your audience, and your competitors ✓ Can explain the design process in 3-5 steps ✓ Tells you what to expect, and when to expect it 5. PERSONALITY FIT Do they have the right personality for YOU? A good-fit designer: ✓ Answers your questions patiently + articulately ✓ Takes a leading role in conversations about branding ✓ Speaks positively about other people ✓ Makes you feel optimistic and confident (not worried or ashamed) ------ Hiya, I’m Chaya 👋 I talk about ➡️ brand strategy ➡️ brand names ➡️ copywriting 🔔 Ring the bell for more goodies like this

“I'm calling because we’re growing, and we need a new logo.” That’s what someone told me last week… I kid you not. Honestly, I enjoy these calls. They allow me to address a common misconception: Changing logos isn't always the answer at inflection points. After politely declining, I asked some questions: - I’m curious, why do you want to change the logo? - What makes you think that this is what you need? - Is there a strategy supporting this change? - Can you describe your growth? - What challenges or risks could prevent it? - What’s your marketing budget to support the growth? - Who are your customers and why they buy your product? - H… “Wait… Ok, ok. I see where you’re going. I didn’t think it through.” “Exactly,” I said. “Let me explain… You mistook me for a pharmacy, but I'm more like a doctor. And as your doctor, I can tell you this: You’re trying to buy a vitamin when you need a pain killer. What you need is more substantial.” Then, we agreed to schedule a serious discussion about it. Here’s my take: The Branding and Marketing sector is full of solutions to sell. And startups in a rush are bad buyers. Don’t be one. Forget about quick fixes for important matters. And your look and feel is important. It should emerge from a thorough process. That process is what you should be seeking. If you are at a turning point, whether to unstuck your business or to leverage momentum and accelerate growth… Find someone that can help you reflect on the bigger picture. Once you’ve nailed an overarching approach (aka ”a strategy”)… Then, and only then, you tackle the branding stuff. The logo is always the conclusion, not the question. - - - I’m Ezequiel Abramzon If you liked this post and want more → follow me → 🔔 I write about #brandstrategy for #startups so #entrepreneurship is more impactful, and for that you have to #beintentional Early-stage founder? Let’s put brand at the heart of your startup.