Naming your business can be the most excruciating aspect of brand-building - unless you’re prepared for it. Entrepreneurs are usually impatient and action-oriented, so when it comes to naming they might find themselves “settling” for a second-class name just so they can get on with the “important” matters of business-building.

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So what is a brand story? For a new business, it probably hinges on why the founders are gung ho about starting up. What caused the founders to think about a problem the company sets out to alleviate? Who are the founders and what makes them so passionate about the company’s vision and mission?

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We’ve gone through the process of creating a brand platform – check out the series starting with Branding for Bucks: what entrepreneurs should know – so now we’re ready to fashion the first externally oriented branding element, the brand promise.

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In previous post I’ve identified the “planks” in a branding platform, that base structure required to develop meaningful, consistent and relation-building brands. Just to summarize, I’ve listed the planks with links back to the original posts.

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There’s one last major element to the branding platform. Remember, the platform contains the basis for brand development and growth over time. And this last plank in the platform helps you focus on what’s important to stakeholders, especially prospects and customers.That element is mapping prospects by means of “touchpoints” with your brand.

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There’s one more plank in the branding platform I haven’t mentioned before that’s really important to a successful brand. It’s the human side of the equation.

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Three statements convey the essence of brand. The brand platform should contain your corporate vision statement, your mission statement and your value statement. If they do not already exist, here are some guidelines to help you develop them.

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Positioning is vital to a successful brand. It is the most important aspect of branding, and it’s also a major determinant of how the business or product will be developed. So ideally, positioning would be an integral part of the original business development plan.

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I believe that branding is part of the fundamental strategic groundwork that dictates your business plan. Several significant elements discussed in the business plan should be highlighted and made the basis of your brand platform.

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I’m assuming you’re just beginning to create a business or introduce a product. I’m also assuming you’re astute and have developed a business plan first.

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