Questions about creating an image for your company or yourself. Specifically, how the business is represented to other people and other businesses.
18
votes
7answers
2k views
Referring to one-man-company: use “we” or “I”?
I'd be interested in your experience or examples of how "one-person-companies" refer to themselves: as "we" or "I".
Currently, my site copy uses "we/us" (e.g. "contact us"), but there's really only ...
7
votes
9answers
1k views
How Important Is Branding For a Startup? Should I Bring In Outside Help?
How important is branding for early stage startups?
Within this question, there is some interesting discussion on how a brand can evolve based on everything you do - e.g. your name, website, online ...
6
votes
5answers
271 views
Legality of building a brand based on color association?
I'd like to create a brand, naturally, but I have a problem.
You see, there are only so many colors in the world and the number of colors has not changed much since the 1980s, when software ...
6
votes
4answers
220 views
How do you monitor Internet perceptions of your company?
I'd like to know how the world perceives our company and products. (One reasonable response to this question is: "Don't pay any attention, just do good things." However, let's suppose I want to watch ...
5
votes
4answers
587 views
What are the must-have books on brand development?
There are books for every topic which most in the field consider definitive or must-haves. For instance, for usability and application design, Designing the Obvious, Don't Meke Me Think, and The ...
5
votes
7answers
431 views
Do I need a company website or just product websites?
I'm a husband and father and have a full time job. I'm developing a few web apps in my very little bit of spare time. I'm pretty sure I should have a website dedicated to each app. I want to keep each ...
5
votes
5answers
432 views
Branding vs. domain name availability… and the consequences to creative solutions?
With the introduction of more versatile domain names, people have been utilizing subdomains and clever suffixes to create more unique domains (ie. del.icio.us.)
I've also come across others that use ...
5
votes
7answers
294 views
Managing multiple online personas
I currently own a resume writing business, but am also starting up a separate B2B copywriting business as well as another online marketing site. All of these ventures have very different customers, ...
5
votes
3answers
398 views
How do you come up with a decent .com domain name?
It seems every common word or short sequence is owned or parked. Does anyone have any advice for the best way to come up with a decent .com domain name?
We are going to launch an HTML5, cloud hosted ...
5
votes
6answers
338 views
Should we tag our new website as 'beta'?
What does tagging your new website as 'beta' say to your potential customers. We intend a 'soft' launch to our website and are not planning any significant marketing at this period. We intend to use ...
4
votes
7answers
926 views
Non .Com Domains - Does it Really Affect Branding?
I was always under the impression that the domain extension didn't matter (as long as it was .com, .net, or .org). I have always tried to market the extension in my brand if it wasn't .com, and I ...
4
votes
9answers
314 views
Crowdsourced logo and web design work. Recent experiences? Site you'd recommend?
I'm at a fairly established startup, and we need our logo and look/feel overhauled. I'm thinking about using a crowdsourced design site, along the lines of 99designs. Lots of similar sites now exist. ...
4
votes
9answers
302 views
Is there any definitive list of reasons why you should always go with .com?
Is being a non '.com' website create friction amongst a set of internet users?
Is being a .com really easier to remember?
4
votes
3answers
486 views
tips for choosing a pen name for business
I want to get a pen name for myself that I can also use for my startup. I will use the pen name as my personal brand and build a blog based on it.
So basically my target is to get a strong pen name ...
4
votes
3answers
177 views
Advice on protecting a business name in the US
There is plenty of material here on when to incorporate in the US for tax or other business reasons, for example:
When to set up the LLC
Worth it to incorporate
When does it make sense to ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Umbrella branding Vs Individual branding
What are the benefits/disadvantages/difficulties of umbrella branding, i.e.,
"overarching brand used across multiple related products" (wiki)
vs individual branding.
We are looking for a ...
3
votes
2answers
623 views
Personal Branding: Better to use your full name or a nickname?
I have read a lot of questions asking if it is better to use their name or their business name on their twitter/facebook/youtube accounts and so on. The answer was it is better to separate those, use ...
3
votes
5answers
150 views
Freelancing - Naming Advice?
I do web development and graphic design as a hobby; I'm an enthusiast that's been immersed in these communities for more than 5 years. Recently I've been doing more serious work in these fields. I've ...
3
votes
3answers
185 views
Should company A have different social network identities for each service/website?
Let's say company A produces various online services that fill different needs. Do you think they should have a separate Twitter/Facebook fan page for each service? Or should there just be one main ...
3
votes
5answers
262 views
For Branding, should I create my logo first, or do the logo as part of the website design?
I am about to start the branding process of one of our products. There is an interest among the stakeholders for this product to have a separate identity, and they will pay for it. My question, is, ...
3
votes
3answers
128 views
How to successfully use a LinkedIn company page?
I created a LinkedIn company page a while back, but never did anything with it. Now I’m considering spending a little bit of time trying to use the company page to create brand awareness and ...
3
votes
3answers
232 views
Will social media take over traditional means of marketing?
With the increasing number of social media websites, and businesses all over the world using social media for promoting and branding their products, will this over take the traditional way of ...
3
votes
1answer
68 views
What would be the drawbacks of this OEM model?
It is time for you to play the devils advocate.
We have created some software, which is conceptually similar to Excel, in that it is multipurpose and useful in a multitude of domains. Let's say that ...
3
votes
6answers
275 views
What is the most cost effective way to create a name for my food product?
I have an energy bar that I'm taking to market now and I want a strong name/brand for it. My product is very strong. I've been eating my bars for over 7 years now and recently it has received ...
3
votes
3answers
191 views
Do I have to have the company type in the name?
I'm creating a new startup in DC and corporating as an LLC. Do I need to have Company Name, LLC or am I free to name it just Company Name?
2
votes
6answers
508 views
Should a slogan imply my target market?
I was thinking of including the word "business" in a slogan for a new service but I was wrestling whether or not this is really necessary. I say business because that's the target market I'd like to ...
2
votes
8answers
551 views
Domain name starting with “get”
What do you think of domains that have the word "get" before the actual product name, just like getclicky.com or the domains used by 37 Signals products (basecamphq.com, campfirenow.com)?
Does it ...
2
votes
3answers
218 views
Semicolon in company name?
I have a great idea for a company name, but it requires the semicolon character ; in order to work. Do you think it would be possible to have a semicolon in the company name? I know dotcom-companies ...
2
votes
4answers
128 views
Can I have different co founders on different parts of the company?
I want to launch different web services which have different co founders under one company, And still keep them separated from each other? for example should one of the apps not do so well I don't ...
2
votes
2answers
157 views
What is the best branding strategy?
I want to have my brand strategy in place when I finally launch my startup. I'm not sure what the best strategy is for a multiple product brand. I see some brands like 37signals have a different ...
2
votes
5answers
484 views
Branding Problem as a iPhone developer?
Here's the facts:
I'm wanting to start a iPhone business and I currently have an awesome name for the business and a registered domain name but I'm unable to register as a business with the state ...
2
votes
2answers
127 views
Where do you go for naming resources/ help?
We are working on a site which will basically be an event directory/ aggregator for tech and business events, conferences, workshops, etc.
Focus on tech events...
We don't have the money to hire a ...
2
votes
3answers
810 views
Logo size on Website for Branding
I am currently designing the website for a new startup. I have 2 options (so far) for the size of the logo.
Put it in the same spot as the "StackExchange" dropdown at the top of this page. It ...
2
votes
3answers
99 views
Launching a team collaboration web-based software: questions about its name
We are about to launch a product similar to Basecamp, Asana and Podio (hopefully not too similar).
It is a team collaboration web-based software targetting small and medium businesses.
We have been ...
2
votes
2answers
306 views
What is the best way to increase brand awareness when you have no physical building?
I have the most experienced and talented people (120 instructors making up 20 MLB teams) for teaching baseball in Minnesota but no one knows because I don't have a building (overhead). How do I get ...
2
votes
2answers
115 views
How do I develop my personal brand with two unrelated topics?
I have a full time job and career but I also have a side business developing desktop and web apps. There is very little overlap between my career and my side business. I have been using my personal ...
2
votes
2answers
174 views
Using brand logos for polls on my website?
I make some polls on my website, like :
What do you prefer Ford Explorer or Toyota 4Runner?
Is such a poll allowed without explicit permission of Toyota and Ford?
Next step:
Can I use their ...
2
votes
2answers
450 views
Business brand vs Product brand
I'm starting out building my business and plan on only ever having one product. I'm wanting input on the branding of my business and of my product. I see two ways forward. One I brand my business ...
2
votes
1answer
113 views
Manage Business Name while keeping Personal Brand
I am going to start doing freelance web development starting in the next couple of months, but on the side I a going to work on some software to put forth in a SaaS model. I would like to do ...
2
votes
1answer
166 views
Can I use a derivative of a trademarked name in my product title?
For example, say I develop a piece of software that helps eBay users. Can I call this software 'Ebayer Helper' (note 'ebayer' not 'ebay') or are there potential legal repercussions?
2
votes
3answers
145 views
Is it unprofessional to brand your self using your surname and jr (junior)?
I would like to know your thoughts about my question/problem. I care a lot about online presence and I want to brand myself this period for some auditions and interviews.My surname in my country is ...
1
vote
4answers
206 views
Why are some companies admired?
What is it that makes some companies admired and others not?
Which companies do you admire and for what reasons? (keep it as objective as possible - no flame war)
1
vote
2answers
139 views
Why is this fever of getting followers on twitter?
My twitter account is followed by hundreds of proposing me to return following, to get software for and learn techniques for getting thousands of followers.
But why?
I personally read most of all ...
1
vote
2answers
118 views
Should I use my company or website logo on my business card
I have a start-up company and currently working and promoting one website. Should I use the logo of the website or the logo of the company on my business card when I approach corporate clients to ...
1
vote
3answers
89 views
Which is the best naming strategy scenario to follow for our startup?
a colleagues and I are trying to find the most appropriate name for our startup, is about software consulting for small companies. We already have established a small company that we deal with web ...
1
vote
1answer
65 views
Which business domain to forward to?
Question:
Should I forward my business website to my easier to remember .co or my longer .com?
I have two domain names, one of which I was going to forward to my longer .com one. Except when I ...
1
vote
4answers
109 views
Does creatively naming a product make it look inferior?
I have developed a product and did a basic search for domain names, and to get the domain name I want I will need to more creatively name my product. Does this creative naming turn off some customers ...
1
vote
4answers
665 views
Reliability of .me TLD
I would like to start a website with the .me TLD and this domain name should be the brand name as well.
But as all .yu domains have been deleted, I'm a bit cautious.
Is it safe to register a .me ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
New brand under a DBA for a separate division in the company
We have a new web-based application that is due to launch towards the end of the summer. It has its own domain name, of course, but is really not related to the core of the business or our current ...
1
vote
1answer
183 views
A Co-Branded website?
Our start-up is not yet launched but has been proposed to make a co-branded website with a big player on the market, where both parties would be presented equally through a number of ads and links to ...
