BrandingWire has been quiescent for a while. For those of you not familiar with BrandingWire, it’s a joint venture of a number of bloggers, commenting on various branding challenges presented to us by our “studio audience.”
Originally, the BrandingWire posse took on one branding challenge per month, but we found that our readership was not expanding into the realms we hoped for, and that a clear business purpose wasn’t being fulfilled. Nonetheless, the BW concept is a valuable one, and we’ve remained open to taking on the occasional challenge.
And so, now we have one, via a contact of Martin Jelsema (one of the original BrandingWire posse members). Here is the business need; all original BW members are welcome to post their responses and advice, AND any other branding bloggers who wish to post some input on their blogs can also participate (see below for details).
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The challenge (and this, btw, is an excellent overview/brief format):
I’m looking for a business name, tagline, and logo.
DESCRIPTION
I will offer bookkeeping services to online retailers.
UNIQUENESS
My niche is online retailers.
I offer relief for the e-tailer by removing the burden of financial anxiety.
I can increase cash flow to the e-tailer by managing their money.
TARGET MARKET
Online retailers/ e-tailers/ ecommerce store owners
Sole proprieters
Running their own independent sites – not on eBay, Amazon, or Squidoo for example
Both startups and established businesses
MARKET SEGMENTS
Startup e-tailers
Established e-tailers
Sole proprietors
“S” Corporations
LLCs
MAJOR GOAL
Fifteen clients at $30 per hour averaging 8 hours per month per client, equals $3,600 gross earnings. First, this will allow me to work from home. Second, this will allow for a 30 hour work week, which will leave me the time I need to get my own online retail store up and running.
BRAND OWNER
I am married for 8 years, no children, and ambitiously desire to leave my current job as a computer drafter at an engineering firm to run my own online retail store. In order to start my store off on the right foot and guarantee (as best one can) success, I am detouring into bookkeeping for other online retailers. My plan is to learn the business from them, inside and out, by managing their finances. Over the next two weeks (June 28-July 9, 2008) I will be taking a crash course in bookkeeping for small businesses. By August 1st I plan to have three clients, and add one new client per week until I have 15 total clients. So, by Thanksgiving week I will have 15 clients and will be able to leave my job in time for Christmas.
CONSIDERED BUSINESS NAMES
Ebundance
Abundance Bookkeeping
Flowbundance
Probundance
Accounts Doable
Special Ledger
Accounting Assets
Essets
CONSIDERED TAGLINES
*(note: online retailer, e-tailer, and ecommerce store owner may be interchanged)
Accounting for the online retailer
Carrying the online retailer’s accounting burden
Relief from accounting
Relief for the online retailer
Relax, I’m your CFO.
Relax, I’m your bookkeeper
Profit and growth specialist for online retailers
I wear the accounting hat.
Relax. I know what to do.
You make the money. I’ll track it.
I’ll do the “gross” work. (Accounts Doable)
Doing the “gross” work for the online retailer (Accounts Doable)
Making a statement for online retailers
Knowing what to do for the online retailer (Accounts Doable)
Ecommerce profit through bookkeeping
Profit through bookkeeping for online retailers
Anxiety management for online retailers
Helping online retailers plan and manage cash flow (Martin’s idea)
Helping online retailers manage their cash flow so they can survive the first five years (Martin’s idea)
You have more than you know
LOGO IDEAS
Pinecone (you have more than you know)
Iceberg, showing above and below waterline (you have more than you know)
Bean or Jelly Bean (I’m a “bean counter”
Hat (as in, I wear the accounting hat)
Coin (not really a coin, but a reference to a coin shape)
Pill (like a two color capsule, for getting rid of anxiety)
COLOR IDEAS
Deloitte blue
Green to match that blue
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OK, pondering this outline – what are your questions related to this potential brand? Your suggestions and advice? Your creative ideas?
Write up a post on your blog, and leave a comment on this post with the URL (you may want to use tinyurl.com and is.gd or similar in order to shrink the URL before posting). If you are a member of the BrandingWire posse, your post will be pre-approved. If your are a branding/marketing blogger and you’d like to join in the fun (and show your creativity), we’ll give your post a look first to make sure we’re providing value before approving the comment. Self-promotional SPAM will be filtered out, of course, but thoughtful and helpful posts will be featured. See prior BrandingWire challenges on this site to get an idea of how we comment on these challenges.
It’s summer – let’s fire up the Wire again and see what we come up with!
Right off the top, I’ll jump in on the colour issue. Don’t just follow the leader with regard to your colour. Choose from a strategy of differentiation. Choosing Deloitte blue flatters Deloitte but does nothing to establish yourself as a powerful brand.
For a name I’d suggest “Numbers”. It’d different and easy to remember. It drives from the fact that I and many others are not “Numbers” people – but I admire those that are.
I’d wait on a tagline, to see where this discussion goes and see from there. But, essentially I’d say don’t get too clever and just state what you do.
That’s my early morning thoughts for now.
Ed
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How is your business different from your competitors?
Like many – or should I say most – entrepreneurs, our bookkeeper friend has jumped the gun. He immediately wants a name, logo and tagline but has given no thought to how he will differentiate his business from his competition.
Ask yourself, is the market real?
I see no indication that our friend has determined whether there’s a real market for this type of service. He has not specified the geography of his business, but I assume he’s offering this service over the Internet to e-retailers no matter their location within the U.S.. Alternatively, he may be attempting to establish relationships with e-retailers he can service face-to-face locally.
I would be surprised if even the most dedicated e-commerce retailer would look to the web for accounting/bookkeeping help. Just like legal counsel, I suspect a trusted accountant is one with whom you want a personal and local relationship. (There were no web searches for “e-commerce accounting” or “e-commerce accountant” according to Word Tracker).
But let’s assume there is a market, and it’s one that a sharp person with a “crash course” education in bookkeeping can serve.
How do you differentiate that business?
You start by finding something potential clients want that competitors aren’t providing. At least competitors aren’t promoting and making their differentiating strategy. That’s why I suggested concentrating on the one thing that worries every entrepreneur: cash flow.
If your business can establish and promote systems and procedures that enable a small business to weather the storms of poor months, if you can offer solutions and advice that will help them become more financially stable, you will certainly differentiate your service from ordinary bookkeepers. If this is beyond your area of expertise, then find another way to make your service unique and valuable while also being different from your competitors. (Use the search box in the upper right for “differentiation” to see suggestions about this important subject.). But before using any differentiating concept in your promotions, be sure you can deliver.
So what about a name, logo and tagline?
They should evolve from the differentiation (positioning) strategy. The name is particularly important in this branding approach. It should be based on these criteria:
Allude to the differentiating concept without being descriptive or business-defining.
Be unique and fresh.
Be short.
Be memorable.
With the perfect name, a tagline shouldn’t be needed, but that’s seldom the case. The tagline, if needed, should also arise from the positioning strategy and should re-enforce the name.
A logo needn’t be a big deal for a small service provider. The name rendered in a unique but legible typeface, perhaps with some unique kerning or letter combinations, should do the trick. You may wish to “box” or reverse the type into a solid background as well. Choose a color you like and then use it consistently. If you decide on an icon to accompany the signature treatment, be sure it’s not just another accounting cliché because that’s the way your competitors think.
So, best of luck entering a business where the basic service is identical to you competitors, where most new business comes from referrals, and you’ll find many not believing they require the services you offer.
Ed and Martin, thank you for your comments.
I would love to hear from the rest of the “posse”.
Regarding differentiation…
The simple idea that separates me from my competitors is that I specialize in the unique needs of online-only physical product sellers. I am therefore positioned as the first in this category and will become a specialist for ecommerce retailers.
Is the market real?
It has become common knowledge that the ecommerce industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Many of these new companies are sole proprietors who are starting up in their garages. I want to find them at the exact point when they are successful enough to move from part-time garage to full-time business. How will I do this? I don’t know yet, but I do know that I’ll begin my own marketing by simply telling everyone I know that I can do bookkeeping for Internet businesses.
I would prefer to begin servicing customers I can meet with locally (Dallas, TX area), but the only geographic limitation I will have is inside the United States.
I love the idea of focusing on the problem of cash flow. It’s a major concern of mine right now! Part of my crash course in bookkeeping includes learning how to analyze the financial statements I will create from the basic record keeping. The only functional difference between a bookkeeper and a CPA is that a CPA can conduct an independent audit. Everything else between those two roles is a matter of education. I have narrowed my focus to online retail, and I plan on learning everything I can regarding this special niche. Of course, I will not begin advertising myself as an expert, but I can identify myself as a specialist, and learn as I go. By joining the American Institute for Professional Bookkeepers I will have access to the Member AnswerLine, which can help me anytime I need with a quick phone call.
On to the name, logo and tagline…
“ebundance”
It’s unique. Maybe the e- prefix is not so fresh anymore, but it sure hits my niche market right on.
It’s short at one world.
I’m not sure it is memorable. How do I test this? “Abundance” is a real word, and the e- is a common prefix, so it’s not a stretch to think people will recognize the company name without becoming confused.
It’s not perfect, so I’ll need a tagline. Here are my favorites. What do you think?
*helping e-tailers plan and manage cash flow
*helping e-tailers boost their power over profits
*improving the e-tailer’s power over profits
*maximizing the e-tailer’s power over profits
*optimizing the e-tailer’s power over profits
*extending the e-tailer’s power beyond profits
*increasing the e-tailer’s power beyond profits
*extending the e-tailer’s control over cash flow
*improving the e-tailer’s control over cash flow
*increasing the e-tailer’s control over cash flow
*supporting the e-tailer’s control over cash flow
Questions about these taglines: Should I be “helping” or doing an action (like optimizing) for the e-tailer?
I can give them power over their profits or control over their cash flow, but power just sounds more, well, powerful.
I really appreciate your criticism. You are making me think.
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