Tech Biz Tips: Branding for Tech Entrepreneurs

Successful tech entrepreneurs have learned the value of their brand. Often, brands like Apple, Google, Yahoo, and many others came from entrepreneurs thinking about something local to their start-up location or just their wild imagination.

For example, the Apple brand and logo came from an apple orchard close to where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak lived while developing the first personal computer prototypes. Kevin Plank, the founder of “Under Armour”, was a college football player unhappy with sweat-saturated underwear. So he searched for material that was lighter, cooler, and dryer, and came up with “athletic underwear” now known as Under Armour.

Whatever it is it has to be short, unique, and distinctive. Rolex, Tide, Crest, Nike, Sony, Aleve, Coors, Dell, Google, Ford, Lexus, Hertz, Visa, etc. It’s even better if the brand name can easily be identified with a product or service, like Home Depot, Staples, Miller Lite, Fedex, Band-Aid, Jell-O, Pampers, Saran Wrap, Swiffer, etc.

Consumers relate to brands and a brand occupies a share of a customers mind. Whether it is water, tooth paste, or aspirin, most people have a preference for one brand or another – Crest or Colgate. Whole Foods (natural food) versus ShopRite (cheapest).

The sooner entrepreneurs realize the critical importance of building brand equity through basic marketing techniques, the more successful they will be. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs, and especially tech entrepreneurs, are focused on developing and selling their solutions , and are not focused on marketing and brand building.

It’s a fact that many entrepreneurs have never taken a business course. Consequently, the basics of marketing are not part of the typical entrepreneurial skill set. Fortunately, the explanation of marketing fundamentals and brand building is available in greater and greater detail these days on the internet.