Transcript

[00:00:00] being clear about what you want to represent as a company or a product team extends so much further than just the logo that you put on things and being clear about it can help you with a million decisions, large and small every day. Hello and welcome to product nuggets. I'm Thomas asshole. And today I want to talk about building identities for brands, companies, or products.

[00:00:35] I have to say, I used to be quite cynical about this. I thought it was a fairly superficial thing to do and not all that important, but over time, I really learned that if done, right, this can guide everything you do from strategy and product decisions to designs and much more. And exemplifying your values towards [00:01:00] your customers consistently will help you stand out and build trust with those you want to reach as well.

[00:01:06] So developing an entity is something that isn't done in one day or in one go it's a long journey and it takes time. But I want to address how I start from scratch when defining a new company or project or a team. I think it's important to do this fairly early on to guide anything you put in front of customers.

[00:01:27] I tend to start together with developing a technical MBP or a feasibility prototype, because like I said, everything that I put in front of people. I want that to be kind of consistent with what I'm trying to communicate, what I'm trying to represent. And so whenever I create anything that I intend to put out into the real world, That's when I think about these things and bit by bit, it grows into a more solid overall strategy.

[00:01:56] Following the steps. In this episode, you should have a few more tools to help [00:02:00] make decisions. Like how should you design a website or a product? What should packaging say? What the tagline of a social media campaign, where should you seek investment and how should you speak to your customers? And many more, all of these questions are answered a lot easier with a clear identity.

[00:02:17] I see that you're trying to represent in mind. I think about these tools all the time. When I think about what colors to choose, what features to build, how to advertise and yes, yes. Even how to design a logo or how to name a product or company. Eventually, you'll get to a point where you and your team have internalized these things and they then become sort of second nature.

[00:02:40] And part of your culture, the fabric that binds you all together. He talked to the chief marketing officer of a small tech company who told me that they have been thinking about a new offering. Their customers needed it, and they could build it. They'd validated those things, but it wasn't [00:03:00] aligned with their vision.

[00:03:01] So to focus on things that were, they move forward with something else. And soon after that, they reached their next milestone of 10,000 customers. It was a perfect example of how great values led teams stay true to their shared identity to deliver a coherent offering. This is an area not to just jump into and take off quickly.

[00:03:24] It requires a lot of thought and iteration, but. I'd like to help with a little guide to get results quickly. And just one word upfront. This journey does not start with a name or logo.

[00:03:42] First up, start talking about what you're already doing and why I like to do this in sort of free form texts, neither kind of manifesto or another technique called a written narrative. And based on a, maybe a lean business canvas or an idea, [00:04:00] you can write a manifesto of what you're trying to do and for who and why you can use the typical story arc of describing the current state, the problem who is experiencing this problem, how large is it?

[00:04:14] And then describe the outcomes you are planning to achieve at this point, stay away from describing exactly how you'll get there. Just stay outcomes focused. Then you can give a flavor of the future describing your vision of a world after your has had success. And that brings me to the next point of writing down.

[00:04:33] What is your vision and your mission? Now I appreciate that this is a contentious topic. These things have been discussed a lot on the internet, so I'll just share my. Humble opinion on and how I use them. So the way I think about a vision is the outcome. So what will the world look like once you've had success?

[00:04:55] So for example, I'm currently working on a podcasting analytics tool [00:05:00] and the statement here might sound something like. To drive a new era of podcasting led by independent creators. That's about as much as I need when it comes to division, I described the approach or goal of a company or product. So going back to my podcast example, this might be something like.

[00:05:20] To be the virtual assistant for independent podcasters who helps take care of everything needed to reach and engage listeners. So you can probably sense the difference here in terms of what is the outcome I'm trying to achieve for the world and what is the outcome that I'm trying to achieve for my company or product.

[00:05:39] Now, visions and missions are often very brief and it can sound quite generic as a result. So I like to use what I call the core belief to provide a little bit more clarity. The question here is how do I think the world needs to change? What's driving me towards my vision [00:06:00] and mission. So coming back to my podcast example, I'd say something like it should be as possible for small podcasts to succeed as it is for the big ones.

[00:06:10] Now, if you look at those three statements together, You're starting to get a much clearer idea of what I and my team are trying to achieve. And that's what you're shooting for. In addition to these three things, there's something else that I've found really useful. It's called the loneliness test. So this is a template with some blanks of a statement.

[00:06:35] And it basically goes like this. So blank is the only blank that blank. And as you fill in the blanks with your concept, it might result in the statement like this pudding. That's the name of the project is the only. Hosting independent podcast analytics tool that helps creators deeply understand as well as reach their audience.

[00:06:58] Now, for everybody, this statement will [00:07:00] sound completely different, but this is just to illustrate the fundamental template that you're following here. So blank is the only blank that blank. If you come up with a statement here that is true and that you can say with all sincerity, Then you're probably on the right track in terms of getting to something that is truly differentiated.

[00:07:21] So these are the first four things that are put into place, the vision mission, the core belief, and the only next statement.

[00:07:38] Fantastic. So now that we've got a manifesto or a written narrative, And there are four initial tools to define what it actually is. We're trying to achieve. We can start thinking about how we plan to get there. How is the above going to be represented in everything that we do? And there are a whole range of methods to do this, [00:08:00] but again, here are the ones that I like to use because they're very simple, straightforward, and can be done very rapidly.

[00:08:06] So first off, I'll go with three word association. Based on what you've written. How would you want others to describe your company or project? That could be one column of words and attributes. And then in contrast to that, what do you want them to not describe viewer your product ass? So making sure that you're not just using kind of generic terms that might apply to pretty much anything that you can come up with, but you want these like healthy dichotomies.

[00:08:35] You want to be able to clearly. Say, you know, it it's this versus that. And once I've got these two columns, I whittled them down to a smaller number. But I feel really confident about next up. I take these words that I came up with these attributes that I'm gunning for. And I think about examples of existing companies that represent these, those don't [00:09:00] need to be competitors.

[00:09:01] It could be any company you're just going for what they represent and think about who you feel closest aligned with. And don't say Apple at this point, try and be a little bit more thoughtful than that. Unless you really do your research on Apple and think about what was Apple we like in its first, you know, two or five years of existence that is maybe something more realistic that you can shoot for, but think about that.

[00:09:30] And that would try to, you know, do some research online, try to find companies and brands that. You weren't necessarily already familiar with. And at this point you can also involve friends and families and, you know, you show them the list of, to read said you came up with, and you can ask them which companies that you know, and that you love.

[00:09:49] Represent these attributes and that's how you get a list of sort of brand comparitors. You might call them. All right. And now that you have all your attributes [00:10:00] and a couple of companies that represent them, that is sort of like a little aid that you can use while you think about the next thing. Which is your principles.

[00:10:11] These are values. You want everything you do to embody. This is something that's typically more discovered once you've already gone some way. But it's always good to have a working draft and you can make it up based on what you already know. You want these to help you with decisions day to day. So make sure that they can answer questions, like, is this the right way to write an email?

[00:10:36] Or is this in line with our principles to develop this feature that we're thinking about? Again, don't try and come up with something generic. And crowd-pleasing somebody I respect said, build a brand that somebody hates. And I think this really describes this tension very well between you want to, you want to make sure that you stand for something that you represent something.

[00:10:59] [00:11:00] Specific. And if you do that well, that means that there's going to be a whole bunch of people that this vision doesn't appeal to. And that's fine because then you've, you know, that you've carved out something that is specific enough and that you can attach your company to great. Now this wasn't too hard, was it, you know, I have a full manifesto of what you stand for.

[00:11:25] A vision mission, a core belief, and only in a statement and principles you want everything you do to embody. Now, how do you use this? Your fundamental motivations values and principles are not the outcomes of a checkbox exercise. You forget about. They should be apparent in everything you do. And therefore they should always be top of mind and they help you work out what not to do, how to do it.

[00:11:53] And thereby give you greater focus and build a coherent image for your customers and your stakeholders and [00:12:00] doing that at every level. It is so powerful. So because of that, print them out, refer to them daily. As often as you can, in everything you do until eventually you will naturally internalize them and you will start to make decisions that are almost automatically aligned with these things.

[00:12:19] But of course you will still need frequent reminders. And also this is something that evolves over time. It's kind of like a design system in that way. If you've ever worked in one of those, these things I talk about are more discovered than they are defined. So check in again from time to time to see if you still believe that they are true for you or what it, what it is that you're working on, or if they need updating.

[00:12:45] I think that rebrands don't have to be huge periodic efforts. It can be a gradual transition with each element, adapting to changing needs over time. And similarly, these tools are talked about here are [00:13:00] not made to give you a single use answer, but to build a foundation and set you on the trajectory.

[00:13:09] Yeah. I hope you found these tips useful as always. I'd love to hear your feedback. Get in touch on Twitter at Thomas underscore SL. Or send me an email to hello@thomass.com. This podcast is produced by myself and the music is from blue dot sessions. Any opinions expressed are my own. Thank you for listening until next time.