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Does Your Brand Suck?

I believe that many businesses have brands that suck. I mean, suck away opportunities for sales and profits!

Let me explain.

First, there are many companies out there with brand names that only indicate they sell printing or promotional products. Names like, City Printing Company or Peoria Promotional Products, LLC. These names suggest the company only sells one product.

It would be hard for City Printing to convince customers they are serious about selling promotional products just as it would be equally hard for Peoria Promotional Products, LLC to get customers to think of their company for printing needs.

Second, there are limitations these types of names could put on your company’s future. Today you might be happy to limit your product offering, but product-specific names could potentially limit your opportunity to expand and differentiate your brand in the future.

Finally, and most important to keep in mind, companies that sell products will quote prices, while companies that sell solutions will name their price.

That’s why if your company name mentions products – it sucks. It literally sucks away opportunities for expanded sales and larger profits.

As an alternative, it’s far better to use names that include words like solutions, agency, ideas, images, or communications, for example. And, if you run out of ideas just use your initials! Heck, three initials are good enough for IBM, right!

As Steve Forbes says, “Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.”

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Read past articles in Greg’s Million Dollar Mindset at Promo Marketing Magazine

AboutGreg Muzzillo, Founder of Proforma

Greg Muzzillo started Proforma as an industry distributor in 1978. The company grew quickly and in the early 1980s Proforma was recognized for three consecutive years on Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastest growing companies in North America. In the late 1980’s Proforma introduced its membership program to enable distributors to retain their business ownership and independence, and to share in sales and marketing resources, purchasing power with industry suppliers, one back office including all billing, accounting, vendor payments, cash flow, computer systems and more. Today Proforma has more than 750 members with over $500 million in sales. Proforma has over 100 members in its Million Dollar Club and more than 40 members in its Multi-Million Dollar Club (With sales ranging from $2 million to over $26 million). In 2014, eight Proforma members were named to Inc. magazine’s Inc. 5000 List of the 5000 Fastest Growing Companies.

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