A small business entrepreneur’s decisions in the initial stages of a new business venture are among the most important he or she will make over the life of the business. These decisions form the foundation of the business, structuring every other future business decision. In a very real sense, these early branding and strategy selections determine the success or failure of the business. So it is absolutely critical that these decisions are made with careful, considered, and exhaustive deliberation. Exacerbating the significance of initial brand strategy decisions, they are costly and difficult to modify or correct in the later stages of the business life cycle.

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs do not realize the full importance of creating the most effective branding strategy possible for their company from the very beginning. The best way to insure your company against faulty and potentially debilitating branding strategies is the use of brainstorming techniques. Brainstorming is simply a method of group decision making characterized by the unbiased consideration of a wide range of options. Many small business owners may think of a name for their company which is meaningful to them, but not particularly effective in acting as the company’s identity, building a loyal customer base, or creating a steady stream of profits. Brainstorming involves the following steps:

1). Idea Generation

Collect ideas from a number of sources (for example, business partners, team members, employees, colleagues). It is important at this stage that each team member does not know the ideas being generated by their colleagues (this would skew and disrupt an individual’s creative process). It is also important at this stage that no one on the brainstorming team evaluates the ideas generated. In order to create and select the best idea, brainstorming circumvents circumstances which are subject to human bias. One of these biases is the assignment of partiality to ideas which are generated first. This is why it is important for a range of ideas to be generated, randomly presented, and evaluated on their own merits.

This very disruptive primacy group bias can be observed quite readily on NBC’s The Apprentice. Every week, the participants must make strategy decisions which propel and direct them through the week’s project. After receiving their assignment, the team members typically find themselves in a conference room deciding the elements of their marketing plan. Almost without fail, the first idea generated is the only idea considered, and is the idea that is implemented. In a recent episode when a team implemented a miserably failed marketing strategy, one of the participants (Derek, see photo on left) distanced himself from the decision-making process by explaining that, since no one was generating any ideas during their brainstorming session, he had just “thrown out” (ie., introduced) some inferior ideas in order to start some discussion. However, because his ideas were the first ones generated, they were immediately accepted and implemented by the team, leading to a lopsided loss. As can be seen from this example, this first option bias is very powerful, and should be avoided by using an extensive, involved, and multi-perspective decision-making process which includes brainstorming.

2.) Present Ideas

Next, each idea should be introduced to the team in random order. It is important at this stage to continue to refrain from evaluating any of the ideas. The team should be presented with a short summary of each idea. The ideas should not be discussed at this point. The most effective decision will be made when each team member has had unevaluated exposure to all ideas.

Another bias which brainstorming works to avoid is the evaluation of an idea based on the affect associated with the person who generated the idea.  It is easy to see how this affect transfer bias can affect the outcome of a brainstorming session, as the dislike of a person can easily lead to the negative evaluation of that person’s idea (note the situation in the photo on the left, in which Surya's ideas were often discounted by his team members who felt he was constantly obsessed with minutia). It is therefore crucial that the presentation of ideas not include any reference to the team member who generated the idea.

3.) Rank Ideas

The team members should then rank the ideas individually. Individuals modify their opinions based on the opinions of others. It is therefore critical that each team member evaluate each idea on their own before any group discussion occurs so that there is an unbiased record of their original opinions.

4.) Determine Order of Consideration

One of the team members (a supervisor or assigned moderator) should then examine all rankings and then decide the order in which the ideas will be discussed from overall lowest rank to highest rank (this reverse order will tend to counteract any residual primacy bias).

5.) Evaluate Ideas

The options should be discussed and evaluated in order, after which the group should decide on the most appropriate and effective idea to pursue. 
 

6.) Develop the Idea

Too often the selection of an idea ends the brainstorming process and the idea is implemented exactly as originally specified. On the contrary, the chosen idea should be considered a preliminary version upon which the entire group can collaborate to create the final strategic plan.

While the above process is ideal, the typical sole proprietor or entrepreneur may not be in the position to follow such a strict protocol. Nevertheless, all small business ventures should be preceded by some type of extended decision-making process which includes the solicitation and consideration of ideas from a number of sources. For example, when searching for the most appropriate domain name, an entrepreneur might 1.) brainstorm to find some potential names which are currently unregistered, 2.) perform extensive searches on sites like GreatDomains.com, Sedo.com, and Afternic.com to find potential names which are currently registered and for sale, 3.) post requests for appropriate domain name suggestions on sites like NamePros.com and DNForum.com, 4.) solicit ideas from experts on sites like AllExperts.com, Ingenio.com, YahooAnswers.com, or Wondir.com, and 5.) hire a marketing, branding, or advertising agency to develop or assist in the development of a brand identity. An effective decision can therefore be made by evaluating the comprehensive list of options elicited from a wide range of sources and perspectives.