You are a shiny new startup, paperwork freshly signed and getting ready to open your doors to the world. You and your initial startup team already have the beginnings of a company culture and you’ve got a pretty good idea of who your target audience is. Now all you need to do is put together an amazing opening marketing campaign to get the word out and open for business. But who will your customers see when they look at you? A respectable firm following old traditions, a cozy family-friendly establishment, or trendy millennial associates? The way you brand your company matters, from the color scheme to the logo. People will try to judge how well you can serve their needs based on the relatability and reputation you project with your branding and marketing designs.
Matching Your Product
Perhaps the most natural guideline is that your brand needs to suit your product. The level of technology it represents, and the kind of service your offering can be subtly represented in the style, design, color scheme, and content of your company’s brand and the imagery you use in your website and marketing campaign. If you, for instance, sell food delivery drones, a logo of a drone wearing a chef hat is entirely appropriate. The same logo would be confusing as the face of a cyber security team. Color choice matters almost as much, if not more so because it permeates every asset made by or for your company. Most tech companies use cool grays and blues as their primary tones, and often accent with brighter signature colors. A predominant use of bright colors is usually the marker of a restaurant or a service for children.
Relating to Customers
Who will be using your product? Chances are that you have at least one target demographic, and several peripheral ones who may also be interested in your product. The way you brand your company influences how you are seen in the eyes of your customers, and you want the design to appeal to people who will buy and enjoy your product. Appealing to niche markets is great, but basing your entire brand off a niche is a risky move unless you’re certain the niche is both large and receptive enough to support your entire business plan. There are, for example, many active seniors per city going for power walks each day, but probably not enough to support a 24-hour ‘senior fitness gym’. You’re better off branding your gym for the 20-45 age group and making it senior-friendly for the niche market boost.
The Long View
Finally, when deciding your initial branding strategy, think about potential future clients, not just the ones you have sighted now. As your business grows, who will see it and how will it appeal to them? Subtle changes in posture and presentation of the chef drone can have a surprising influence on the potential popularity of your brand in the future. How friendly it looks, how ‘tech’ or ‘toon’ the style is, and whether you branch out into a variety of logos and designs are all important branding decisions to make, and it can help to have a great comprehensive plan from the beginning.
Fortunately, there are skilled marketing designers who specialize in helping young companies define their brand before they hit the market. You can quickly and efficiently find your ideal style, get a fantastic logo, and have your introductory marketing campaign designed all by the same marketing agency. If your company is all-but-launched, this is the perfect time to finalize your brand design and create the perfect marketing strategy and we can help.
To learn more about how to improve your marketing strategies, give us a call at 661-702-1310!
