In today’s day and age, it’s difficult to be original. If you can think of it, chances are it’s likely already being done out there somewhere. But! There are good news, too: who says it’s all about being unique anymore? Nowadays, it’s equally as important (if not more so) to just meet the needs – of the client and of the market alike. Besides, we can take comfort in the fact that no one can produce the exact same thing the exact same way, so there is still some originality in that.
All things considered, it takes real guts for people to not only have an idea, but use it to actually start their own business. It has never been easy to be a start-up company, and it’s not getting any easier. Without the necessary requirements, businesses simply fail. According to statistics, every 2 in 5 start-ups are profitable, while the rest will struggle to break even, or might even continuously lose money until they go under. That means that 90% of start-up companies fail across all industries, 10% of which fail within the first year. But let’s look at it through a more optimistic lens instead: that’s still 10% of all companies that succeed. It’s precisely that 10% that we need to look to, and it’s their business models that we should learn from.
A lot of start-ups begin with only a handful of people and a vision. What is it that actually makes the difference?
Fortunately, looking at successful businesses can show us a series of steps to follow and key ingredients to throw into the mix to make sure small businesses survive, such as branding solutions:
- Brand Identity
- Brand recognition
- Digital branding
- User-friendly, presentable websites
- Interactive, engaging blogs
- Memorable, instantly recognizable logos
- SEO improvement – garnering and maintaining traffic, bounce rates, heat maps…
- Pitch deck value – the timing of your pitch, the presentability, and the accuracy of your data
Back in the old days of yore, businesses survived by word of mouth – providing such a stellar service that people can’t help but talk about it and drum up even more clients. This is something we can still rely on to this day, but fortunately, we have even more means to be recognized and talked about.
The bottom line we’ll be focusing on today is branding. In the start-up industry, branding is practically the same as identity, and that is one of the central things to communicate to both the market and the clients. Who are you? What do you do, and why do you do it differently? How do you meet my needs better than others?
- Exposure is the be-all end-all of companies. These days, the majority of it is done through digital platforms, and over time, it has only become a more sophisticated, delicate matter. People expect more and more – not to mention immediately – and companies need to step up their game and make sure that clients can find out everything they need at a glance.
That first glance is usually the company logo. We can’t understate the importance of a responsive, adaptable, flexible logo design. It is crucial not for the business owner and their personal preferences, and not even for the individual clients – a good logo is crucial for communicating with the market and responding to its needs.
(In one of our previous articles, we’ve covered the importance of detaching from your own personal logo preferences in favor of more successfully communicating with the market and the clients. You can read it here.)
Our award-winning digital branding agency, Designer & Gentleman, specializes in helping start-ups succeed. We’ve done our homework, and our services are many and varied, but something we’re particularly proud of is our Perfect Logo Package. Most people get stuck designing the perfect logo that will embody the essence of their company, without realizing that there are many more stumbling blocks that follow. It’s not just about drumming up business, it’s about retaining it long-term. We will cover this in another article, but the thing is, not only do you have to grab attention, you have to keep it, too.
Imagine this: you’ve poured blood, sweat, and tears into defining your brand and finding the perfect visuals to represent it… but where are you going to showcase it? After all, you need to reach investors, promotion companies, marketers, publishers, influencers, you name it. Thankfully, you are spoiled for choice: digital platforms such as social media, not to mention print technologies. Easy, right?
… now, hold on. Have you considered the fact that you will have to make sure your logo comes in many different shapes, sizes, colors, and extensions depending on what medium you choose?
Facebook’s, Instagram’s, and LinkedIn’s circular profile pictures?
Tiny business cards where your logo has to be downsized to fit in with the text?
Massive billboards that demand a much higher resolution to make sure the logo is still crystal clear?
Shirts, cups, stationery?
You need to adapt – a combination of flexibility and consistency is what leaves a good impression and makes you memorable. Every little bit helps, and small start-up companies just can’t afford to be discarded because they haven’t thought to invest into leaving a good visual impression. Perfect Logo Package has everything you need, and we do mean everything. Not only can we help you design the logo, but we can make sure you can stick it on anything that will reach a pair of eyes. In this case, that means thousands of files: different formats and extensions to fit any and all needs. Yes, it does sound complex and intimidating at first - why do we offer a thousand files? Do you really need all of them?
Absolutely, and let me tell you why.
Let’s say your brand or digital product has three colors and it comes as a logo mark, (Nike swoosh), brand name (Nike), and tagline (Just Do It). If you do the math and multiply the number of colors with the file extensions, and add the combinations of files, you’ll get around 1000 files!
Then let’s say it’s Friday, 4 pm, your company is sponsoring a local volleyball tournament. People from the volleyball tournament marketing are asking for a “gray version of the logo and the tagline in SVG file format.”
And you’re not sure what they are asking for. What on Earth is an SVG file format? Rest assured, with PLP, you will easily find and send the right file and color format. It’s all filtered, sorted, and organized neatly, in a user-friendly way that helps you find exactly what you need with only a few clicks. It makes sure you’re always ready to get yourself out there.
It’s a simple, but essential tool for your digital branding needs.
Let’s take this parallel as another example: imagine you’re an HR manager, combing through masses of CVs. There is a ridiculous amount of them that haven’t been proofread and put together well. Poor formatting and spelling errors galore! Those kinds of CVs are hardly going to cut it. After all, if we can’t trust a potential candidate to put in the time and effort to make sure their (initial) presentation is flawless, how can we count on them to deliver the perfection our company offers?
It’s the same with start-up branding. You need to get it as close to right as you possibly can from the get-go. Funding and finances are understandably a concern, but you can still make do and do the best with what you’ve got – and we are here to support you in that. Until your products and services can sell themselves, let us help you sell them.
