A Strong Brand for Your Startup - Spark Hire

A Strong Brand for Your Startup - Spark HireWhen you think about branding your company, what comes to mind? For many, probably the first considerations when branding a companyor giving it a presence to the publicare a company name and a logo or brand icon. Startups labor over this, knowing that it will be a large part of what sets them apart from other companies and what makes them memorableor not so memorableto potential customers.So whats in a name? And how should a startup go about naming their company? John Brandon at Inc.com gives some great, practical advice to consider when naming your startup. Originality is always best, so he encourages small business owners to take their time and wait for the right name to come. The only thing worse than a name that doesnt spark interest with others is a name that falls flat on your own ears. And since branding is all about telling your companys story, he suggests finding a way to incorporate a storyany story reallyinto the name of your com pany. For example, Caroline Fielding came up with the name of her company, Dryven, by combining the names of three family members, Dean, Bryan, and Steven. The name has ended up serving a ersatzdarsteller purpose because it directly relates to the iPhone app which the company has developed called Bus Rage. When people ask, or even if they dont, she has a great story to tell about her company to begin drawing people into it.And what about the logo? What about the graphic that is going to pop into peoples minds when they hear the winning name of your company? Fast Company published an interesting article on the way color affects branding. One study shows that 90% of an assessment for trying out a product is made by color alone. Amazing, right? With those kinds of stats, a startup cant afford to lose out on a winning color scheme. The design company The Logo Company has broken down how certain colors suggest certain qualities in a company. For example, a green logonot surprisinglysugge sts an organic or nurturing quality while blue suggests credibility, calm, and cleanliness. Knowing this, take a second to consider why Animal Planet and John Deere have green logos and HP, Dell, and IBM have blue ones. When you understand how customers might perceive your company based on the color of your logo, you can go about making smart decisions when it comes down to branding.When you begin thinking about these aspects of the companythe name, the colors, the logoremember that the client, the customer, and the investor are not the only people you want to draw under the power of your awesome brand. Strong branding will also draw employees to your startup. When you market to customers you also market to potential employees, and the right brand could be a boon to your hiring strategy.Naming and coloring your company can be one of the most fun parts of a startup. Make sure youre being smart about branding from the very beginning by understanding how great companies came to their n ames and what color can do to market your company well in the long-term.What considerations did you make for your companys brand? Let us know in the comments.