You may already know why branding leads to powerful results for any company. Top-notch branding can cultivate a community, differentiate your company, and build credibility, among other benefits.
RELATED: How Branding and Design Drive Real Growth
And you guessed it–branding for startups is just as crucial, if not more so. You’ve got a lot on the line as the new kid in the industry with a lot to prove. Because of the unique landscape, branding for startups requires a careful consideration of the complex and endlessly exciting entity that is the startup.
Why Branding for Startups Takes Special Care
You’ll hardly encounter a dull day at the office when you work at a startup. A constantly changing company with many special considerations, its branding is no exception. Here are some of the factors that influence branding work for a startup:
The Importance of Differentiation
A startup hasn’t yet established a fan base. Because of this, branding for startups must effectively showcase their unique personality. Demonstrating their unique value propositions is crucial for startups early on as they need to stand out to new consumers and investors in order to survive.
Building Trust and Credibility
Related to the last point, startups haven’t established a loyal consumer base yet. People likely don’t know who you are, or what your company is about. Using branding as a way to establish trust and credibility is essential to your continued growth.
The Need for Speed
Things move quickly at a startup. Not only is there pressure to prove their worth to investors, startups must differentiate swiftly in order to survive among many other competitors. This means startups also have less time for a long branding process.
Constant Evolving
Part of the excitement of startups is that they are never at a standstill. Ever-changing products, goals, and needs are reflected in branding as well. While the company may not need a complete rebrand, branding for startups will likely require a refresh in 2 to 3 years as it morphs through its various stages.
How to Succeed in Startup Branding
With all the pressure of being a new company with limited resources and big goals, there’s no shortage of things to do for a startup. In some ways, branding might feel like just a bonus project for which you never have the time. But branding is exactly the key to bringing your company to new heights, and it can all be done efficiently if you keep these pillars in mind:
Start with Branding
So you want to give your startup a leg up from the get go? Investing in branding from the very beginning is a great step to take. When you brand on an asset-by-asset basis, you’re missing the opportunity to gain momentum as a well-recognized and well-loved company through consistent branding. Not only that, you’re losing precious time and energy crafting individual assets rather than working from clear brand guidelines.
Our Example: Echelon Coaching (Full project coming soon!)
A startup with a new take on agile, Echelon Coaching sought to bring a flexible, relationship-based, and compassionate perspective to systems and leadership coaching. Starting with branding first, this small but mighty startup needed a plan that fit their one-person company. Echelon’s brand guidelines were made easy to follow. We worked with platforms the client was comfortable with so they could easily edit their website, social media templates and deck design. We also sourced a library of low-cost, yet still compelling, stock photography so that consistent branding and fresh visuals was always at their fingertips.
Create Flexible Templates
Time is money, and this is especially true at a startup as many members are busy wearing multiple hats. To save on precious time and to ensure that assets stay consistent, deliverables should be simple to implement, encouraging consistency across experience levels or areas of expertise. This means limiting personalization and customization in design elements, and opting instead for flexible templates that can easily be adapted to create fresh content while remaining consistent.
Our Example: Vessel Health
Vessel is a startup on a mission to promote health through easy nutrition tracking at home. By creating three versatile layouts as a template for marketing collateral, all deliverables were able to present a fresh take without much extra effort. The layouts featured staggered typography, a nutrient list, and the Vessel logo, which could easily be changed by updating the photo and copy. Vessel Health’s marketing posters featured their iconic natural, minimal, candid, and optimistic feel, without reinventing the wheel with each asset.
Enlist a Brand Gatekeeper
With the quickly changing nature of a startup, your hard work on branding for startups could go by the wayside if you’re not paying attention. Choosing one person to be in charge of the brand gatekeeping can make sure that someone always has eyes on branding consistency. This individual should also keep a record of when, how, and by whom the branding guidelines were last updated.
Get All Team Members on Board
Staying on brand is a collective task. Although it’s always helpful to put someone in charge of making sure brand guidelines are being followed, everyone should be well aware of what assets look and sound like. In the very least, all members should be aware of what the logo looks like (the minimum size and the clear space), the 2 main colors in the palette, the typefaces being used, the mission, values, and the brand personality.
A Word of Caution
In the spirit of thoughtful branding, it is best to recruit designers that understand your brand and want to grow with it. Going through competition-based platforms such as Fiverr and 99designs might seem like a cheaper and quicker route, but often result in designs that feel rushed. Taking a little bit of time, energy, and resources to invest in branding upfront will benefit your company in the long-run.
The World as Your Oyster
Startups are exciting, changing, and transforming companies with plenty of room for growth, and branding can be the solution to take your newly blossoming company to the next level. By giving your startup some branding love from the beginning and taking steps to keep that branding intact, you can give your company the best chance of being noticed, trusted, and thriving.
Anastasia Salazar Ltd. is an independent design studio for tailored branding and digital designs. Reach out to learn how we can help you fuel growth and maximize your brand’s impact.