How is Your Company Coming Across?

You have two to seven seconds to make your first impression. What does your company’s image say to potential customers?

Branding or rebranding allows you to refine your business goals, watch marketing trends, and identify your target audiences. It’s a multi-step process that defines your company values and differentiates you from your competitors.

4 Questions to Ask About Your Business 

1. Where is your company now, and where do you want to be in the future? 

2. Does your business name describe what your company does? If needed, have a tagline that explains what services you offer.

3. What is your company name? How will people remember it when they say it or refer you? I find that a company name that is three words or less is the easiest for people to say and remember. In this era of texting, it will likely get changed to an acronym whether you want it to or not. Look at the first letter in every word of your company name. Does that spell a word?

Conventional wisdom says that a brand name should be short and easy to say. Advice from branding experts suggests that any product or brand name:

be easy to say, understand, and spell.

not use odd spellings or characters.

suggest what the company or product does.

A brand name should be no more than two syllables and contain neither hyphens nor special characters, according to an article in Forbes. 

4. What are the generational expectations of your audience? Currently, there are five generational groups who may need your services—the Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Your branding needs to appeal to all of them.

3 Steps to Create Your Logo

1. Industry research. Ask yourself, “What is my business all about, and who is the audience?” Your logo should research the competition to see what they have done.  Knowing what else is out there is crucial.

2. Choose your logo type. There are two dominant kinds of logos: wordmarks and symbols. Wordmark is where the name of the company is the focus of the logo. This type of logo relies on a good typeface and strong color choice. A symbol logo relies on a graphic to make the brand recognizable.

3. Choose your color scheme. It is impossible to talk about logo colors and branding without mentioning color psychology. The link between color and brand identity is strong. In the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, researchers Lauren Labrecque and George Milne explain that “like a carefully chosen brand name, color carries intrinsic meaning that becomes central to the brand’s identity, contributes to brand recognition, and communicates the desired image.”

Different colors evoke different emotions. For example, blue conveys trust and professionalism, while red signifies energy and passion. Your colors should reflect your company’s values, mission, and personality. Various shades of blue are used in more than 70% of home inspector logos.

More Detailed Logo Guidance 

Create Company Color Guidelines

Choose a primary and secondary color and one accent color—and stick to them. When choosing your main company color, consider that standard colors for promotional products are black, royal blue, green, red, and navy blue, and use a one-color imprint. Do not choose other colors for promotional items just because they are on sale.  

Test for Versatility  

Ensure your chosen colors work well across various mediums, including digital platforms, print materials, and merchandise. 

How Printable is Your Logo? 

Will your logo print in one-color as well as full-color? Sometimes a logo needs to be edited slightly to print in a one-color process.

Choose Your Typeface

Serif and sans-serif fonts are two fundamental categories of typefaces, distinguished by the presence or absence of small decorative strokes called serifs. Serif fonts, like Times New Roman, have these strokes, giving them a classic, sometimes formal appearance.  Older established companies like magazines and newspaper logos often use the serif typeface.

Sans-serif fonts are typefaces that don’t have the small decorative strokes (serifs) at the end of letter strokes. Popular examples include Arial, Helvetica, Open Sans, Montserrat, and Aptos. These fonts are often favored for their clean, modern look and readability, especially in digital contexts. Sans-serif typefaces are more legible on smaller printing surfaces, such as on a pen or embroidery.

Logos and Trends 

Logos aren’t immune to trends. Many brands update their logos every five years or so, allowing them to stay on top of trends while staying true to their core brand identity. Think about your business goals when deciding whether to follow logo design trends. Aim for something timeless. 

Where to Start 

This is a process, and as such, it needs a systematic approach. Compare it to how you do your inspection. You must follow the process to gather the information to create your report. The same is true of rebranding.

After you follow the process outlined in the article, think about starting with your business card. It is a small, inexpensive item. Print 250 cards and give them to people. Tell them you are rebranding and ask for feedback. And I love calls and emails. Don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more. I love helping inspectors.

Dee Goldstein has been involved with the home inspection profession for 40-plus years. She has created the marketing to turn a small multi-inspector company into a 12-inspector, million-dollar company, started a home inspection business with her husband, and created the marketing system for a home inspection franchise system with more than 30 offices in North America. She is the owner of GEMmarketing.