Developing Your Company's Image

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Sometimes I see sites with broken links, or links that are different colors, or where the page tabs are hard to find, or that have text underlined that is not meant to be a link, so it looks like a broken link to visitors.

One of my pet peeves is the Web site that doesn't have contact information on it, or where the contact information is very hard to find.

Oh yes, that's a common problem. You've got to put a way for customers to get in touch with you—at least your e-mail address and preferably a telephone number—right up at the top where it's very visible. No matter how comprehensive you think you've made your site, potential clients will still want to talk to you. If they can't get a hold of you easily, they'll find someone else to do business with.

Also, a professional site has to be very quick to download, and your customers should be able to find what they want within three clicks or less.

A lot of small companies—and particularly startups—are working on a thin dime. If they're trying to create a do-it-yourself image, I suspect it's because they think they can't afford a professional. How much should a well-done corporate image cost?

Of course, it depends on who you hire and their level of design experience and expertise. Designing a logo and image from the ground up takes a lot of time and effort. You need to spend time with business owners, getting to know them and helping them figure out what they want their image to convey to the world. I would say small companies could expect to pay $900 to $2,000 for something like that. If you've already got a corporate image and you want to put your logo on business cards, letterhead or brochures, that'd probably cost $300 to $500.

I recommend that entrepreneurs hire designers who work with printers and mailing companies, particularly if they're putting together business brochures or new business announcements. That way, all they have to do is approve the proofs, and the designer sends the content to a printer, and then to a mailing house that will address and mail your materials.

You're a sole proprietor and a home-based entrepreneur yourself. How did you get started?

I worked for a marketing firm that went under, so I took some courses in design and set up my own company at home a few years ago. Most of my clients are startup companies, and nearly all of them find me online. I've had just a handful of local clients in Los Angeles, and everyone else I work for comes from out-of-state. I have been very surprised how successful advertising online has been for me. I use mostly pay-per-click ads at sites like Google (GOOG) and Yahoo! (YHOO). Of course, once I get a client and they like my work, I get referrals to other entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs that they know.

The other thing that's been nice is that I initially thought I'd get hired to do a logo for a company and then they'd move on and I'd never hear from them again. But I find that I've maintained a lot of clients who hire me to do some initial image design for them and then come back when they need their Web sites updated, or they want to move into a new product or a new industry category and they need to expand their images. That's been surprising, but definitely welcome.

Karen E. Klein is a Los Angeles-based writer who covers entrepreneurship and small-business issues.