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IN 1997, HELGA GRAYSON AND two partners founded Trilogy Information Technology, a San Francisco-based recruiting firm for tech talent. Things went smashingly well — until the bubble burst in 2001, and suddenly techies were in as much demand as snow-blowers in Africa.

Grayson immediately recognized that in order for her firm to survive, changes needed to be made — and fast. After some serious discussions, Trilogy's principals decided to shift their emphasis to biotech recruiting. A new company name, logo and image were needed to reflect the firm's new direction. And this retooling all had to be done at minimal cost.

The partners tapped their own creative juices, and also turned to friends and acquaintances. Partner Dyana King came up with the company's new name — Thinknicity — which appealed to the staff because it sounded progressive and wasn't obviously tied to the tech industry. A talented acquaintance helped them create a hip new logo and Web site to go along with the name. In total, the transformation cost a mere $5,000. By 2002, Thinknicity was born.

It was a gamble that has paid off in spades: Since 2002, while many IT-focused staffing firms have failed, Thinknicity's annual revenues have grown from $7.9 million to nearly $10 million. "The name change gave us a reason to talk to people again," says King. "People we might not have heard from in a while were curious what was going on. They were calling to ask if we had been bought out, calling to say they liked the new name and the site. It generated a lot of activity."

The right image. When launching a new business — and struggling with late nights, stretched budgets and a cramped home office — focusing on artsy matters might seem downright absurd. But as any celebrity publicist will tell you, image is everything, darling. That doesn't mean you need to be developing detailed brand marketing campaigns when you've barely got a product. But it does mean you need to pay attention to things like your company name, logo and basic marketing materials, like your Web site. Muck this up, and you'll have to work that much harder in the future to set it right.

Here are some tips on creating the right image from the start.

1. Start With the Customer

Long before you choose a name for your company, spend some time thinking about your customers, says Susan Nelson, an executive director at Landor, the branding goliath that helps clients like John Deere (DE), Ford (F) and Ferrari with their images. Who is this person you're targeting? What does he or she value? If you're selling something seemingly generic — like, say, packing material — are you targeting individuals or other small-business owners? The answer could profoundly affect the image you'd like to create.

Next, think about your customers' priorities, says Nelson. Do they most value speed, quality or price? If your customers need speed above the other two attributes, your business plan and image should reflect this — right down to selecting a name like "Speedy Shipping." If, on the other hand, you believe your ideal customer values cheerful service above speed and price, everything about your image should reflect this, from your generous customer-service policy to the look of your logo and Web site, which should be "warm, cuddly, and reassuring, rather than cold, sterile and high-tech," says Nelson.

For an example of a real success story, consider JetBlue (JBLU), says Kel Kelly, a professor at Babson College in Babson Park, Mass. The airline's prices put it squarely in the low-budget category when it first took flight in 2000. Yet in just a few short years and with a few clever image-building techniques, she says, JetBlue has managed to elevate its company's image from "cheap" to "cheap chic." From using wry language to describe everything from its travel map to its customer comment box, JetBlue manages to say to the public that, like its young, Web-savvy customers, it's smart, edgy and somewhat irreverent. "With everything JetBlue does — its design elements, its press releases — you're getting the impression of fun, hip, fresh, and stylish," says Kelly.

2. What's in a Name?

In short, everything. You need to pick a name that fits with your business's overall image. The goal, of course, is to pick one that has positive connotations, or at least doesn't make customers groan, says Bill Gardner, founder of Gardner Design in Wichita, Kan., which has designed logos for companies like Thermos, Kroger (KR) and Hallmark.

Gardner remembers when accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers' consulting division, PwC Consulting, toyed with the notion of naming itself Monday. Not surprisingly, the name didn't stick. "Can you think of a day of the week that people have worse feelings about?" he says. The group is still called PwC Consulting, although it was sold to IBM (IBM) in 2002.

Because so many businesses want positive words in their names — like premier, prestige, American and quality — you might have a hard time coming up with something unique. That's why so many business owners now resort to creating completely new words for company names, like Equitex, Immucell and Genitope. Others modify, misspell or combine words to create their names — like Cingular, Tekknowledge and Featherlite. Or they pick a common word that's unrelated to their business but carries positive associations, like Apple Computer (AAPL) or the British cellular phone company Orange. "Who can complain about Orange?" Gardner asks.

One final tip: Beware geographical names. Unless you want your business to be tied to a specific location — like Gainesville Gourmet or Abilene Aeronautics — you should choose a name that gives your company room to grow into new towns or cities. Ditto for names tied to specific products or niches. At some point you might want to explore new markets. Don't pick a name that holds you back.