Why are logos so important? Logos play a very important role in every business’ advertising effort, be it large or small; a business that has a well designed, memorable logo will stand out to consumers.
Think of a couple fast food restaurants, what comes to mind? Our guess is that you are thinking of at least one of the following; big yellow letter M, a red haired girl with pig tails, a purple tinted bell and maybe a pair of hamburger buns with the words Burger King in between, and those are just a few. Funny how you can remember and think of these restaurants and identify their logos without second guessing yourself. Well, this is a very common example of logo branding; these restaurants established their logo and have made in imprint in our mind that now easily help us remember and locate them.
As a business, it is your job to establish a logo and help your company begin getting recognized by it. You may already have one, if not, we suggest looking into getting one designed. Although we recommend establishing and maintaining a logo, there are times when a logo update is required or desired, we recommend transitioning into the new look and advertising it to your consumers; remember the stickers you have seen on a bottle of shampoo “new look, same great product”, you will want to do something to that effect, so that your customers (current and future) are aware of the change. With time, your new look will be as established and branded as your old one was.
So how do you go about deciding on a logo for your business? There are a few things to consider:
A logo should be simple, easy to identify and have a link back to your business.
- Decide how you would like your logo to represent your business, we recommend using a graphic design (image/icon) that can stand alone, this offers you the flexibility to place your company name next to, under, or above your logo. Although you may decide to have the graphic reflect your services and/or products, it is not necessary to do so, take the Nike and Adidas logos as an example, they are very well branded but the logo itself doesn’t directly reflect the products they offer.
- Some businesses have chosen to simply use their company name as their logo, they stick to one font or have a custom design made; this has been a successful method for several businesses, that is a route you can consider.
- Lastly, you may decide to blend a graphic and with your company name and have that become your logo; this is more commonly used for businesses that have a short name as it can be better integrated within the design.
How should a logo be used?
Your logo should be the main factor in your branding campaign. Place it everywhere, you want everyone to see it and begin to recognize it. Make sure to use your logo on everything from your website, to printed marketing materials (business cards, flyers, brochures, postcards, folders, etc), to all of your paperwork (letterhead, estimates, invoices, etc), if you use uniforms, print or embroider your logo on them as well. The point is that your logo should be used to advertise and brand your business, take advantage of every opportunity you have.
