Why should I have a logo?
By Greta Berg (Company B Graphics) - January 31st, 2010
In my last article I spoke about the importance of having a strong business brand for your company, why it's important to discover the personality of the business, and how to best communicate that to your target market. Now I would like to expand on those points by talking a bit about one of the most important variables of a good brand—the logo.
We've been identifying ourselves to one another since the beginning of time; from the first cave drawings to developing our own unique signature, man's desire to claim ownership is inherent. A logo is just an extension of that process, it bridges the gap from "I" to "us".
"Why do I need a logo? People know who I am?"
I've heard that question a lot, my answer is simple. You need a logo to identify what your services and products are, and you need a visual image to help communicate who you are and what you are selling. It also helps to separate you from the next guy... we may all be in the business of selling soda, but with a color change, an appropriate font and a custom graphic, we can see that this is a can of Pepsi and the other is a can of Coke.
A well crafted logo serves another purpose—to rally the troops, or rather, your employees. A well crafted, professional identity tells your staff that you are a professional establishment making an investment in them, especially if that logo comes on a newly embroidered shirt.
"So I know that I need a logo but where do I start?"
A good place to start is right at the beginning. First you need to ask yourself a few questions. Who are we? What do we do? What makes us different? How do we want to be seen to the public? Is our target market all male? What's the age range of our clients? The answers to these types of questions will help guide you to what the logo should feel like. "Feel like?" Sure, a good logo not only identifies the product but it also evokes an emotion from your customers and employees, that in time, coupled with the rest of your brand strategy, creates brand loyalty. After all, you want these people with you for the rest of their lives.
"Now what do I do?"
Now that you know you need a logo, and you've answered all the important questions, you have a pretty good idea on what it should feel like. So what's the next step? Well, unless you're professionally trained in graphic communication, I suggest that you hire a good designer to take on the task of developing your company's visual image. I've seen too many businesses that have an excellent product that are visually represented by a poor logo. They either do it themselves, pass the task onto an employee to handle or give the responsibility to a friend who knows someone that will do it for free. Please take the time to get together with a professional. The damage a bad design causes is not just monetary, it also sends a wrong message to the public that you either don't have enough money to put into a quality image or that you don't care.
"Fine, you've talked me into it. But where am I going to find this professional?"
The phone book is a good start, read through the ad and give them a call. The Internet is also an excellent resource; any good designer will have a web page with their information, testimonials, and the costs involved. Take the time to call up a few of their clients, ask them how they were to work with, what the was process like and what it was like to work with that person. After all, it's your businesses image on the line here. A good graphic designer will also have an extensive portfolio that shows the potential client who they've worked for, and what their style is like. I pride myself on my portfolio, I display it on my website and in my office; I love showing off who I've worked for. I will also go through the entire process, from start to finish and tell my potential client what to expect, when to expect it and how much it will cost.
"What if I already have a logo but I don't like it"
I've heard this question a lot, it's usually followed up with "I'm afraid to change it, I don't want to loose any customers". My answer to that is simple, how many are you loosing because of a poor identity? Actually, it's an excellent opportunity; your current clients will feel that you are not only putting money back into the company, your giving back to them. You're new image evokes that feeling I was talking about earlier, you've taken the time to give back, they will give back to you through continued loyalty.
"Well, that was painless, but what do I do now?"
So, you looked at who you are, how you're going to communicate that to your target market, got in touch with a great graphic designer and now are the proud owner of a shinny new logo. You want to get it out there for everyone to see. After all, you've just made an investment into an unique image and want to tell the world; you need new business cards, signs, ad and promotional items. Be careful, not everyone is as excited about your new image as you. I've seen a lot of great logos poorly reproduced. Whether on cards or an ad in the paper, your logo should look great and evoke that feeling that you've worked so hard to define. Through bad reproduction, condensing of an image or wrong color representation, your image can go from hip and appropriate to your business, to confused and unprofessional—just because the people you handed your image to weren't concerned about it's quality.
Coca-Cola spends a lot of time and money developing what we in the business call Brand Standards; as it applies to logo reproduction, Coca-Cola dictates how their logo is to be seen and reproduced. They have extensive pages on how the Coke logo will appear on business cards to billboards, they understand how costly it can be to them if their logo is seen in a way that does not jive with their overall brand image. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars on a branding booklet but taking time to express your concerns and wishes will save you a lot of money in the end.
A well designed logo is a happy logo, it should be able to exist in any media form. It should identify you from your competition and communicate your intent, but, don't forget, it's just a small part of your company's overall brand, along with great customer service, an excellent product and a good marketing campaign—you're ready to do business.
Next time I'll talk more about the many different medias that your brand can communicate through. Until then, Happy Branding!
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