Your business has a face. The do’s & don’ts of logo design.
Have you ever met someone for the first time and not made the best first impression? Maybe you thought to yourself: I wish I could go back and try that again. Well, same goes for your company logo. It’s the first thing your potential customers see, and from it they form their own personal opinions and beliefs about your company. So what kind of reaction are they having to your logo? Is it a true reflection of your company and values? Do the colors convey an emotional bond between yourself and them?
Lets take a look at the dictionary definition of a logo:
A graphic representation or symbol of a company name, trademark, abbreviation, etc., often uniquely designed for ready recognition.
A great logo should contain the following 4 characteristics:
- It should, in one quick glance, represent your companies essence and values.
- It should look good in black and white, color, as a tiny thumbnail or on a large billboard.
- Its colors should reflect the mood of your business. Is it calm and comforting or loud and exciting?
- It should be memorable. This is done by creating an emotional tie to the potential customer.
Examples of great logos:
Now how about some “Not so great” logos:
One thing all of the great logos have in common is they were professionally done. That being said, don’t skimp on your logo. It’s the single most important design you will ever create for your company and the building block of all your future marketing. Why not create something great you will be proud to call your own. Something you will be proud to hand to a customer on a business card.
Already have a not-so-great logo? What can you do?
Don’t worry my fellow entrepreneurs and business people. There is hope. Many businesses and brands re-design their logos to keep them fresh and updated. Even McDonalds and Starbucks recently went through a rebranding. If you would like help creating or re-creating your company logo, get in touch with us through the contact page and we’d be glad to help!
All Logos used in this post are copyright of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Who Should I Advertise To?
One of the challenges many small business owners face is creating fresh, effective advertising that is relevant to their company. One solution that can help navigate this difficulty is figuring out who your target market, or ideal customer is.
You may think, “I want to get my product or service to as many people as possible – my ideal customer is everyone.” However, chances are there is a certain segment or type of person that your product appeals to and is more likely to purchase. These are the individuals you want to focus more of your marketing efforts on.
Defining an ideal customer can be difficult, but once you get a feel for who they are, you can target your marketing and advertising efforts more effectively. Below, we’ll list a few ways you can start finding and catering to your ideal customer:
Think about your current customers.
Who are your long-standing customers who you have a great relationship with? Who are the types of people that seem to fit best with your company?Anything in common amongst the people you have coming in the door? Peruse your current customer list and think about characteristics they have in common.
Write down a list of common or desired traits as it pertains to your business.
What is the age range? Income level? Gender? What are their challenges and frustrations (this can be just as important as their likes)? Are they employed? Are they a business owner? What are specific personality traits they might have? What does their personal life look like? Depending on your business, ask the right questions you need to know and compile a list of what the answers would be for your ideal customer. If you have different types of customers that use your product, create this list for all of the different customer segments you would serve.
Understand how and where they spend time and make purchasing decisions.
Once you have a better understanding of who your ideal customer is, think about where they spend time and how they consume information and make purchasing decisions – both online and offline.
Collect data and gather information.
Writing down thoughts and observations can be useful, but nothing beats collecting data and gathering information from the source. Run reports on your current customer data to extract similarities and trends. Send out a survey or hold a focus group and analyze the results; provide an incentive for people to participate.
Create an ideal customer profile for your business. For instance, ours might look something like this:
Pete Pringle is 45. He is a successful small business owner who is still very involved in the daily operation of his business. He has had a digital billboard for the last three years and enjoys the comments he receives about it from his customers. However, between managing the different aspects of his business, being active at his church, and juggling a family with three children, he is not interested in coming up with creative new content for his billboards and often feels they are stale. He’s an active part of the community, participates in networking groups, and also spends time checking Facebook, opening emails that catch his eye, and perusing the local newspaper online.
As the business, we would likely reach this person by making in-person contact at a community or network event and also make good, informational online content available to him that catches his eye. It would be worth our time to advise on advertising campaigns and work with Pete and his staff regularly yet efficiently to keep content fresh and interesting for both him and his customers.
The challenge of developing your advertising campaign is very real. However, once you can get a handle on who it is you are or should be advertising to, it can steer your content and methods in a positive direction.
We’re available for questions anytime, just get in touch.