Welcome to the first blog in our mini series about branding your business.
In this blog, we discuss your logo and why creating a strong one will help build your business.
An integral part of making a success of your business is your logo; it’s just as important as having high quality products or services and positive referrals. Your logo should be a top priority when building your business.
Why is your logo so important?
It makes a strong first impression, it grabs attention, it’s memorable, it’s the foundation of your brand identity, it fosters brand loyalty and it separates you from the competition.
Let’s take a look at these points in more detail.
Your logo must make a strong first impression.
You only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Your logo is your first impression to your customers. If designed well, it can grab the interest of potential customers and entices them to learn more about your product or service. If your business name doesn’t easily describe what product or service you offer, your logo must engage your customers in a way that makes them want to know what you are selling.
Your logo must grab attention.
Consumer attention spans are very short these days. We estimate that a business has around 5 seconds to convince potential customers that your business is worth buying from.
Your logo can quickly grab your potential customers’ attention, and the fact that consumers judge your business by its appearance so quickly can work to your advantage, provided you have a strong logo to speak for your company.
Your logo must be memorable.
Your logo is the ‘front door’ or the ‘shop window’ to your business. Your logo is your point of identification, it’s the outer shell of your business’s personality; it’s the symbol that customers use to recognise your brand.
You want customers to instantly connect the sight of your logo with what your business does – and, more importantly, how it makes them feel.
Take a look at these logos and I guarantee you know instantly what they mean to you and how they make you feel, all without showing a single word.
A good, memorable logo is a visual, aesthetically pleasing element of your business. It triggers positive recall about your brand that the name of your business alone may not. If we’re being honest, some of your customers will likely forget the name of your business – don’t take it personally, it’s human nature – but they’ll immediately associate your logo with their memories of your brand.
Your logo is the foundation of your brand identity.
Simply put, successful branding is about telling a story that will influence customers’ emotions. It is true that your logo is only part of your business’s brand; it serves as the foundation for the entire ethos on which your brand is built.
Colours, tones and fonts – all of these factors are part of the building blocks of the story you’re trying to tell, and your logo sets the stage for this story. These elements will later translate from your logo onto all of your branding materials – letterheads, business cards, website pages, clothing – creating a strong, marketable brand identity.
Your logo fosters brand loyalty.
Customers crave consistency.
As your brand grows, your logo is going to become more familiar to a wide range of customers, and this familiarity creates the perception that your business is trustworthy and accessible.
Think about it: when you’re out shopping for new workout gear and suddenly spot a garment with the Nike swoosh, you’re instantly ready to buy. Why? With Nike garments, you know you’re in safe, reliable hands; Nike is a brand you can trust, you know the garment will do what it’s needed for and has the quality to last a long time.
Trust is built on a well-designed logo, and brand loyalty will be quick to follow.
Once a customer likes you or your products, they are going to seek you out again and again – and your logo is the first thing they’ll look for.
Your logo must separate you from the competition.
Your business logo tells customers why your business is unique and entices them in to learn more, so dare to be different with your logo. Your logo is an extension of you and your business, so you should try and put some of your own personality into your logo design process.
Sure, maybe there are 50 other Italian restaurants in your city, but yours is a solely family run establishment that has been committed to be true to Italian culture for decades, and your simple, easy to read handwritten logo – in your Italian grandmother’s handwriting – drives that message home.
A well-designed business logo can communicate everything from the business founder’s background (professional, relaxed, fun) to the business mission statement (innovation, efficiency, quality) through to the right icon and proper, consistent fonts.
In other words, your logo is the platform to both convey your values and show customers why you’re not like your competitors – you’re better.
So, there you go!
You need a good, strong logo; it’s a vital part of building a successful business and brand.
We at Funky Panther can help you design your logo at very competitive rates, as we have done in the past for many businesses and sports teams. Please get in touch with us at orders@funkypanther.co.uk to start our logo design process. Here are just a few examples of the logos we’ve created.
The next blog in this mini-series will look at all the different factors you should consider and questions you should ask yourself when designing your logo, and the process that we here at Funky Panther go through before we start creating your business brand identity.
Thanks for reading!
Calum
calum@funkypanther.co.uk
