Developing a Logo, a Brand, and Brand Indicators

Image courtesy of businesscardszone.com

I’m constantly amazed at how uninformed small local companies are when it comes to the importance and value of having a proper logo and building a brand. There is such little awareness that there is such a thing as brand development and that this is the secret that can launch their company into unimaginable success.

A logo? It’s amazing how this small yet oh-so-important aspect of a fresh new company is so often overlooked and just slapped together without much consideration for the ramifications and potential benefits for said business. This lack of foresight is disturbing to say the least, and harmful to long-term business success at the most.

Yes, you can go out and buy a stock logo for pennies. Yes, it will look professional and your company will have a logo that will look exactly like 100 other companies logos. So you’re done right, now you just need to slap that logo on everything and that’s your branding plan.

Simple, right? Yes and no.

A Logo is a representation of your company through a singular image/mark.Let’s assume your target customer is rushing down the aisle at the supermarket and needs to grab a can of your product, and your product is on a shelf surrounded by other products that are very close, if not almost identical to yours. For marketing purposes, let’s assume that your target customer has a very limited attention span and doesn’t like to read very much. How are you going to influence your target audience to decide to buy your product instead of your competition’s product?

The answer is having a strong recognizable logo with a good brand and a solid reputation. The question is how do you get that recognition with a new company? How do you build a logo and develop the brand and get to the point where it’s recognizable and strong? What unique value will you bring to the table?

Your logo will be the first impression that anyone will have with your company. You don’t have a second chance so it’s important. You must make sure that your logo will showcase your company and your product in the best light with the most positive response.

A good logo will be distinct and have an impact. It should also be more than just an image of your product.

If you take the Mercedes Benz logo as an example. The logo is not just an image of a car, but a symbol that represents of the values of that company. The 3 pointed star within a circle with each point representing domination of land, sea, and air, symbolizing universal motorization.

The bottom line when creating a logo is to get creative. Make an impact, but keep it simple.

What is a brand

This is one of those words that gets thrown around in marketing circles a lot. In the simplest terms. Your brand is psychological impression/connection between the public and your company or product. In a practical sense, it’s a combination of your logo, color scheme, typography that together differentiates you from your competition. It’s really one of the simplest things that almost all companies already do. The problem is NOT that they are NOT branding. The problem is that they are branding BADLY.

You control your brand’s development by controlling your customer’s experience with your company. If you want to develop a strong solid brand you must create a positive experience for your customers when the use your product, call your company, walk into your stores, or otherwise interact with your enterprise.

Brand development

Imagine that you are able to “brand” or ”leave a strong impression” on your customers. Now ask yourself, is it a pretty mark? Is it something they can go home and show off to their friends? Will they talk about what a pleasant experience it was to be branded at your place? Will they come back to do it again? This lasting experience the will remain in your customer’s mind is the branding experience, and that’s what will define your company’s reputation/brand.

Looking beyond the brand

Once you have built a good brand, the goal should shift to protecting the brand and growing it. A brand has more power than just being a consumer facing driving force. A good solid brand possessing market domination and recognition can sometimes be the most valuable asset a company can possess. Brand equity is attractive to investors and can be the driving force behind tremendous business growth opportunities.

A good solid strong logo coupled with a positive branding experience is a great place to begin building that wonderful new company. If you feel that you may not have the necessary skills to do these creative design tasks, the good news is that there is an entire industry dedicated to just these aspects of marketing and because they understand good branding experiences, you will probably have a great time contacting them and allowing them to assist you in becoming as successful as you should be.