Business Branding

Part 1

Why is a logo important?

So you are starting a small business. Budgets are tight, you need to minimise costs at this initial stage. It tempting to cut down on what we would consider brand essentials – after all, you have a great product – let’s face it, you wouldn’t be starting a business if you didn’t believe that fundamental.

Why do you need to have a logo – or branding? Surely your great product will sell itself?

Well, no not really. In this fast paced crowded world of small business, competition is fierce and you need something to stand out from the crowd.

Most web users take just over 2 seconds to scan a webpage and form their first impressions.

The next thing they look at? Your logo.

According to an eye-tracking research conducted at Missouri University of Science and Technology, the logo was next in line after the initial scan, taking about 6.48 secs of their total page viewing time.

In these days of short attention spans, your logo is the best way to grab a viewer’s attention and communicate your product.

It’s your chance to make a strong first impression.

Fundamentally, it’s the foundation of your brand identity. The fonts, colours and visuals in your logo all communicate the story you are trying to tell.

And it’s your opportunity to be the point of difference

Fundamentally, it’s the foundation of your brand identity. The fonts, colours and visuals in your logo all communicate the story you are trying to tell. And it’s your opportunity to be the point of difference.

A cafe with sustainability at its core? – you need a logo in earthly colours that sets the tone of your business.

A property developer in commercial real estate? – you need an identity that mirrors the colours and tones of your potential corporate clients.

A well designed logo can communicate so much about your company with its colours and icons and has the ability to position your brand exactly where you want it to be.

And finally, your logo is the opportunity to create brand loyalty.  Consumers crave consistency.

Let’s face it, some of your customers may well forget the name of your business – but with the right logo, they will remember the visual identity. And providing visual memory triggers is the quickest way to brand loyalty.

Nike, Gap, Ebay, Facebook, Cocacola – we immediately see their logo when these brands are mentioned. And when we see a product with that familiar logo, it creates trust and familiarity.

Your logo is not only your initial buy in, but once your customers like you, they will seek out your brand again and again – and your logo is what they will look for first.

So when it comes to start up spend, employing a professional design company to create the right logo may well be the single most important thing you do to ensure your business success.