More often than not, small businesses forget about the importance of branding. Branding is extremely important for establishing initial trust with the buyers. Those that pay attention to their business’ visual identity will always leave a stronger impression on the consumer.
Moreover, if your small business (SMB) does not have a captivating logo, the chances are that the consumers will not even want to interact with your brand. If they find your design to be on a professional level, they will definitely turn to you for the services they need rather than to your competitors.
Make your brand stand out
The logo should be the most important aspect of creating your SMB’s visual identity. It will act as a foundation upon which you will build the rest of your design. Get this right and you will be on the right track to correctly branding your business.
Today, you cannot afford to make changes to your brand’s visual identity. It slows down your progress and costs money which you cannot afford to waste. Since having a well-designed logo is one of the most important aspects of branding, consider reading the rest of this article for tips on how to do it correctly.
Avoid being generic
When making your first logo, you cannot afford to be generic. Your brand still does not have the recognition it deserves, so you need to make your logo easy to interpret. Make life easier for your consumers by designing a logo that tells them a bit about the nature of your business. This is especially important for SMB owners because of the budget limitations. You simply cannot afford generic design.
SMB logo design is completely different from its corporate counterpart. Large corporations have enough resources to make the consumer associate any image with their brand, a luxury that you cannot afford. That is why you need to connect with consumers right off the bat and leave a strong and a positive brand impression.
Use appropriate typography
The most important elements of your SMB’s brand are the graphical elements and the typography. The typography that will be used to represent your brand is one of the most important choices a designer makes in the branding process.
Typography is important in communicating what your brand is all about. Whether your brand is fresh, futuristic, whimsical, established or common, the typography you use has to reflect that. What is more, the typography has to be in alignment with the graphic element of your logo.
Colours matter
Choosing the right colours for your logo design is crucial. Some industries have already established their most commonly used colour palettes. For example, most heating and air-conditioning companies use red and blue in their designs to denote heat and cold.
When choosing the right colour for your brand, you need to think outside the box. First of all, you will need to look at your competitors to see what they use. Then, try to choose a hue that will make your brand stand out from the crowd. Be disruptive in choosing your hues. You want to appear as a more professional alternative.
Consider your logo application
Before finalising your logo design, you have to think about its application. Will it be used predominantly in guerilla marketing campaigns or only online? These questions will determine your logo’s appearance. Let us go through some of the possible logo applications.
Social media
This is a must for any business. Add your new logo to all of your social media profiles. Make it appear professional by adjusting the size and the resolution of the logo accordingly.
Web design
You should integrate your logo and other brand design elements into every aspect of your website. Be careful not to overdo it because you might come off as tacky. The logo on your site should support the fact that your brand is trustworthy and reliable.
Uniforms
No one will be a better brand ambassador than your employees. Therefore, you should create uniforms in your brand’s colours and make the logo stand out.
Vehicles
Your truck and cars should stand out from the crowd of vehicles on the road. This is a great guerilla marketing technique that will make an impact only if you do it correctly. Your branding and logo should be in focus.
Making the logo
A lot of new businesses have employees that are tech-savvy enough to use Photoshop or some other software for creating captivating graphics. A lot of them have designers as part of their teams who can easily come up with a unique logo idea. Some SMBs tend to use a free logo maker, on the other hand. This is not necessarily a bad thing if you know exactly what you want but do not possess the technical knowledge to execute the idea.
If you have no idea what your logo should look like, or if none of your staff know how to approach creating one, you should definitely consider hiring a professional to take care of the job. Their job is to develop brand identities and if you work closely with a designer, together you will be able to present your brand in the best light possible.
Having a logo is a must
Finally, do not go into business without developing your brand’s visual identity. Having a logo is a must in the today’s oversaturated market. Be careful when creating one, pay attention to its application, colours and whether it conveys a clear message about what you do.
Proudly brought to you by the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC).