What was your most awkward moment in business?
Here’s mine. Talk about awkward! The moment I sat in front of a brick and mortar service provider and told him that his logo missed the mark when it came to expressing his brand.
As I came in the building that morning to give him a presentation on my branding programs, a mix match of signs greeted me. One on the building and a different one inside. Okay, that’s confusing!
He wanted to know how he could attract more business, especially wanting to know how his clients could better understand what he provided.
And yet, when I mentioned that his logo needed to communicate the essence of his business and that perhaps it wasn’t doing the job, he rankled.
He had “designed” it himself. Or maybe a relative did it. The logo was cool, he said. I can’t remember, this meeting was so long ago. But I remember how I felt about his response: Oh dear, he is taking his logo personally! He was attached and couldn’t see it objectively.
This scene is all too common among business owners as well as authors or artists. Putting something up on the Internet because it’s pretty or you like it or it’s cool is not a good enough reason to choose a logo mark, book cover, brochure, or any other marketing material you are producing.
Why? Because your logo or any other product/marketing piece needs to communicate your intended message. In particular, a logo needs to communicate what you do and convey trust and credibility to your target market.
For instance, let’s say you have an Etsy store and you sell jewelry to millennials. Would you use the same colors in your brand as you would to sell to middle-aged mothers? Of course not!
It reminds me of the time my foreign exchange daughter dragged me into Guess at the Outlet Mall in Castle Rock, Colo. I felt very uncomfortable there with all the black and silvery bling. But when I stepped into Dress Barn I felt right at home!
Here’s the deal: online you need to make an impression that appeals to your visitors immediately. After all, it only takes seconds for someone to decide whether or not to click on your link. If you don’t keep your target market in mind combined with the overall message of your brand, then you will be losing out.
And being personally attached to the artwork used in your logo can have detrimental consequences.
Instead, look objectively at your logo design and approach it from a strategic marketing position. This requires careful analysis, not “putting something up because it’s pretty.”
When your logo aligns with the essence of who you are, what you do, and whom you serve, and you apply that consistently across all mediums, you will have branding success and you will ignite your business!
