Every day we need to be thinking about and implementing new ways to stand out from the competition. The logo you select for your company is one of those ways. Don’t discount its importance in identifying your company to the public. It is a vital component of your company’s brand.
Just stop and think about the most well-known landscape and lawn care companies in your market. Is a vision of their logo one of the first things that pops into your mind? Many companies also attach a tagline to their logo to make it more memorable to prospects and customers.
Here are some tips as to how you can simplify your logos and taglines to stand out and be remembered by your customers.
1. Have a distinctive logo. Do you have any type of easy-to-read or recognize logo that when people see it without your name attached they will recognize who you are? I understand not all small businesses can start off with a professional logo, but pick a font that is a bit different or that stands out to your customers. Ask family and friends for advice and seek out college students studying to become graphic artists. You may get a quality logo at a fraction of the cost. There are also some great “do-it-yourself” programs, like Logo Design Studio Pro from Summitsoft.
2. Make your logo easy to recognize. Whether you want your logo to just be a specific font or an actual icon, make it easy to recognize. People will get lost if they cannot read the writing of the logo. It may look cool to you, but if your customers cannot make out the name, you may lose some future business. Your font may stand out, but you don’t want it to stand out so much that the name of your company gets lost. Recently companies like Google and eBay have changed the way their logo looks to make it easier to recognize.
3. Choose a distinctive color. Choosing a color for your logo or company name will also help you be distinctive. The whole theme of your website, truck wraps and stationary can help incorporate this to build your brand. Home Depot has a specific orange they use and McDonalds has a specific yellow. Their logos have changed a bit over the years, but this color identity has not.
4. Think about how this logo will look once printed or embroidered. Many times printing companies requite artwork to be at least 300 dpi and in vector format for best printing capabilities. Detailed logos will not look good if embroidered and many companies will not do the embroidery with detailed logos.
The number of colors in your logo will also make a difference. Having more than four colors can sometime increase the price for embroidery and some screen print projects. These small details are sometimes overlooked, but could make a big difference in what types of promotional products you are able to print: T-shirts, polos, pens, safety vests, etc.
5. Don’t be cheap. Yes, you can probably go on the Internet and find a logo. But, do you really want something that other people can use or adapt as easily?
Remember, your logo symbolizes your company and is the identifier for your unique brand. Your logo has to go with your brand and, like your brand, must promise a positive, easily recognizable benefit in the eyes of your customers. Get professional help in developing your logo.
6. Keep it simple. Yes, a complicated and intricate design might grab more attention, but it may by unnecessarily confusing. Its message won’t always be immediately clear to customers and especially to prospects. In terms of logo design, less is often more when it comes to attracting positive attention to your brand. Consider the use of white space to make your logo really stand out and for it to deliver its message at a glance.
Building a logo can help build your brand and make consumers aware of your company and what you stand for. Do not miss out on building your brand awareness and do not forget to change the logo over time with the changing economy.
Take a look at some of the most popular logos to get inspiration, invest in a designer or program that will help you design your logo, and finally place your logo everywhere and make it consistent to help build your brand.
Your company looks a lot more professional and distinctive if you have an appealing, eye-catching and easily recognizable logo attached to your brand. The best logos are recognizable at a glance.
But logos, like brands, require periodic freshening and should be updated when either your company or market conditions change.
Take a cue from some of the most recognizable brands in the world and keep up with the times when it comes to keeping your logo top of mind with prospects and customers in your market or markets.
This article is from the 2014 Green Industry Guide. Read the rest of the digital edition here. You can find products, brands, companies and dealers in the industry on the main homepage.