Do you really need a business logo, or can you get by without one?
Your logo establishes you in the marketplace. It’s the starting point of your brand identity — the set of values and characteristics that set you apart from other businesses.
Without a logo, your visual impact on customers won’t be as strong. You miss out on the opportunity to develop an immediate mental connection that reminds customers who you are and what you have to offer.
Have you been coming up with reasons why you don’t really need a logo? Check out these common excuses that people tend to use when they’re hesitant about designing a logo for their business.
I want to keep my business small, so I don’t need a logo.
Maybe you’re pursuing a side business, and you don’t have a lot of hours to devote to it. You’d rather it not grow beyond the amount of products or services you can provide within a given timeframe, so you decide to skip the official logo and just go with plain text.
What if one day you feel differently? You may decide that you want to grow your business into something bigger. However, you haven’t been building the kind of trust that you need in order to expand your client base. You’re wasting opportunities to make connections with new customers. Since you only have a plain-text company name instead of a logo, your business seems like an untested startup, although it may have been running for months or years.
Don’t waste a single customer connection. With a logo design, you connect visually with future customers. You build a foundation for future growth.
If you feel overworked and overwhelmed by new customers, you can always say no; but in the meantime, you build visibility and trust, making it easier to expand in the future. This is true no whether you own a cleaning service, sew specialty cloth diapers, design leather products, or create art for homes.
A logo will make it seems like I’m trying too hard.
If you work within a niche market, you might feel like a logo will make it seem like you’re trying too hard. What if people think you’re making yourself seem more important and successful than you really are?
Let’s set those fears to rest, shall we? For most people, seeing a new logo associated with your business will be positive and interesting. They’ll think, “He must be doing well; he has an official logo now!” A logo isn’t pretentious, but it does give your work a certain weight. It legitimizes your efforts and makes your business worth noticing.
So, to reference an earlier example, do you need a logo if you’re in the business of making specialty cloth diapers or leather wristbands? Yes, you do! Believe in yourself and your product, and other people will start believing in it, too.
A logo isn’t necessary. My customers know who I am.
Suppose that a woman — we’ll call her Julie — makes jewelry. Not just any jewelry, but pieces handcrafted from recycled soda bottles that she melts down and molds herself. She is mainly selling her work to friends, family members, and acquaintances. She relies on word of mouth and a simple Facebook page to display her products and make sales. Does Julie need a logo? After all, her customers know who she is, right?
Julie’s current connections may be sufficient for now, but eventually, her family and friends will have enough pieces of her art. She’ll have taken the word-of-mouth train as far as it goes, and she’ll find herself stuck with a glutted market and nowhere to sell her new pieces.
Instead of relying solely on people she knows, Julie needs to broaden her vision. She needs a website and logo. She needs to take advantage of that first wave of buyers and use it to reach to art collectors and jewelry lovers beyond her current circle of acquaintances. A logo, a visual representation of her business, can help her do that.
You may feel the same as Julie about your service or products. With a great logo and a set of business cards, imagine how many more people you could reach, and how much more money you could make doing the things that you love.
I know I need a logo, but I’m worried that no one will like it.
Don’t despair — you don’t need a designer with a fancy degree in order to create a great logo. Keep it simple with your business name and a clear image or icon of some kind. Connect the logo to the services or products you provide.
Test it on some people, take the feedback, tweak it, and try again. With a little creativity and helpful customer feedback, you’ll be ready to roll out your new logo in no time.
> Ready to make a logo? Take a look through some of our logo design templates and get some ideas!
