I was doing a little research and ran across this little gem that I just couldn’t resist sharing on the topic of logos – found it on a website for a web development firm:
“In fact, your logo is often the difference between a new customer and a missed opportunity.”
How many buying decisions have you made in the past year based on the company’s logo (not brand, that’s different)?
Any?
I actually thought about this myself, racking my brain to think of any business that lured me in and made me a customer because of a logo. I came up with zero. None. Zilch. Nada.
I know, I know – all the big Fortune 500 companies have fancy logos that everybody knows, and you need a logo too, right?
I didn’t want to take the time to go down the entire list of Fortune 500 companies so I just went with the top 10. Let’s talk about their logos.
1) Walmart – biggest company in the world… here’s their logo, I can type it for you – WAL*MART (replace my little star thing with an actual star and their you have it, their logo)
2) How about Exxon Mobil – number 2 on the list.
Mobil’s logo – how about this – a Mobil with all letters in blue and a red “o.” Impressed yet?
3) Chevron – number 3
They do have an actual logo beyond just the letters in their name. I’ts blue and red, you probably even recognize it. However, does their logo make you want to work with them?
4) General Motors – number 4
GM – For those who like at least we’re making some progress here. Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Saturn, Saab (and others). They all likely have logos you recognize, but I’m going to bet when you decide to buy a car you care a lot more about the brand than you do about the logo. Then again, they’re on the verge of bankruptcy…
I’ll stop here. You can go look the rest of them up if you like, but here’s the point. Your logo is not a primary reason people choose to do business with you. It’s NOT a secondary reason people do business with you. In fact, your logo is pretty much irrelevant. For most companies a logo is simply their company name in a special font or color anyway.
Don’t let some graphic designer tell you different. They’re designers. Of course, they’re going to say your logo is important. They’ll tell you stories of the iconic Coca-Cola logo. Perhaps they’ll even mention that Pepsi is spending $100 million to drill their new logo into peoples’ heads (which is reason enough for me to never invest a dollar in that company).
Invest your dollars in something that will have a return. Better train your salespeople. Bring in more leads. Forget about logos and other b.s. and focus on the things that make your business money.
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