Top 6 Benefits of Professional Logo Design
Logos play an essential role in every business. A professional logo will not only make you recognizable but also lets you stand out and be unique. A strong logo is a powerful expression of the company values, culture, and approach. The benefits of a professional logo (and identity system) are huge and successful brands understand this. Let’s take a look at some key benefits of professional logo design.
1. First Impressions
If your logo looks amateurish, then so will your business. Your logo is the first thing a customer sees, and therefore your logo must be unique, professional, and appealing. On average, it takes a customer about a third of a second to make a decision on a business on their first encounter.
A logo has the potential to carry meaning, values, culture, and approach. It should be a deeply layered symbol of your brand. A professional designer will be able to translate the key messages of your business.If you choose a professional designer, you can draw on their experience in creating a strong brand with a unique and powerful logo. A great logo designed by a professional designer is a sure way to successfully launch your own brand. The logo will not just be an icon, it will be the result of extensive discovery- and strategy sessions. These sessions take a deep dive into your brands history, culture, values, dreams, etc. They also uncover extensive information about your target audience, your ideal clients, their motivations, their pain points and so on. This way you will be able to tailor your voice and message to appeal to them. And lastly, the strategic approach analyses your competitors and market. You can find great insights regarding customers and how to connect them to your values, but if the visualization of your brand closely represents the brand identity of your competitor, it will not give you the potential growth it otherwise gives.
3. It greatly enhances Brand Loyalty
A professionally designed logo will enhance your relationships with your customers. As your business grows, your logo will get more and more recognized. Since a professional logo is the basic foundation on which your brand is built, it therefore becomes the storage place of all perceptions customers have about you. So, if your brand identity is well thought of and translated into this logo, it will become a recognizable, trustworthy beacon. Think about Nike for example, when you’re looking for shoes and you see that logo, you’re more likely to choose that item, because of the meaning that symbol conveys.
Once your customers are happy, they will remain loyal to your brand or services (happy is kind of a simple expression and cannot be solely achieved through having a strong logo). The logo is a representation of the depth of the brand, and it is this depth — created in branding, rooted in strategy, expressed through marketing, that binds your customers to you. Your logo is the symbol that visualizes these emotional connections.
4. A strong logo helps to build your brand identity
A strong logo is the foundation of your brand. A logo is not a brand, they are two separate things, though, your logo plays an imperative part in your brand identity; your logo represents your brand. Yes, you need to create every aspect of the branding process to firmly establish your business and take your unique place in the market, but if you have the right professional logo design, you can create the rest of your brand in easier ways to attract customers towards your business.
A logo is an invaluable part of this, as it helps you set a common style baseline across all brand touch points. Studies have shown that consistency across all media platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. Get the logo right, and everything ties together.
5. You can use your professional logo to market your brand across all media
If you want to keep growing, you need to promote your brand or services across various forms of media. This can vary from printed material to online presence, exhibitions, etc.
For each media platform you will need different format files such as: .eps, .png, .indd, .psd, .ai (to name a few), and the color requirements are very specific. You may even need different sizes or logo variations tailored to specific needs. A professional brand designer will be able to provide everything you’ll need for every platform. This will also include a detailed brand style guide; a comprehensive document containing all the rules and guidelines regarding your brand and the way you communicate with your audience.
Once your professional logo is activated and used throughout all touch points, your customers will see it as an independent brand — even if you’re a small business.
6. A good return on investment
A well designed logo gives a brand credibility. Many start-ups (and even bigger businesses) often think that hiring a professional brand- and logo designer is unnecessary and will increase costs, time, and adds burdens. But it is a great and potential long-term investment. If your logo is unprofessional and/or lacks depth, then customers may not be attracted to your brand at all. Having a professional logo will encourage customers to trust your business to deliver what they are expecting. If you deliver on those expectations (or preferably exceed them) you will create trust and loyalty — which will also result in brand advocacy.
A professional logo and identity system will drive growth. This will also prevent you from losing potential customers when you have a common logo.
As you can see, there are real benefits to having a professional logo. The logo in and of itself does not provide you with all the depth and growth you look for, but it is the invaluable symbol of these depths that is stored in the mind of the customer. A logo improves your relationship with your customers. All strategic efforts into appealing to your customers are culminated in this logo. It functions as a beacon of your identity, your values, approach, and every interaction your customer has with your brand. Everything is stored in this symbol.
As you think of various logos you have encountered, ask yourself; why do they work? What is it that makes me feel a certain way? How is it that when I see that logo it makes me trust the product? In the end, a professional logo encourages customers to trust you to deliver what they are expecting.
Stefan Kuijer
Originally published at https://www.crowdstud.io.
