With most customers nowadays relying on brand image when buying products, creating a successful branding strategy has become more important than ever. Whether you have a medium sized online business, or a large brand, you still need to keep it up to date. With the rapidness at which customer values and behavior changes nowadays, it is becoming even more important to constantly improve your branding.
Consider the fact that most customers make their buying decisions based on the brand image and quality. With so many different brands competing in each product category, the only way to get your brand recognition is to make it different. Differentiation is one sure way to beat up the competition and create a separate segment in the market for your brand.
However, to achieve brand differentiation, you need to have a successful branding strategy. Your logo, color combination, brand positioning and other aspects of brand development should all be on par. When you take all these factors of branding into account, you will have a solid branding strategy that will get you more customers and recognition in the market.
The question is, how to differentiate your brand and create a unique image in the market. While there are different ways to do this, the best way is to develop a unique logo. Your logo should reflect the brand values and customer preferences. It should also be on par with the image that you are trying to market your brand on.
What makes a good logo/brand?
The logo is one of the most important things that forms the base of every branding strategy. It should describe the business that you are doing in a clear way. Look at some examples of an education logo, a travel logo or a cleaning logo.
The education logo will ideally contain a professional background, picture of children, books or maybe even a famous quote. However, a travel logo will be simpler and convey a message of openness and exploration. The cleaning logo will be restricted to the house, hygiene and similar areas. Each logo should be different in the basic design and explain clearly what the business represents. There is no use of having a logo that confuses the customer.
Imagine these emblems and sophisticated education logo designs being used for a fast food brand! It will only result in delivering the wrong message and the failure of your brand. A good logo design should always be according to the current standards and customer preferences.
Here are 3 ways you can improve your business by redesigning your logo: – It helps you keep up with the times
If you look at the older logos of many famous brands, you will notice slight changes over the years. However, all of these changes were geared at keeping the branding fresh and relevant. One of the main advantages of redesigning your logo is that you can keep your brand relevant when customer preferences change.
If you try and market the same logo using older designs, it will only look outdated. As with other aspects of business, your logo should move on with the times. However, there is no specific time frame for getting a logo redesign. Some industries age faster than others. For example, Coca Cola only made minor changes to their logo in the past 100 years, but Reebok changes their logo more than 7 times in 30 years. – You can send a new message to customers
Another major advantage of redesigning your brand’s logo is that you can get a new message across to customers. Sometimes people get tired of hearing the same message over and over, no matter how good it sounds. When you redesign your brand logo, you can attach a new message to it.
This will tell customers that your brand is evolving according to the times. For example, if the fitness craze is geared towards the gym, a clothing logo can be designed in that way. However, when the fitness preference of people change, the logo will need to change as well. Many brands have used logo redesign successfully in their advertising campaigns. It is a very successful marketing tool. – You can expand your target market
When a brand becomes too focused on a small group of individuals, the chances for growth are minimal. However, when you redesign your brand logo, you are opening doors for brand expansion and growth. Consider the fact that many brands have an issue when it comes to breaking into new markets and targeting new customers.
When you create a more ‘universal’ logo design, you will be able to target customers of different demographics. Not only will it increase the value of your brand, it will also give you a bigger range when it comes to targeting customers.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that the logo should not be completely different from the original one. Your logo is linked with your brands past experiences as well. It is better to build on what you already have than abandon it completely. Unless you want to completely change your branding, you should always redesign your logo by making slight changes.
Why the logo matters
While most people look at other aspects of marketing, more experienced marketers know that it is all about how you present your brand. Your logo is your brand’s unique identity. It is like a name and worth much more than the product itself.
Even if a new company makes a car better than Ferrari, they won’t be able to sell it for the same price. A good brand image is worth more than the actual product and can help you get loyal customers. As with everything in business, sometimes you have to change your logo to keep up with market changes.
Businesses that change and adapt are more likely to be successful in the long run. Do you have any thoughts on logo redesign? Post in the comments below. Your input is valuable to us!
By Kenise Jones, a graphic designer specialized in editorial design for health and wellness magazines. She has 2 years of experience as a freelance writer.