Business Logos: An Invaluable Investment or a Unnecessary Startup Expense? [Infographic]

Marsha Kelly — October 25, 2018 Follow @best4businesses

— October 25, 2018

Logos make the business world go ‘round. It is no secret that most people are more likely to recognize a logo over other historical and relevant images. Logos have become the literal landscape of their company. The logo is the heart of all branding efforts.

In fact, it is a safe bet that 99% of the global population will recognize the major brands of Coca-Cola and Apple by logo icons alone – with no words! This realization only adds merit to the widely accepted idea that a logo is the essence of a company’s soul. As such, it is tasked with connecting to the brand’s target audience.

However, as the infographic illustrates, for as important as a logo is, it can also be costly. Plus, you are likely not McDonalds or Google. At least, not yet. So, the question remains; Is it better to invest in a logo over time or go all in before completing the startup stage?

Investing Over Time

Regardless of the decision, you make about your logo, you are making an investment. The question is whether you want to mitigate your risk with that investment or not. For the most part, this model works well with local companies, service firms, and digital companies. This is because their advertising budget is usually progressive. As they grow, their advertising needs (and budget) increase. Therefore, the amount of money spent on advertising a logo that will eventually change will not be astronomical. Plus, with smaller, service, and digital companies, the target audience is more accepting and accustomed to changing designs on sites and apps. This often finds a change of design refreshing.

There is a school of thought that encourages business owners to think of a logo like buying a house. When a person first starts out, they don’t have a lot of money. They want to build a family and they have a lot of plans. Therefore, they buy a small house.

Then, after a few years, the kids start to come, and success is starting to build. The growing family needs more room. So, they buy a bigger home. This home might not be incredibly lavish, but it is everything they need at the time. Therefore, the family uses the investment they made over the years to sell the fixer-upper and buy the new home.

Years later, the person has built a nice life for themselves, but they are thinking of expanding. Therefore, they sell their family home and move into the home of their dreams, using their investments. It is this home, their dream home, that the couple lives out the rest of their lives. This home is appreciated for generations and it is all thanks to the investment that person made all those years ago.

Now, obviously, the investment for your business is going to take place long before you retire. However, this business model shows that it is okay to invest more into a logo over time. In fact, even Google has tweaked their logo every few years to stay relevant. Now, that logo is worth 4 Forbidden Cities, approximately $ 69 billion dollars, according to the infographic.

Going All In

When a business is starting out, there are a lot of things to invest in. Regardless of whether the company is a brick and mortar store, in a fast-growing industry or strictly internet-based investments are essential.

Going all in is a methodology that is usually reserved for brick mortar retail, restaurants, and salons. Investing in a solid logo is important for these businesses because they need to cement their brand image into their consumers minds. Their brand image is synonymous with their business the second they open their doors. If they change that image, it will confuse customers and the business will get lost in their own obscurity. Additionally, traditional businesses such as eateries, salons, and retail locations invest heavily in their specific brand from the start. It is not only advertising they need to consider, though. It is also packaging and exterior signage.

Thus, another interesting way of justifying investing in a solid logo from the start is that logos do not use value. If done well, the only thing a logo will do for a company is help promote its success. Recently I used crowdsourcing to create a new logo for my business. If you are considering using a graphics logo contest check out this comparison of top sites that I found helpful when choosing which online service to use.

Computers, printers, even products lose value over time. Sometimes, that value depreciates quicker than expected. Yet, a logo will be as crisp, clean, and recognizable as the day you received it. That makes investing in the perfect logo from the get-go an asset. Thus, it makes sense to many business owners to create that beautiful logo before opening the business’ doors.

After all, they know they are going to make a first impression, introducing their business to the world regardless. So, their belief is that they should find the perfect logo to make that first impression a good one.

To close, the solution to this question is far from simple. Is your logo important for the successful promotion of your business? Yes. Is having a logo an essential part of your business model? Of course. Yet, when it comes to the number of resources you should invest upfront, or over time, the waters are murky. Ultimately, the decision should be based on the type of individual business. The considerations that need to be addressed is the target market, the ease which the business will be able to shift their customer’s perception, and the amount of investment the company is able to make.

Ultimately, the decision will come down to what you feel is right for your business. Here are the reasons why your business needs a logo.

Yet, there are many factors that should be seriously considered when that decision is being made. The decision of how to approach a logo investment is not an easy one and it should not be taken lightly.

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