Choosing a Logo for your Business

Choosing a logo can be a stressful process. This is something that will stick with your business for a long time, so it makes sense that choosing the correct one - and making it fit your identity, is something that you should stew over and make a long, important decision for your business. Many companies have been ridiculed - and made extremely successful - in large part because of their logo. Others simply have one, and there is definitely a good chance that will be you, but you'd ideally fall into the last camp and not the first, which would be the worst case scenario for your business.

How do you avoid falling into the "bad camp"? The best route is evaluate the opinions of many people, and people that have no incentive to lie to you (friends, family, employees). If you solicit random people in an annoymous situation (such as on the internet), there's a good chance you can get some good feedback - one way or the other. It is very frequently hard to see the weaknesses of your own marketing collateral until it's out in the wild. However, you should "put it out into the wild" as much as you can while still in an editing phase.

Some good tips that can help improve a logo -

-Does it immediately have a connotation relevant to the business? Such as - if you're a real estate company, is there perhaps a house in there instead of just a monkey dancing?

-Can it be read easily from far away? Many people will make a logo that looks good blown up, but when granular (on a pen, on other swag) it is hard to read, while dilutes the message.

-Is the logo a mascot? In today's social media day and age, it can be beneficial to have a mascot that "speaks" as the business and has a certain voice. This voice makes the brand more personable and therefore, easier to build up and be represented by employees who come and go. Those companies who do not choose a mascot often face the failabilites that come from and with this decision.

Of course, there is no "answer" to a good logo - just strong suggestions. Feedback always helps, and some good marketing rules of thumb like the tips above.