It’s getting to be the time of year when planning begins for next year. So it’s a good time to review one of your most valuable business assets to make sure it’s still doing its job: your logo.
Your logo is often the first and most visible opportunity to tell your audience what your organization is all about and what its value is.
It establishes the visual basis for all your marketing and communications. When it’s well-executed, it can increase the chances that your prospects will explore your organization further.
If your logo is poorly executed or outdated, it will have a negative effect on how your organization is perceived. That is the opposite of what you need from the symbol that represents your organization to the world.
In my case, my services have evolved and grown over the years, so I have refreshed my own logo several times. I have found that it’s an excellent idea to reevaluate one’s logo periodically.
Fundamentally a logo is a tool that should be expected to accomplish certain roles. It must give life and meaning to your mission, drive perceptions of your value, and strongly influence purchasing decisions.
To see if your logo is doing the job it should, find out by taking this short quiz:
- When was your logo first created?
- Has anything fundamental about your organization changed since then, such as its name, mission or purpose?
- How do you feel when you hand out your business card or look at your website? Are you still proud of your logo or do you cringe a little bit?
- How does your logo stack up to those of your competitors?
- Have you received any negative feedback that could stem from unfavorable impressions made by yo ur marketing or communications materials?
- Do you have difficulty applying your logo to different forms of media (digital, print, social, signs, etc.)?
- Do you have any reason to believe that your logo doesn’t speak to your target market?
- Have you ever been told that your logo is hard to read or understand?
- Does your logo still support your market positioning (how you want to be perceived by your audience)?
- Does your logo still support your key messages and your unique value?
If you aren’t satisfied with the answers to any of these questions, it could be that all you need is a simple refresh. Or it could be that your logo has become a liability (yikes!) and needs to be completely rethought.
Or it could be something in between. If you have any level of dissatisfaction, it’s time to get some help to sort out what needs to be done.
Contact me if you didn’t do as well on the quiz as you would have liked, and we’ll get you back onto the path of Logo Joy. I would love to help create the visual representation your company deserves.