Branding 131 Whitepaper

Branding 131 White Paper How your company’s visual language is the key to attracting loyal customers

More Downloads: http://www.cyberoptik.net/downloads.html November 19 2013 | Version 1.0 1

Branding 131 White Paper

How your company’s visual language is the key to attracting loyal customers

More Downloads: http://www.cyberoptik.net/downloads.html November 19 2013 | Version 1.0

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Congratulations! You’ve made a smart decision in downloading our Branding Whitepaper.

This whitepaper will educate you on the importance of having a logo, the necessity of having a good logo, and the reasons you shouldn't create yours in-house.

I want to help your business expand and grow, so if you have any questions as you read through this document, make a note and feel free to give me a call directly.

We would love to be your resource for anything website- or branding-related.

Ron Johnson and the CyberOptik Team Main: (630) 296-6932 | Direct: (630) 533-3752

Email: [email protected] Website: www.cyberoptik.net

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ronjohnson



Table of Contents

4. 3 Reasons Your Business Can't Afford to Do Without a Logo

7. Is Your Bad Logo Affecting Your Business?

9. Why You Shouldn't Try to Create Your Own Logo

11. What You Should Get From Your Logo Designer

13. What Now?



3 Reasons Your Business Can't Afford to

Do Without a Logo If you are responsible for marketing your business, then you’ve no doubt faced the

challenge of choosing a logo. While it may be tempting to neglect that difficult (and

often time-consuming) task and to put your marketing investment elsewhere, you

should know what a grave mistake that would be.



The success of your business relies on an effective business logo. Need some convincing? Here are three reasons why

you can't afford to go without a logo for your business:

Your logo is the staple of your brand. If you know anything about business

marketing, then you must know that branding is central to any marketing concept or campaign. To

take that even further, your logo is the unifying factor of your business brand. It represents

everything you want to convey about your business, including your business scope and purpose, your

mission statement, your target audience, and your product or service. If you are lacking a logo, then

you are lacking a very powerful spokesperson for your business.

Your logo represents your business, even in tight spaces. Effective marketing

is a numbers game. Given the wide variety of marketing mediums, it only makes sense that you use

every avenue possible to grow your business brand. Many marketing mediums are space-limited (not

to mention expensive with regard to size), and you therefore need a powerful marketing tool that can

work in even the tightest spaces. Your business logo will represent your business when a paragraph of

text simply won’t do – on everything from business cards to classified ads to coupons to letterheads.



Images speak more loudly than words. A number of hard-to-ignore marketing

studies have shown time and again that people respond better to images than they do to text. Not

only are people initially more attracted to images, but they also stay engaged with images longer

and remember them longer than they do text. That means that no matter how great your business

slogan or brand message is, it is simply no match for a great logo image. With that knowledge, and

in a market where your competitors are sure to have a logo, can you really afford not to have one?



Is Your Bad Logo Affecting Your Business?

How much time and thought did you put into creating your logo? If your logo was an afterthought, then

it's time to revisit it. Don’t make the critical mistake of underestimating the power your logo has to

make or break your business-marketing and branding efforts. Is your bad logo affecting your business?

Here are some things to consider:

Bad business image. Think of it this way: your logo is the image that will be most closely associated with your business. If your logo is poorly designed, unprofessional or sloppy, then that is exactly the impression it will leave with potential customers when they think about your business.

Low impact. There are some clear-cut rules when it comes to creating an effective logo. A logo that is poorly designed is often difficult to see clearly, interpret, and/or remember. This is the type of logo that won’t make an impact in the market, and that will be overlooked in favor of more effective ones. Therefore, a bad logo may not be harming your business as much as it is simply not helping it.



Bad targeting. Even if your logo is well designed, it may not be designed appropriately for your target market. As a business, you need to know who your customers are. If your logo is not speaking directly to your customers, then it isn't working for you. By the same token, if your logo is getting a lot of attention from people who aren’t likely to have a need for your product or service, then it's also not working for you. A good logo design is one that is relevant and that grabs the attention of the people who are most interested in what your business has to offer.

Wrong idea. This is another instance where your logo, even if well designed, may not be the right one for your business. Your logo should convey to potential customers what your business is all about. Everything about your logo – shapes, colors, images, and fonts – relays a certain feeling, or message, about your business. Therefore, a bad logo in this case is one that does not effectively give customers the right idea about your business.



Why You Shouldn't Try to Create Your Own Logo It's understandable that, as a business owner, you want to save on overhead costs

wherever you can. But in some cases, saving money now could end up costing you a lot

in the long run. One such case is logo design.

There are many “free logo design” websites and templates out there, giving you the illusion that making an

effective logo is simple and easy. While it may be tempting to take on the task yourself and forgo hiring a

professional, taking on your own logo creation could be a big mistake for your business. Why? Here are some

reasons why you shouldn't try to create your own logo:

Unoriginality. An effective logo must be original, unique and highly recognizable. It is virtually impossible to create a distinctive logo when you utilize a one-size-fits-all web template or service. When you put your logo design into the hands of professionals, they do the necessary research to ensure that your logo is unlike anyone else’s. Unless you have the resources and know-how to do that, you should leave your logo creation to someone who does.



Amateur work looks . . . amateurish. Remember that your logo speaks for your business. If it is not professionally made, then it could come off looking like an amateur art project. Unless you don’t mind that your logo says to people, “I’m an amateur,” you should leave its design to professionals.

You are not a marketing expert. What is your business all about? If it's not about marketing, branding and advertising, then you probably don’t have the expertise to create a logo that will be effective for your target audience. There is much more to logo design than creating a pleasing image. Your logo must affect the people who are most likely to need your product or service. Design professionals are knowledgeable about market analysis, and can create a logo that is effective in attracting the type of audience your business needs. Unless you understand how exactly to pull that off, you should not try to create your own logo.

Lack of resources. When it comes to creating an original and effective logo, you simply don't have the resources that professionals have. Hiring a logo design company means having experience, artistry and advanced design software on your side.



What You Should Get From Your Logo Designer

Your logo is integral to your business branding, and the task of creating your logo should be left to someone

who is experienced and competent. If you are interested in learning more about what exactly you can expect

when you hire a professional to create a logo for your business, check out this list of things you should expect

from your logo designer:

Color. Your designer should also deliver two color formats – CMYK and RGB – since one format is best for printing and the other for web use.

Black and white. There will be instances where you will have to use a black-and-white version of your logo (newspaper ads, for example). Therefore, it's important that your logo works just as well when reversed out (in black and white) as it does in color. Your designer should deliver both versions for your inspection.



A variety of file formats. You will need to insert your logo into an array of mediums, including web pages, word processor documents, business cards, letterheads and more. Therefore, it's essential that you have your logo in a variety of file formats, as each medium may require a different format. When you interview potential designers for your project, make sure they promise to deliver .eps, .jpg, .tiff and .gif file formats for your logo.

Favicon. A favicon is a smaller version of your logo that sits on the tab section of a webpage and associates the web page with your business. (If you need an example of a favicon, simply head to the Google home page and look for the blue-and-white “g” icon at the top of your screen.) Although a favicon is not absolutely necessary, it is a great way to add even more credibility to your web presence, and a logo designer who offers one is a step ahead of a designer who doesn’t.

Mobile browser icons. As you may or may not know, businesses these days are beginning to rely heavily on mobile apps to stay connected with their customer base. This is because more people access the web through their mobile devices than through their computers. If you want your icon to be clear on those tiny mobile device screens, you should make sure your logo designer creates a version of your logo that is optimized for mobile browsers.



So, what now? Act!

Don’t skimp when it comes to building your brand.

Contact the experienced professionals at CyberOptik today.

Give us a call at 630-296-6932.

We would love to design a brand that will make your company stand out from the crowd.

Here’s to your success!Best Regards,

Ron Johnson and the CyberOptik Team Main: (630) 296-6932 | Direct: (630) 533-3752

Email: [email protected] Website: www.cyberoptik.net

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ronjohnson



About CyberOptik CyberOptik is a full-service web design firm based in Elmhurst. We can help you with

your website, social media, web hosting, branding, mobile websites, SEO and much

more.

If you’d like professional help with your website needs, don’t be shy! Contact us today.

To download more free info about marketing your business online, visit

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Branding 131 Whitepaper