The Benefits of a Professional Logo

For a business, having a logo can have an enormous impact on the future success. For example, Coke, Nike, and Apple, some of the best companies in the world, had their logos, which proved to be tremendously successful.?

It’s easy to confuse an amateurish logo with a professional one, but they couldn’t be more different. A professional logo not only creates positive first impressions with your clients, it also makes you look like an expert in your field. And, ultimately, that can translate into new business and better revenue. Make sure you take advantage of these five benefits:

Create a positive impression

A professional logo shows that you mean business. Clients will trust your services more if they know you’re experienced and capable of handling their needs. It allows potential customers to identify with your brand right away, so they know what kind of service or product to expect from you. A good logo is memorable—it will stick in people’s minds so when they see it again (or hear about your company), they remember what it stands for without having to do any extra work on their part. A great logo is timeless—it looks good now, but will still look good years down the road when you decide to redesign it or refresh its appearance by changing colors or updating fonts and graphics. Your logo should be flexible enough to fit into multiple mediums and formats, including social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.?

You want your logo to be easy to reproduce at small sizes as well as large ones—this way it can appear on everything from letterhead stationery to large banners at trade shows. An attractive logo makes you look good too! When clients have positive experiences with your company, they’ll tell others about it. That includes sharing pictures of themselves posing next to signs featuring your company name or logo. This helps spread awareness of your brand and increases customer loyalty.

A professional logo doesn’t have to cost a fortune either. There are plenty of affordable options out there for designers who offer custom logos for reasonable prices, or you can choose an off-the-shelf design that fits within your budget. Just make sure you avoid these common mistakes: Using clip art or images found online unless they are royalty free Images, created using Microsoft Word Art Using generic templates found online instead of working with a designer, and not hiring someone who specializes in creating logos.

To learn more about how to create an effective logo, check out these resources: 10 Logo Design Tips to Take Your Brand to the Next Level?

Stand out from the crowd

When you’re starting a business, you want it to be noticed and remembered. A professional logo design can help with that by setting your company apart from all others. When people see your logo, they should have an instant idea of what you do, even if they don’t know anything about your business or industry. It’s more than just an emblem; it’s building brand recognition for your product and services. The best logos are iconic in nature—think Coca-Cola’s script or Apple’s apple—and instantly recognizable on sight. They convey your message and make customers feel like they already know you before ever interacting with you. But not every business needs a unique logo; in fact, many companies rely on color schemes and imagery as their primary branding tool instead of creating custom graphics from scratch. And while some graphic designers will offer free logo designs, there’s no guarantee you’ll get something worth using. If you want a truly professional look, it might be worth hiring someone who specializes in designing logos specifically for businesses. In any case, remember: Your logo is your identity. Make sure yours stands out! A true picture is worth 1000 words. Have you been inspired? Click here to learn how our visual content creation process works and sign up for a trial account today!

If you take it seriously, it will pay off!

By investing in your logo, you’re making an investment in your business. Investing in something shows you are serious about succeeding; it will make others (potential investors, customers) take you more seriously. When people take you seriously, they listen to what you have to say; they follow through on deals with you; and they invest in your success as well.?

A logo should reflect your business as a whole: from its message, tone and quality level to its personality and style. It should be memorable so that when people see it, they remember who you are. It should be consistent across all mediums and applications so that if someone sees your logo once, he or she can recognize it anywhere else—on your website, social media pages or business cards. If you want your logo to stand out, try hiring a professional designer. This way, you won’t be stuck trying to create something yourself; instead, you can sit back and let them do their job while you get back to yours. Your time is valuable; don’t waste it on designing a logo! After all, there is no better return on investment than getting back time you would otherwise spend doing something mundane.?

Hiring a professional also ensures that your logo looks exactly how you want it to look. You wouldn’t hire an attorney for legal advice without first researching his or her background, right? The same goes for designers. Look at portfolios and references, ask for recommendations and read reviews before deciding who to work with. Consider your budget: How much are you willing to spend on a logo? What kind of value do you expect to receive in exchange for your money? Most importantly, think about why you need a new logo. Do you need one because your old one is outdated or unprofessional looking? Do you need one because your business has changed over time and needs an updated image? Or maybe both apply.?

Whatever your reason, keep it in mind as you search for a designer. Don’t settle!: No matter how much you like your logo, don’t settle until you find one that fits perfectly with your brand identity and reflects everything about who you are and what you do. Once you find the one, stick with it—your hard work paid off! Make sure to update it every few years so that it stays fresh and relevant.

Not having one means limited access to better opportunities

Unsurprisingly, people make judgements about you and your business based on your logo. If it looks cheap or poorly designed, they’ll be less likely to take you seriously. If you have no logo at all, however, people will assume that your brand is young and lacks professionalism. You won’t seem like a serious contender in even basic industries—like restaurants or food delivery services—without an identity to match. Your name isn’t enough: A lot of businesses opt for their own name as their logo. While there are certainly benefits to doing so (your customers already know what your company name is), there are also drawbacks. For one thing, if you use your own name as a logo, it can be hard for people to remember how to spell it correctly! And more importantly, using just your company name doesn’t communicate much about what kind of business you are running. Is yours casual or professional? Does it specialize in something specific? An image helps answer these questions and give people a better idea of who you are and what you do.?

It’s not worth trying to DIY: It might sound obvious, but if you try to design your own logo yourself, chances are good that it won’t turn out well. Remember, logos aren’t just images; they need to convey certain ideas about your business through color schemes, fonts, symbols and other design elements. If you don’t have experience designing logos, you could end up with something that doesn’t quite say what you want it to say. Or worse, someone else could steal your idea before you ever get around to implementing it.?

Hiring a professional ensures that your logo turns out exactly how you want it to and protects against copyright infringement down the road. You’re ready to scale: Even if you started off without a logo, eventually your business will grow beyond where it was when you first opened its doors. Whether that means expanding into new markets or getting ready for another round of fundraising, having a strong identity will help your company navigate these challenges and continue growing. Logos evolve alongside companies and help create continuity across those changes. Make sure yours is ready for them!

Invest in yourself and reap the rewards in return

A professional logo should be one of your first investments in your business. A logo may be an expense you can't fully appreciate at first, but over time you'll see how valuable it is to have something that looks polished and visually represents what you're selling. The bottom line is that there are many benefits to having a quality logo for your business.?

If you want to attract investors or clients who don't know you personally (think cold-calling), then they need to trust your brand right off the bat. Having a professional logo will give them confidence in your abilities as a business owner—and make them more likely to invest their money or hire your services. And if you’re just starting out on your own, you’ll find that hiring a professional designer to create a logo for you helps with motivation and productivity. It’s like buying yourself an early Christmas present! In fact, according to Entrepreneur magazine, 80 percent of small businesses surveyed said that creating a logo was part of their success. Of course, none of these things mean you should spend thousands on your logo design. There are plenty of affordable options out there.?

Just remember: Investing in yourself and getting a high-quality product from a professional designer will pay off in dividends down the road when you start growing your business into something big. You can always look back and say, Wow, I'm glad I made that investment! Because a good logo isn't just pretty; it's practical.