Building Your Brand: Why Your Logo Design is Step 1

Building a brand for your small business may feel a little overwhelming. You know a solid brand is important for the long-term health of your business, but you don’t know where to start—so you keep putting it off.

Let us start by putting your mind at ease. You’re not alone. The branding process seems abstract for most small business owners. They don’t know where to start, when they’re finished, or if they got a good return on their investment. Every time you jump on social media, read a blog post or talk to another business owner, you’re flooded with a new list of things you “should” be doing. You’re overwhelmed before you’ve even started—and we don’t blame you.

TIP: We recently mapped out how you can build your entire brand in a year with a simple, 3-step process we’ve used for hundreds of small businesses across the country. If you’re struggling to find your way through the weeds of branding, that post is worth the read. Sometimes just knowing where the finish line is gives you just the boost you need to start the race.

Why It’s Best to Start with Your Logo Design

To demystify branding a bit, let’s use the analogy of building a house. The builder will start with the foundation, then build the walls, then add the finishes and fixtures—in that order. When you build your brand, your logo is the foundation, your website is the walls, and your marketing is the finishes and fixtures. While each step is essential to build a house, reversing the order would be catastrophic. The same goes for your brand.

TIP: If you’re investing in marketing month after month with no real returning on investment, it may be that you need to take a step back and first invest in your logo and website.

Your Logo Design is the Foundation of Your Brand

A strong logo design helps establish the following elements of your brand that will help shape your website design and marketing materials for years to come:

• Brand colors
• Brand fonts
• Brand design style

Tying each of these brand elements back to your logo for all branded materials gives your brand a professional edge from the very beginning. More importantly, it also strengthens your brand. When people see the same logo, colors and fonts representing your brand time and time again, they start to associate that brand with your business before they even see or hear your business name. This is called brand recognition. Recognition translates into memorability. Memorability translates into revenue. When people remember you, they are more likely to do business with you.

You Save Money When You Do Your Logo Design First

So many small business owners are tempted to skip their logo design and jump straight to their website, Google Ads or Facebook marketing. Don’t make that mistake. In an effort to save a thousand or so dollars upfront, they waste tens of thousands of dollars down the road when they finally decide to invest in a professionally designed logo. At that point, instead of just paying for a logo design, they also have to pay to update their logo everywhere they’ve already used it. If you’re like most small businesses, this could include your website, social media profiles, marketing materials, signage, company vehicles, team uniforms, business cards, letterhead—and the list goes on. Yikes. Do yourself a favor and invest in your logo as the first step to building your brand. It will save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

If you already have a strong logo in place as the foundation of your brand, nice work. However, if you need a logo refresh or brand new logo, we would love to help you lay a solid foundation for your brand with a professionally designed logo. To start the conversation about your logo design, contact us.