Without strong branding, marketing your company will often be a case of running faster to stand still. A good brand boosts the power of your other efforts by reducing the resistance of consumers, helping your marketing messages to hit their mark. Brand building is a science in itself, but one of the most important foundations is to have a professional, distinctive logo. Why is this so essential?

– A logo is one of the first things a potential customer sees when exposed to your company, and it can make an immediate, subliminal impact. If your logo projects a sense of professionalism, it’s relatively easy to go on and build trust and credibility. On the other hand, an amateurish effort easily gives the impression of a slipshod, unreliable operation, dooming your marketing strategy before it even begins.

– Shrewd marketers know about the power of color psychology. The colors you use in your logo are a quick way to convey excitement, reliability, edginess, or any other emotion you want your brand to be associated with.

– The actual design can then build on the color choice, adding a sense of modernity, dynamism, or tradition, for example. Ultimately, your logo sets the foundations for your brand identity.

– Most industries have a typical style of graphic design, at least in a broad sense, which the biggest brands stay fairly close to. If your logo fits into the common theme while still being recognizably different, you’ll gain credibility by association with those bigger players.

– A distinctive logo can also be evolved to follow fashion without losing its essential recognition. This helps to keep your brand fresh and relevant by tapping into current trends without diluting its identity.

– A well-designed logo can also be pressed into service on everyday business essentials from letterheads to mail packaging, adding company-wide consistency to brand building.

– Once your brand has begun to gain traction, an attractive and distinctive logo can be placed on promotional merchandise from t-shirts to calendars, offering powerful marketing opportunities at industry events or as part of a wider branding campaign.

While clever slogans and memorable advertising may provide the most striking examples of effective marketing, these tactics need a solid foundation to build on. If establishing a strong brand is part of your long-term marketing strategy, it pays to create a professional logo as the first, hugely important step.