Your Logo is for Your Clients, Not You

Your logo has less to do with you than it does with your prospects and customers. I recently saw a post from a consultant who was refreshing her brand and updating her logo. She shared her designer's logo comps with her network for their opinions.

There were 20 options!

If you have children -- or executives at your business -- then you know that more options is not always the best way to get to a decision.

Additionally, these logo comps were not great. They contained colors that the consultant has used for years and an image that has personal meaning for her but has absolutely nothing to do with her business.

Worse, it means absolutely nothing to her customers.

I understand that when you've founded your business and give it a name, you want to give it a logo, but all of that should mean more to your potential customers than it does for you.

Seriously!

Our business is called Brandtelling. It’s a combination of brand+storytelling and it is named for companies that are looking for strong ways to brand their companies by leveraging the power of story.

I am proud of my family name - it has a long generational history in America, since the mid-1700s. But that doesn’t matter for our clients, does it?

Instead, I selected a name that has more to do with what our clients want to achieve and how we can help them succeed.

And my logo and colors were chosen to represent boldness and story. Not necessarily my favorite colors. They were also not based on my hobbies. These things have their place - I like science fiction and adventure - especially time travel and robot stories. But you will not find clocks and robots on my website or in my logo - these are not what my clients are looking for when they need branding.

I truly hope this consultant considers her market, services and customers before making a final decision about her new logo. Your brand is more than your logo, but a poorly selected and executed logo can damage your brand more quickly than you would believe.