Lenz has been marketing our clients for almost 22 years, and this is the No. 1 question we hear. I understand why.
After all, with the numerous aspects of a product or service to consider, do customers really make buying decisions based on something as simple as a logo?
You might be surprised.
I tell my clients to think of their logo as their appearance at a job interview.
Certainly, you have never gotten a job offer just for wearing a nice suit, but try interviewing in Bermuda shorts and see how many offers come!
More importantly, let’s consider what your prospective boss thinks after you leave.
Will she remember the brand or color of your suit? Most likely not. But she will have an overall impression of you—whether quality or not—that is directly informed by your appearance. And that impression will influence her decision regarding whether to hire you.
Logos work the same way. In the marketplace, we usually meet (and interview) a company from a distance, before we directly interact with its products or services.
It is during this time—when we see the logo, for example—that we form our impressions of everything the company stands for. This in turn affects the buying decision.
It doesn’t really matter if you can describe or draw a company’s logo any more than it matters if you can name that suit designer.
Or that a logo pictorially represents everything a company actually does. Ultimately what matters is whether the logo communicates quality as it represents your company.
If your logo does convey quality, you are much more likely to experience business success. If your logo looks like you showed up at church only in your underwear, well, you have a problem. Appearances matter.
–Mike Killeen