- Is Your Logo Helping or Hurting Your Business?

The quality of your logo can mean the difference between success or failure. It can be that simple!

Trademarks and Logos make up the most international language in the world. An excellent logo can cross many barriers and provide your organization with a means of delivering to your customers an unequivocal and uniform message.

Every successful company has its own "personality," and just as human personalities are complex, so too is your company's personality. A successful logo is a means of condensing a complex reality into a single, simple statement, one that can be controlled, modified, developed and matured over time.

Your logo needs to be much more than just a distinguishing mark for your company. It must be an indication of quality, value, and reliability.

Does your logo do these things successfully?:

. IDENTIFY your company, product, or service.

. DIFFERENTIATE it from the mass of other similar companies.

. COMMUNICATE information as to your products value and quality.

. ADD VALUE by causing you to provide a quality service in order to maintain your company's reputation.

. REPRESENT potentially valuable assets. When people see your logo, can they tell by the design that your product or service is of high quality.

If your logo doesn't do these things, then you might need to update it, possibly seeking professional advice.

- Is your logo design really that important?

It is extremely important! Your logo is a part of the foundation on which you build your brand. Especially since the recent explosion of Internet businesses, but even before that, consumers have an overwhelming variety of choices. Chances are that whatever you are selling, there is something similar to it available. Chances are there is someone in direct competition with you right now. Yes, there are very few products that are shielded from direct competition because of a patent or for some other reason.

It is because of this that much of your efforts in marketing and branding should be concentrated on building a distinctive and differentiated "brand personality" for your company.

Take the success of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. There is some difference between these two products, but this difference is very subtle. Plus, there are hundreds of other brands of cola on the market. Even so, these two brands, Coke and Pepsi, are able to dominate the worldwide cola market. What is the main factor for their success? It is the strength and appeal of their brands.

And what is the foundation for their brands?

It is their powerful Logos!

Your logo is the means by which you can distinguish your products and services and therefore serve both your needs and the needs of your customers.

Ok, so what are the TOP 5 components that make up an excellent logo?...