Why does a Brand Name and Logo Matter?

For a company to sustain its business in the market it needs to be consistently good with its quality of product and its customer service. But there are other little things that represent your company too- your brand name and logo. There are studies showing a strong positive correlation between the brand appearance and the customer evaluations. As Paul Rand said, “If, in the business of communication, image is king, the essence of this image, the logo, is the jewel in its crown”. So how do you create an image that draws attention and attracts business?

Just like a person is identified by his name, the brand logo is the identification mark of a company, to indicate that the products and services they are experiencing is coming from your particular company, and not from some other place- just like the NBC’s peacock, or Apple’s apple, EBay’s colorful name tag, or Yahoo’s exclamation mark at the end. Logos aren’t just fancy drawings and colorful fonts, logos are strategic. They represent the company’s story, they simply showcase the complete picture of the company’s soul, and they register in the people’s minds and shape their first impressions. The logo is your brand’s face, until people see you face, they don’t have a solid perception about you, but once they have known you, slowly your face accumulates meanings and experiences for people who come to know you. The point is, the logo is how you portray yourself to the outside world, a first chance to connect to the customer. A great logo can communicate and ingrain a brand in the minds of consumers. For example, if we consider the Amazon logotype, we would notice a little yellow arrow pointing from the “A” in the Amazon to the “Z”, which illustrates the fact that all sorts of products would b available on this e-commerce website.

For small businesses naming and logo creation is crucial in creating a point of differentiation from the competition, according to Peter Hyman, the founder and creative director Moonshot Ventures, an ecommerce incubator that funds and operates specialty online retailers. For one his businesses, a high end online smoke shop that sells upscale bongs and vapes, he and his partners noticed that most of the competitive set used names that were slang terms for marijuana and had logos that mimicked cannabis leaves. As they were focusing on an older, more sophisticated audience they decided on a name and logo that did not scream “headshop” or “stoner.” The name they chose, SmokeSmith Gear, conveys what the site is about but also has an element that suggests quality products and handmade elements.

A great logo tells a story, in the simplest, yet smartest way. Just imagine buying a Nike t-shirt without the logo embedded on it. Would you be paying the same price for it? You product will be successful based on two aspects you consider: the quality of the product you would be delivering and effecting marketing to make people aware about your product before they make their choices. While the former is obviously mandatory, the latter is something you would have to work on. At the end of the day people care about what is being delivered to them, but brand identity is what embeds it into their memories.