The initial lack of customers and cash flow often causes
new small business owners to put off designing a logo and
marketing materials professionally "until they get a few
clients" or "until they get started." Unfortunately,
designing their own marketing materials when they launch
their businesses instead of having them professionally
created will make getting those initial clients more
difficult and may result in a business that will not
succeed.
Many entrepreneurs choose to design their own marketing
materials when they launch their businesses, especially by
creating their first business card. Or sometimes they will
have an amateur designer, friend, or relative create the
design. There are several reasons why this is not the best
idea. An amateur logo design and business card can make
your business more likely to fail for a number of reason.
- Your business will not look stable. It will appear to be
more likely to fold or to fail. Clients will not have
confidence in doing business with you. Would you do
business with someone who seems to be on unstable footing
and who might not be in business by the end of your project
or after you have purchased an item?
- You will look like a very small business. Large,
successful businesses would never consider doing business
without professional, originally designed marketing
materials. Using materials that are not professionally
designed (i.e., Microsoft or Vistaprint templates) makes
your business appear even smaller and can possibly indicate
that you cannot perform to or meet the standards required.
- You will look unpolished and rough. Not having a
professional "look and feel" can make it appear as though
your business does not matter to you. Customers may get the
impression that you do not care about the way your business
presents itself, which might indicate that you would not
care about the quality of your work or the way that your
work reflects upon their business.
- You will look unfocused. Unprofessional, uncoordinated
marketing materials can make your business look "jumbled"
or confused. If you have a business card with one look and
feel and a Web site with another, this creates a
confused-and confusing-look and feel for your business.
This can also cause an identity crisis for a small
business. When looking at your differently designed
materials, potential clients may be fooled into thinking
that they are looking at materials that represent different
companies. About half of all businesses fail within their
first few years. One source of failure that is commonly
cited by experts is sloppy or ineffective marketing. If
your marketing materials do not stand out from those of
your competitors, your sales will suffer.
When you start a business, you need to create the quickest
possible route to business success. A logo helps to create
this by contributing to your business's visibility,
credibility, and memorability-three factors that will help
your business to grow and achieve success. So, while
putting off your logo development may seem like a prudent
idea from a cash-flow point of view, it could result in
your business never getting off the ground. It can also
lead to your business folding when it would otherwise
succeed.
If you think that you can't afford to design a logo when
starting your business, consider the outcomes-how can you
afford not to?
----------------------------------------------------
Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big
visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf
design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand
out in front of their competition and attract more clients.
Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help
you with your brand definition - the most important step in
the brand identity design process.
http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html
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