Logo Design – Is Fresher Better?

The job of a logo is to give the public an image which to associate everything they know about a company. The logo does not have to exactly explain what the business does but it does need to have a look or feel that is consistent with the companies intended brand position.

Often busiesses work hard to imprint the image of there brand on the consumers mind. Once they have achieved that they just have to continue to offer the same great product or service that they are known for. However the urge to change is sometimes overwhelming. The need to look fresh and new is irresistible. Sometimes people start to think that since the company is so well known that maybe they are getting over looked.

In the case of Sprite, Blimpie, and Tropicana I believe they have got caught up in the need to make a change. The product has not changed or even the market but change for sake of change. And in these cases I would agrue that this change was not a change for the better.

So when is it the right time to make a change?

If a logo represents everything that your company is in the mind of the consumer than the only reason to change a logo is if you want to change what clients think about the company. For example if your company has delivered an affordable generic product for 20 years and you have decided to change to a high end specialty offering than you would not want to keep the same logo. Or if you started off selling horse shoes and now offer the whole horse with the trailer and horse food. Then a name like Troy’s Fine Horse Shoes may not be appropriate and a logo change as well as name change is in order.

Now there is something to be said in the area of tweaking a logo. For example the John Deere logo has been tweaked slowly over time. Likely the logo changed as the technology changed. They wanted to preserve what the public thought about the company but show them that they are making slight changes.

So in closing if you are a design firm and sprite comes to you wanting a new logo it may be hard to turn away the business but maybe it would be better to help them tweak the design instead of wipe an iconic image from the mind of all humanity. If you are a business owner consider what image your clients are associating you with and if it is consistent with your current position.

P.S. a note to Coka-Cola don’t even think about it !

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Don’t talk about your Brand and nobody will know

I have recently been spending more time networking on the internet. I read other peoples blogs and follow interesting people on twitter. I don’t know any of these people but I feel they have interesting or helpful information that I would like to know. The only thing I know is what they tell me. I don’t know them personally. We don’t hang out. I don’t know where they live. If they have a picture of them in a suite on their profile or site. I assume they where suites. If they twitter about going to the gym I think they must be healthy.

This reminds me of branding. With a brand businesses can be whoever they want to be. If they want to be the best at what they do they just have to say I am the best at what I do. If you want people think that you are hip and modern all you have to do is have marketing and design materials that are hip and modern. If you want to be the expert on something just have lots of information about one topic on your website and in your print materials. Perception is reality in many cases. Now you may have to prove that all this is true on day ,but you may not get that opportunity to prove yourself to be the expert if you don’t act like the expert.

The same is true in the opposite scenario. Unfortunately this is all to common in today’s small businesses. If you don’t have any information about what you do on your website or print material people assume you are not the expert. If your logo is poorly designed and inconsistent people assume that you are not hip and modern or even professional. If you never tell people that you are the best at what you do. Why would they ever thank that you are the best at what you do?

Sometimes business just assume that people will figure it out on their own. That is however unlikely. Perhaps only if they happen to stumble in your door. But if a person is looking for someone that is the expert in your field you are not going to make the list. You will not likely get found. Instead you have to go out and find the work as oppose to the work finding you. And once you do find the work you have to convince them that you are a professional and that you know what you are doing with out anything to back it up other than I nice smile.

So act like the business you want to be. You set the bar. You tell the world who you are. They have no reason to doubt you. Be proactive. Take charge. If you don’t have your stuff together than we should meet. I am the best logo designer in Nashville. I am tall and very handsome. I smell good and have a delightful personality

Marketing Preperation for 2009

Ending the year can be very encouraging for some. For others it is proof of a goal not reached. Whatever situation you find yourself in be encouraged that with new goals and some planning you can make 2009 a very successful year.

Yesterday I printed off my monthly sales for 2007 and 2008 and compared the two. It was interesting to see the trends that had developed. For example March, November, and December have been slow months for the past 2 years. However the months following are generally better than others. What I can learn from this is that when times are slow we crank up the marketing machine and get busy looking for work. We react to the problem The goal for 2009 is to plan in advance for those slow times by increasing marketing and networking efforts in advance to correct the coming slow down in business. Another trend that I have noticed is that a decrease in business generally follows our busiest months. This could be attributed to the lack of time spent on marketing when business is booming.

You may or may not be able to relate but chances are that the majority of us are in this boat together. Most people get their act together and start looking for work when they have had a slow down. Why not instead plan for those slow times and be proactive. The problem is that we never have the time to spend on marketing until we have nothing else to do. The reason we have nothing else to do is because we didn’t spend time marketing. It is a viscous cycle.

So the plan is this. Send out a monthly e-newsletter. The newsletter will provide consistent marketing throughout the year. In months before a historic slow down spend time calling potential clients and sending out direct mail. Also look for speaking opportunities at local chambers and other networking opportunities. Call past clients and look for new opportunities with them.

Rush Design Group can provide a email marketing solution as well as consult with you on the use of direct mail to target specific business opportunities. We can’t speak or network for you but we can insure your design materials look great. So good luck in the new year and make a plan now to have your most successful year to date. We look forward to working with you.

Why you should read about Logo Design and Graphic Design

Here is a casual video of why you should be reading this blog on a regular basis. I hope the bandage on my pinky is not distracting. I whacked it in a cheese slicer accident. Do not worry I am left handed and can still deliver great design.

Dutch Cheese is my Favorite.

First Logo Design Then the Business Card / Nashville Graphic Design

This video covers a few reasons why it is not wise to start a business with just business cards and no logo. A well designed logo will make your company look professional and set your business up for success. To find out more about logos read some related categories or Contact Rush Design Group.

Seo Experiment Day 18 of 30 Graphic Design

It is day 18 of the 30 day seo experiment.

The goal of the experiment is to:

1. Blog every work day
2. Sign up for as many social networks as possible
3. Read everyday about SEO ( Search Engine Optimization) Basically how to show up on Google.
4. Network with other bloggers and leave real comments

So far so good. I have noticed an increase in traffic as well as a better rank in search results. Throughout this experiment I have received some questions from clients and friends. Here are a few with some answers.

1. What is a blog? Surprisingly not everyone is familiar with blogs or how they work. Most blogs are focused on a specific topic and consist of one persons opinions on that topic. The blogger or blog owner writes on a regular basis about the topic that they want to be the expert on. The writing is generally casual and asks the readers to comment and share their opinions. The blogger can choose to approve those comments or delete them.
2. What is SEO? SEO stands for ( Search Engine Optimization). SEO is a lot of things and every post that is part of this experiment touches on different parts. But basically SEO is Optimizing your website to rank well on search engines for specific keywords.
3. What are Keywords? Keywords are the words that get typed into the search field on Google. You as the website owner decide what words you want to show up for. For example, Rush Design Group wants to show up for 3 basic Keywords or Key Phrases: logo design Nashville, graphic design Nashville, branding Nashville. So I make sure those words are on my site as much as possible.
4. Why do you keep spamming me? Sorry, I have been trying to promote my blog to everyone I know. Unfortunately not all of my clients, friends, and family like to hear from me everyday. What I have learned is that Facebook, Twitter ,and other social networks offer a passive form of contact I can say what I am doing with out demanding anyone read it. Emailing often may not be a good way to go if you want to promote your site. Although a Newsletter once a month has shown to be very productive.

I can’t believe how productive this experiment has been only 18 days in. I look forward to updating everyone on the final results. Leave a comment if you enjoy the post and if you are tired of hearing about it.

First Video Post / SEO Experiment Graphic Design

So this is the first video post. This is part of the SEO experiment. I hope you enjoy it. I didn’t spend a lot of time making it look great I just wanted to test it out and get it on the blog. Please let me know what you think.

4 Steps to Building a Marketing Database

This summer I started to commit more time to building a database of contacts. In the past I had not been very good about working on the list on a regular and consistent basis, but now I do. Actually I pay someone part time to do it from home because it would never get the attention otherwise.

Here are ways to build and use a database for growing your business in a slow economy.

1st. Make sure that the names you get are from people that you have met or have given you permission to contact them. That is the reason for building the list, because you plan to contact them.  If you get a business card or an email from someone add them to your database. Or call and ask if you can contact them later or I ask “Would it be ok if I sent you my contact information”. Or “Can I email you some info about our company.” Those are ways to build the list.

2nd. Get good information. I use Google documents this lets me set up a spreadsheet that I can update and edit from any location. It also lets multiple people update the same list. This keeps the information up to date and correct. I can leave notes about the conversation I had and when I last contacted the business. I keep track of Industry, Company, Contacts Name, Title, Phone, ext, Date Contacted, Date to call back, Email, Website, and Comments about the call.

3rd. I use that info to import into Rush Mail this lets me send a email newsletter to that list on a monthly basis. I could also use that list to form a direct mail campaign.

4th. Always update the list. Call your contacts on a regular basis. I make a point of calling my potential clients when ever I have down time. I call them every 3-4 months. I ask if they recieved the email or post card that I sent and if they have any project coming up in the future. I am not very aggressive with the call. I keep it casual and quick. If they don’t need me I don’t want to be annoying. But I do want to remind them that I want their business.