Your business has a logo for sure - a symbol that represents you and your vision and positively communicates with your target audience. You print it on your business cards, use it in your email signature, on your letterhead, on your website and so on.
Have you ever asked yourself if your logo needs a refresh? Here you see nine facts that show you need a new logo.
1. TARGET GROUP SHIFT
Businesses develop. That’s why your target group can shift. If you want to attract different people than you used to in the past, a logo relaunch is a good idea.
Let me give you an example: The 4 star group A CASA rents out luxury holiday apartments in Tyrol. Years ago, they used to rent out to the middle-class. Now, A CASA arrived in the luxury segment and thus wants to attract the relevant audience.
2. COLOUR VS. BLACK-WHITE
A logo must not only work in colour, but also in black and/or white. Just think of sponsor walls or other 1-coloured communication materials. Experience shows, there comes a point when you definitely need your logo in 1 colour only. For sure, trust me.
If your logo is not clearly recognisable in 1 colour or important design elements are lost, your logo won’t be identified as your logo any more. Then you have a problem.
3. SMALL VS. BIG
Your logo must survive also in a small size (in terms of readability too). Think of smartphone screens for example; mobile B2B website visits often exceed 25 %, mobile B2C website visits are even higher. Your logo must work also as a small social media profile picture on a phone display. This means, it must be clear that it’s your logo.
4. SEVERAL OLD LOGOS
In my neighbourhood there is a hotel with several annexes. Every one of them shows a completely different logo with the same hotel name. That hotel counts most of its guests from Asia who might not be able to read the hotel name (due to the letters), so they might not understand that this is one and the same hotel.
Remember: 1 new logo is better than 3 old logos, especially when they are all still being used in public.
5. TOO LITTLE DIFFERENCE TO YOUR COMPETITOR
Does your logo look too much like your competitor’s logo? Then you probably give off the impression of wanting to copy your competitor which doesn’t demonstrate self-esteem at all. Why would your target audience go to you to buy a copy? They probably prefer the original.
However, it also works the other way around. In the photo above you see a snapshot from my Colombia holiday back in 2018 (Medellín). The logo of this coffee shop looks very similar to the Starbucks logo. At first glance, clients probably think they are buying coffee at Starbucks’ - this attracts people. In this case, the logo looking like the "big US competitor" is for sure welcome.
6. RETRO IN A NEGATIVE WAY
Do you keep hearing "Your logo looks like from the 90s"? Then there’s probably some truth in it. A new logo would be a good idea - unless you prefer to live with a negative retro image.
7. YOUR LOGO CONFUSES PEOPLE
Does your logo transport a message that has nothing to do with the reality? In order to eliminate even more misunderstandings and possible profit losses resulting from that, you should hire a designer to create a new logo for you - with a message that you really want to transport.
Let me give you an example: The old cubile logo was often mis-interpreted by the target audience. Speaking with the client, it turned out that cubile was understood as a wi-fi solution at first glance (= seeing the logo). However, the product has nothing to do with wi-fi. In order to eliminate any more confusion, a new logo had to be designed.
8. SELF-MADE
A self-made logo unfortunately often looks - well - self-made. Don’t forget: You save money now, but you might also save profits in the middle and long run.
9. COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT
If you receive a letter from a lawyer with a copyright infringement notice, you should take this serious. Obviously, your logo (or important parts of it) was copied. You can read more about a sad case from real life in my blog.
Should one (or even more) of these nine facts be true for you, it’s time for a new logo. Here I show you eight things that make a good logo.
I’ll be happy to help you in this matter. Simply drop me a message. I’m looking forward to you!