With the help of the Internet, small businesses have been given immense power that they can now compete with big corporations. Because of how the scales are now in equilibrium with each other, the Internet has been given the distinction of being the great equalizer. With this, small businesses are now doing something which, in the past, only big corporations were able to do—brand themselves. This entire process can be tasking, confusing, time-consuming and, above all, expensive. For this reason, small businesses cannot afford to make mistakes in the branding process or else they’ll only be wasting much needed resources. But what is really required in branding?
Big corporations, in their bid to preserve their image and reputation, have trademarked symbols and pictures which they have used in branding their company. For instance, Coke has its “dynamic ribbon”. Although it can be very tempting to come up with a similar branding technique as with those utilized by big corporations, these giants won’t have mercy on you once they find out that you have been reaping the benefits in their expense. Multinational corporations are so territorial that they actually have people who scour the entire Internet for trademark violations. So dare to be different.
But Keep it Simple
Although you can be as “far-out” as you want, there is still a benefit towards keeping things simple. If you take a look at the symbols which have made multinational corporations the giants which they are now, you’ll notice the simplicity in these symbols. Think about the “golden arches”, “dynamic ribbon” and the red cans. Create a symbol which is uniquely yours but isn’t that sophisticated. To test your new logo, flash the symbol to a group of individuals for a couple of seconds and then ask them to draw your logo based on what they remember of it.
Be Sensitive
In the past, local businesses need not worry about cultural and religious differences because the likelihood that someone from the other side of the world seeing the logo was slim. But with the age of globalization and the Internet making the world smaller, an offensive logo can reach consumers from the other side of the planet. Even if your intentions were honest and your logo was done in good faith, you still need to be sensitive or else you might draw unwanted backlash and the unwanted publicity that comes along with it.
Your author Chris Marentis enjoys writing from real world experience building businesses and closing sales. His company Surefire Social specializes in local search engine marketing
Small businesses are flourishing by no times using internet as making global village. Nice sharing of ‘B’s.