A Little on Business Marketing: Your logo IS your brand

The act of marking livestock with fire-heated marks to identify ownership has origins in ancient times, with use dating back before there were pyramids in Egypt. In the Roman Empire, the symbols used for brands were sometimes chosen as part of a magic spell aimed at protecting animals from harm.

By the European Middle Ages, it commonly identified the process of burning a mark into stock animals with thick hides in order to identify them. The practice became particularly widespread in nations with large cattle grazing regions, like Spain. The unique brand meant that cattle owned by multiple ranches could then graze freely together on the open range. But you'd still know from where they came.

Your logo is the brand.

There is an identification advantage in developing a logo design exclusive to your firm. Using a logo also helps give your advertising continuity. Use the logo consistently on all printed pieces, including stationery. Use it in Yellow Page advertising, on the side of your truck or company car, on bags or boxes and anything else your customers or prospects may see.

The typeface you use in logos and all marketing plays an important role in how the message comes across. Printers are very knowledgeable about typefaces and happy to help you make choices. (Not-subtle, I know.)

Color is also an important consideration, as is making sure your logo can be rendered a few different ways. Sometimes your budget will prevent you from using your full-color logo. Invoices you print on your own color printer might turn out ok, but when you want a professionally-printed invoice or other office form, you might have to put your logo in black-and-white (aka grayscale) or choose an accent color. Sometimes when you embroider a logo onto apparel, some colors might get ‘lost’ in the background fabric. That’s going to be a consideration in the next A Little on Business Marketing article on sponsorships as well.

Photo by Juan Aunion, used with permission

A Little on Business Marketing: Crush the can't-afford-to-market myth

Every month, the National Federation of Independent Business checks the pulse of small business owners like us. When you ask the question, 'How are things?' I'm going to tell you, 'I could always use more customers.' We all answer that way. But, the NFIB says with more specificity that we're really worried about recruiting talent, paying taxes, and managing insurance more than we're worried about marketing ourselves.

In light of all the other business ownership challenges and costs, we're faced with the decision to advertise. Or not to advertise. Instead, every business owner should ask, 'Can I afford NOT to advertise?'

If you're in the enviable position that you have so many clients you have to shut the door to new business, you're alone. Even Amazon needs more customers.

Since we conclude you can't afford not to advertise, the challenge is to find advertising value. The first part of any discussion of value is to determine budget. Take 10 percent of your projected gross sales times the markup percentage on your average sale. (Markup isn't margin, it's your gross profit above cost. Margin is gross profit as a percentage of selling price.) Subtract your business rent. This is your minimum marketing budget.  Do the same calculation on 12 percent of your gross sales. That's your maximum marketing budget. Plug in an extra 20 percent more of the min and max if you have not marketed yourself, your business or products before.

In the next five A Little on Business Marketing segments we'll touch on affordable ways you can reach customers, like Referrals, Mailings, Branding, Sponsorship, and Traditional Advertising.

John Wanamaker, an entrepreneur at the beginning of the last century, famously said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is I don't know which half.” Wanamaker's is the store he founded. A building bears his name to this day in Philadelphia. More importantly, his trouble of knowing 'which half was wasted' lead him to pioneer marketing concepts like referrals and branding as the Father of Marketing. He made sure he wasn’t wasting half any longer… are you?
Photo: SergeyNevins, used with permission.