So many people are reluctant to get to work on their entrepreneurial dreams because they are caught up in the small details. They feel like they don’t have the best designers or a business plan that spans years into the future. They don’t have the perfect logo idea. We are here to tell you that your logo won’t make or break your business.
We have seen this time and time again with people who seek us out, especially when it comes to apps. They may have an entire complex color scheme picked out, but no real idea what they want the app to actually do.
In this post, we will get into what really matters when it comes to making it work as an entrepreneur in the business of apps. Of course, it is important to consider details from many angles, but what’s more important is that you get started!
Don’t Get Caught Up In Looks
Of course, your branding and aesthetics are very important. They should reflect what your app or business does or what you offer accurately.
If they are correctly tailored to suit your target market, they can also go a long way toward appealing to potential customers. This can help make a positive first impression and give you a chance.
However, a lot of people forget that branding is about far more than your color scheme or your logo.
When you create a brand for a business, you are creating its entire identity. While aesthetic choices play into this, so does your business’s entire reputation.
The overall reputation of your business goes much deeper than how it looks. While a fun, engaging, or attractive logo can do wonders to get people interested, these things are usually not what people stick around for.
In fact, if you over-deliver or get lost focusing on the aesthetics of branding, without building your business based on real core values, you may end up losing all of the customers that you initially gained.
So, how do you actually build a strong reputation for your business?
Go Deeper Than Your Logo
Businesses with good reputations consistently deliver quality products or services. To put it simply, they give clients and customers results.
This is the first thing you should focus on. What pain points does your business solve, what clientele needs it, and how will you reach them?
This can also be applied to apps. Before you invest in color and design, logos, content marketing via social media, influencer marketing, app development, testing, and more, you should be able to answer these questions in about a sentence each.
- What problem does your app solve?
- How does it facilitate an experience or solve this problem?
- Who needs this app?
- How can I get them interested in it?
These must be the first considerations. If you deliver results, you can develop a reputation, and therefore a brand, of delivering results.
When Looks Matter The Most
This post is not to say that your logo and overall branding do not matter at all. It is just to say that focusing on these details so much that you forget to focus on the meat of your operation is a mistake.
While for some types of business, these visual details matter less, for others they are more important. It all depends on what niche you are in.
For example, highly visual and creativity-related businesses can benefit incredibly from visual branding. This is also true if your business is entering an incredibly saturated market.
One great example of this is the beauty industry. Say you are launching a line of lipsticks. There are several reasons why creating a highly visual brand can boost your business.
- Beauty enthusiasts are often very visual people, so you can reach them more effectively with eye-catching branding and a presence that sells a fantasy.
- Most lipsticks are somewhat similar. Unless you have a revolutionary formula, the majority of what sets you apart will be the packaging of your product and the branding of your company.
- The beauty industry is considered to be one that fosters creativity. As such, your competition will leverage strategic visual branding. You don’t want to be left behind.
So, if you are entering a highly saturated market where this type of branding is prevalent, or trying to sell to creatives, your logo, and other visual branding, should be a priority.
When Does Branding Become a Gimmick?
Ultimately, what matters most is the product, the company, the customer service, and the overall package that stands behind the logo and branding.
If you excel at this and this is where your priority is, your logo, will still be recognized and mean something to your audience and customer base.
It’s that simple. No magic tricks. No gimmicks. Just the truth. Remember, while you can get people to buy into something once by over-branding and under-delivering, it is very difficult to maintain users or loyal customers that way.
When you prioritize what you’re doing, whether that is laying the foundation for a new product or growing an existing enterprise, that only one thing truly matters, the value and service being provided to your customers.
If you excel at that, your logo, even if it is incredibly plain, to your audience, and to the marketplace, it will be seen as fourteen-karat gold.
Especially in the age of TikTok, many companies aim for TikTok virality in over-the-top ways. Sometimes, this is a great idea.
It all depends on what your company does, if it can actually deliver, and where the audience you want to reach is.
Branding can become a gimmick if it is way over the top or does not accurately represent what your business offers.
Remember that Rebranding Is Always An Option
One reason why many young companies become completely preoccupied with branding, is because it can feel like a permanent decision.
However, this is not true at all. It is actually quite normal for companies to change their aesthetics somewhat over time, even if they never do an official rebrand and make a big deal of it.
One great example of this is Amazon. They began simply selling books and over the years quickly evolved into one of the largest e-commerce businesses on earth. Their logo has changed quite a lot over the years, as you can see below.
This image shows their changes in only 5 years.
It is actually quite normal that your business will evolve in ways big and small over time. While obviously you should like your logo and branding and feel that they represent you from the start, don’t get hung up on them.
After all, in business, the only constant is change.
If your business is going to scale, or even survive at roughly the same size for the long term, it will have to change in ways you cannot possibly predict today.
If you are hung up on your logo and other visual branding elements, remember that nothing is set in stone. Your business will change in more profound ways than that over the course of its life, and you can always change your mind.
There is no such thing as perfection. There is only evolution.
Final Thoughts on How Your Logo Won’t Make or Break Your Business
Ultimately, depending upon the niche your business is in and the kinds of products or app you want to launch, your logo and branding hold different weights. However, agonizing over them should not stop you from following your entrepreneurial ambitions!
Remember, slick branding can bring customers, clients, and users in at first. However, if what you offer does not deliver, you will lose them as quickly as you gain them!
And, if you deliver something that is high-value consistently, you can build a great brand with minimal visuals or flashy branding.
What do you think? Comment below.
Since 2009, we have helped create 350+ next-generation apps for startups, Fortune 500s, growing businesses, and non-profits from around the globe. Think Partner, Not Agency.
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