A Logo: An easy way to increase branding

Are you looking for an easy and fairly inexpensive way to get potential customers to remember you? Ask yourself these questions:

1) Do you have a logo - simple and memorable - that customers will recognize right away as YOU? You want it to be clean and easy to recognize from a distance. Have you ever seen a sign or vehicle with company information on it but you can't read it or distinguish what they do? Use color and creativity, but don't make it cluttered and difficult to read. Remember KISS - Keep It Simple, Silly. Think about Nike and their logo. You can't get much more simple than that.

2) If you have a logo, do you use it consistently? Once you decide on a company logo, make sure you put it on all of your company literature including business cards, letterhead, envelopes, postcards and brochures, on signs, on your website, blog, and FaceBook Fan page, on your vehicles, on shirts, pens, mugs, keychains or whatever you use to stay in front of your customer. Remember TOMA, Top Of Mind Awareness - Make sure when the public thinks of your product, they think of your company. Using your company logo can help people remember you.

3) Do you have a consistent color scheme on your advertising? Find a color scheme that conveys the right perception about your company or product to the customer. If your business is organic, make green a part of your color scheme. If you run a daycare, you might use primary colors. If your business is massage therapy, you would want a soothing and relaxing color scheme. Ask a graphic designer to help you with a color scheme that works for your product.

4) Do you have your logo and basic company info (phone number & website address) on your company vehicles? For a while, we only had two trucks lettered with our logo, but we were told that we must be very busy because people saw our trucks everywhere! Think of your vehicle as a moving billboard. Depending on how much you drive, your logo can be seen by thousands of people each day. Most people put their logos on the side doors, but don't forget the rear of your vehicle (what do you see when you are waiting at a light or in a traffic jam?) and even the front if you have a large enough space where it can be seen coming down the road. And if you really want to make an impression, have your vehicle wrapped. (See photo below.)

5) Do you or your employees meet with potential customers on a regular basis? Do they have shirts, jackets or professional name tags that display your company logo? If not, they should. The more visible the position to the public, the more important it is to make sure they wear your company logo. A person may not remember a name, but a logo helps them to remember your company.

Need some help in creating a logo, making a sign or lettering your vehicle? My BNI friends Dennis & Carly at Fast Track Signs in Bellefontaine, OH can help. They are very creative and offer great customer service. You can find them on the web at http://www.fasttracksigns.net/,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fasttracksigns and http://www.facebook.com/fasttracksigns

Look them up and give them a call. They would be glad to help. And let them know I referred you!

Excellence award - excellent week

What a great week we've had here in Champaign County. So much so, I just had to share it. As you may be aware, we are working on developing a BNI (Business Networking International http://www.bni.com/ ) chapter in Champaign County. Monday I had lunch with an up & coming young man in the community, Adam Erwin, with Ohio National Financial Services, one of the top rated insurance companies in the country. It was great to get to know him and what he has to offer. He is very eager to meet with people, learn all he can about his industry and to grow his business. Tuesday morning was our weekly BNI meeting at Verde's at 7:30 am. We have a great bunch of positive people who are eager to get to know each other and pass referrals to each other. We still need a variety of businesses to join our group - if you know of a business that is also positive and wants to grow, have them contact me or join our group on Tuesday morning. Visitors are very welcome.

I also had lunch this week with a BNI member from the Logan County chapter of which I was a part of for the last two years. Susan Lahman is a representative for Premier Jewelry. I very much enjoyed talking to her about jewelry, our families and antiques. We ate at the Cream & Sugar in West Liberty, a favorite spot for me, and Susan grew up in West Liberty, so she enjoyed coming back into town.

On the fax this week was a signed proposal for another barn floor - over 3500 square feet of concrete. Nice to put another job onto the job board before the cold weather sets in. Thank you to EVCO Structures out of Mechanicsburg for the work. We enjoy working with you.

This morning my day started at the Coffee Depot for the Champaign County Chamber's First Friday coffee hour. The place was packed with local businesses eager to be a positive part of the county and to share in the events & activities. A new restaurant has opened in Urbana, Nonesuch Fare, on the west end of town in the old Michael's Pizza building, and a new store will be opening soon downtown selling organic and health items. Congratulations to both businesses. It is very fun and exciting for me to meet new people and to re-connect with ones I have already met.

While at the Depot I was handed an Award of Commendation from C&N Industrial Contractors, Inc. They received an award from Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. for work done on the Springfield Museum of Art, and we were one of their subcontractors. Congratulations on this fine work and for allowing Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC, to be a part of it.

Tonight is our Sunday school class's Christmas party. I am looking forward to spending time with friends and eating good food as well. Tomorrow is the Cancer Society's Candlelight Tour of Homes in Champaign County. I can't wait to see the historic homes decorated for Christmas.

I hope you had a great week as well. May you have a good weekend, and I will talk to you again soon!