According to the US Bureau of Statistics, there are 28 million small businesses in the U.S. which accounts for 60 to 80% of all new jobs and 44% of U.S. payroll. This highlights the importance of small business enterprises in the economy. Another interesting fact that will intrigue small business owners is that there are 1162 times more small businesses as compared to large corporations.

But the latest figures also suggest that only 50% of businesses survive five years or more. There are several causes attributed to this appalling rate of small business failure. Improper planning and short-term approach are the major reasons that cause a small business to disappear. But those who have managed to survive and grow, what are the secrets behind their success?

Below are five small business secrets that you may not know which will lead you to the path of success:

1. Unique Differentiation:

As iterated before, there are 28 million small businesses in the U.S. So how do you expect people to identify your business from such a huge number of options? Only the businesses that create a differentiation in the market are recognized and respected. One of the prime factors for creating a distinct identity is corporate logos. In order to discern your business from your competitors, a solid and memorable corporate logo and brand identity is imperative.

2. Continuous Improvement:

Another key ingredient of a successful small business is continuous improvement. In this fast growing business environment, companies cannot afford to stay sluggish. Those who fail to improve their business process continuously end up losing the competitive race. Improvement isn’t restricted to a particular business function implies continuous changes in all areas of the entity.

3. Easy Accessibility:

One of the stems of continuous improvement is keeping track of new media. For business success, it is imperative to use the latest marketing channels through which you can promote your business activities and provide easy access to consumers. The importance of social media for small business is inevitable as reports suggest that social media adoption among U.S. small businesses doubled last year from 12% to 24%. Firms must create their existence on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ in order to reach the customers effectively.

4. Unbending Consistency:

A key factor of small business recognition is reliability and consistency. Changing for the good is one thing but excessive changes in the company policies, procedures and identity can lead to distrust and uncertainties in the minds of the customers. For instance, if your redesign your corporate logo frequently and unnecessarily, it might leave a bad impression on the consumers who will get confused about your identity.

5. Community Collaboration:

In order to connect with your consumers, you need to show that that you care. And what better way to connect with them then to collaborate with the community. Your business entity should portray itself as responsive and empathic towards the environment and the society at large. Being involved in corporate social responsibility activities can do wonders for the business image of your entity.

It is a common dilemma that small business owners don’t take the corporate identity development phase seriously. They would either avoid getting a corporate logo or would obtain it in a rush. The pretext for doing this is that obtaining corporate logos is time-wasting and expensive. But a little trouble in the initial stages will help you avoid grave dilemmas in the future.

That is why it is prudent for small business owners to do a little homework before getting a logo design. There are certain questions that must be answered before you think of obtaining a logo design from professional logo designers. These questions must be addressed prior to the brand identity development phase as they are decisive in making or breaking your corporate logo.

1. What Company Details to Show in Corporate Logo?

The first question that is pertinent to the brand identity development is what the details need to be shown in your corporate logos. This will encompass the decision to include the whole name of the organization or just the initials. It will also include the choice of revealing the company products or services. Moreover, the corporate logo must accurately portray your business mission and vision to the target audience.

2. What are your Design Preferences?

This is another vital query that must be addressed before you head out to get a logo design. It will cover the questions related to what fonts are to be employed, what color palettes will accurately portray your business, and what symbol or sign will signify your company values. You also need to reveal your disliking so that the logo designer must be aware of what design preferences must be shunned away from. You must be sure to make the correct use of colors in corporate logos.

3. Who is your Target Audience?

Before obtaining a logo design, it is significant to identify what target audience you are catering and why. This will include a list of all the demographic segregation of the target market. It will allow you to modify the corporate logo according to the taste and preferences of your intended customers.

4. What are the Budgetary and Timing Constraints?

Another crucial question that needs to be answered is the ground rules of the logo design project. Since small business owners require the logo design within a limited time frame and a restricted budget, it is recommended that all the deadlines and costing must be spelt out before getting a logo design.

5. Who will keep the Copyrights to the Corporate Logo?

This is one issue that haunts most logo design clients after they have acquired the identity from a logo designer. The question of who will own the possession rights of the corporate logo is imperative to avoid mistakes in small business. You must ask this question from your logo designer beforehand so that no legal or copyright issues arise in the future.

In the previous days, the function of corporate logos was to express products or services functional benefits to the customers. But in these times of branding, you need to connect emotionally with your customers in order to make an impact. Hence, you need to insert a bit of emotions within your corporate logos to make a statement with your clientele.

But when you reach the point of color selection in logo design, you are confused. You don’t really know what feelings are to be evoked that will instantly connect with the customers. You are lost for colors that will stimulate the relevant feelings for your company. So here are some guidelines that will summar0ize the psychology of colors in corporate logos. Make sure you choose your color according to the pertinent emotions.

Below are the 7 most common colors and their emotional functions when used in logo designing:

1. White:

Universally known for a sign of peace, the white color represents minimalism, transparency, peace, and radiance.

2. Blue:

Blue is an authoritarian and secure color. It is often used in companies that need to exhibit, and Fortune 500 companies to represent a sense of success, confidence and serenity.

3. Green:

Green color signifies rejuvenation and environment. The properties of green include evoking calm, environment and life. This is an ideal color to show your concern towards the environment.

4. Yellow:

The color yellow has dual purposes. On one side they exhibit prudence and fear and on the other side it represents happiness and joy. McDonalds uses yellow to evoke hunger in customers.

5. Red:

With relevance to corporate logos, red is the most powerful and intense color of all. Its main purpose is to catch the eyes of the customers. Moreover, its properties include inducing hunger, heart beat and passion.

6. Black:

Black is generally known as the absence of color. It is yet another influential and dominant color in the palette. Some o the emotions associated with black are elegance, belief and minimalism.

7. Pink:

Known to many as “The ladies Color”, pink exhibits all elements of feminine touch. Emotional attribute connected to this color are innocence, playfulness and fragility.

Corporate logos are the face of any company or business. They represent the true picture and image of the company in front of the customers. This is why great care must be taken while designing logos for companies. Many a times, logo designers face issues in creating corporate logos that are memorable and unique.

Today, I aim to help logo designers in assessing the rudiments of designing corporate logos. Over the years, I’ve learnt quite a few things through my experience as a logo designer and thought of sharing some useful tips with you.

Following are 6 tips that will help you in creating perfect logos for corporate logos.

1. Start with a Brainstorming Session:

As soon as you get an order for a corporate logo, do a brainstorming on your client’s company. Sit down with a pen and paper, and analyze all the aspects of the company. Think of whatever comes to your mind regarding the company and its relevant industry. Write down all connotations and allusions that come up during the brainstorming session.

2. Constantly Involve your Client:

Always remember, the best corporate logos are a result of a two-way process between the client and logo designer. It is better to get a logo design brief from the client that describes exactly what they want the logo to be like. Constantly obtain feedback from your client and involve them in every phase.

3. Follow your own Trends:

Another tip in designing corporate logos is never to follow trends prevalent in the logo design industry. This is because following trends involve the risk of plagiarism and unimaginative work. When you go after set patterns and already implemented designs, there are chances that your corporate logo may not stand out from the rest of the crowd.

4. Keep it Simple:

The best of corporate logos are simple and uncomplicated. There are scores of examples around us that suggest that simple logos are easily recognized and remembered by the customers. Famous corporate logos of brands like Nike, McDonalds and Honda are simple, uncomplicated and memorable.

5. Start in Black and White:

Did you know that the Google corporate logo was first designed in black and white and then the colors were added? Not only Google, but all great corporate logos we see were first created in black and white. This is because without color, you will have an unbiased approach to choosing symbols and fonts. Once you’re done with the design, add colors in the end.

6. Learn from others:

Another valuable tip that logo designers can benefit from is to learn from others. This involves learning from success and failures of other corporate logos. Not only you need to learn from successful corporate logos, you must also analyze which corporate logos failed badly and why. For example, the Nike logo shows that simplest logo is the best. On the other hand, London 2012 logo shows logo design mistakes to avoid.

A corporate logo is, by far, the single most important aspect of a corporate identity. It provides you the means to promote your business in the marketplace in an efficient and effective manner. Think of corporate logos as a visual clip of your business. It directly communicates the purpose of your business to your customers and leaves an everlasting impression in their minds. Hence it is extremely vital for corporate entities and small business owners to invest sensibly in their corporate logos.

Elements of a corporate logo:
A corporate logo is a combination of several elements. It is an amalgamation of various graphic design components. Following enlisted are the most common elements of corporate logos:

• Color
• Symbol
• Font
• Size
• Tagline

But a branding disaster happens when these elements are incorrectly used in a corporate logo. To strike a perfect balance between the elements is the most difficult task for a logo designer. He must be aware of the do’s and don’ts of company logos

Incorrect use of elements in a corporate logo:
As mentioned earlier, if a correct equilibrium is not achieved between the elements of a logo, it may end up as a total failure. Let us analyze how each element, if wrongly used, can impediment the purpose of a corporate logo.

1. Inappropriate Colors:

Color plays a major role in the logo making process. Every color has its unique connotation and contextual meaning. Inappropriate use of colors can severely dent the show of your corporate logo.

2. Irrelevant Symbols:

Symbol forms the core portion of corporate logos and carries the image of the business. One of the logo designing mistakes that logo designers make is use symbols in a logo that are irrelevant to the nature of the business. This ruins the corporate image of the company.

3. Unsuitable Fonts:

Although actions speak louder than words, but in the case of corporate logos, it is the entire opposite. The words used and the typography in which they are used is extremely essential. Be it typography logos, using unsuitable and unreadable fonts can create a negative image of your company. For example, using casual and informal fonts in a luxury type business can seriously dent the class of the corporation.

4. Improper Size:

A logo too small becomes unnoticeable, too large becomes uncanny. In short, if the correct size is not made, then the identity is useless to use. The size should be determined keeping in view all places where the logo is to be used. Sometimes, a large size logo becomes unclear when resized.

5. Lengthy Taglines:

A tagline or a slogan comes as an added feature of the logo. It serves as the message platform where you define your business in a few simple but effective words. But if a tagline is too lengthy, it can damage the corporate logo as a whole. Additionally, when the logo is resized, the tagline becomes unreadable.

Many shrewd businessmen who argue that logo designing for business is a futile practice, own a short-termed philosophy. They ignore the fact that corporate logos can leave a grave impact on your expenses but it also opens the gate to myriad long-term benefits. To put it in a nut shell, logo design pays off!

How your corporate logo builds your business future?

Even though experts have continually advised small-business owners on building a brand for their small business and start-ups, they often do not provide substantial reasons for the same. This is the exact purpose that I wish to serve through this post. Over-smart business owners who believe they can manage without a visual identity are often blinded by the fact that the competition is fierce to be easily recognized. While it is true that avoiding a corporate logo can save you a small amount of money in the beginning, but it leads you to short-term and unsuccessful business. Your customers and investors need to be assured that you are serious and intend to remain in the business with a future outlook. Serious business is not done without a corporate logo.

Business logos enables our products and services to be prominent and memorable in the market. It is a known fact that people are more likely to remember what they see rather than what they read or hear. Hence, people who think they can build their business image on personal PR are mistaken. Having a logo that is consistent across all business promotions (business cards, stationary, and website) will help in constructing a visual clip of your company.

Don’t take a risk!!

There is a misconception which mostly small-business owners tend to follow… a delusion that logo designing is a useless business expense. In definitive terms, opportunity cost is the cost of forgoing one thing in favor of another. In economic terms, it is the opportunity cost that you forgo for the value of high customer retention in future. It is amazing that businessmen readily invest in stock exchanges and other investments which do not even guarantee sure-shot returns, while they overlook logo design, which is an investment that guarantees immeasurable returns in your business.

Correct use of fonts is a very significant part of logo design that many of us overlook. The job of a logo designer is to make the message in the corporate logo design appropriate for the targeted customers. In order to do this, the font used in the logo design should be functional and meaningful. Several famous corporate logos are identified only because of their specific typography. Think of valuable corporate fonts like Coca-Cola and Walt Disney for instance. These corporate giants have logos with stylish and elegant fonts. Only their typography has made it a successful corporate brand.

Building a brand image is undoubtedly a crucial part of the marketing mix. Alas! Finding and using the right corporate logo is often misconstrued and even executed weakly or inaccurately. Seeing your own marketing strategies over and over again may be boring for you, but your clients don’t see them nearly as often as you do. In fact, the more you repeat your message and your company logos, the more effective it becomes in the market.

Always remember that a corporate logo should communicate four key elements of a business to its potential customers:

• what is the business about
• who are the targeted clients
• what image you want to build in industry
• what are the objectives of the business.

Today I wish to share some of the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” that you should consider when you design your corporate or business logos.

1 ) Research your competitor:

If you are ready with your company name then look at the logos of your competitors, this will give you an idea of what is present in the market. Then you may be able to adopt a similar pattern and develop your own company logo that suits your corporate identity.

2 ) KISS (Keep it Straight Simple):

Simplicity is the key to designing your business logo. Having a single focus is critical. You must be clear on what your identity is first, develop a concise company logo that clearly states your company’s identity.

3 ) Examine other famous logos:

You can check some of the famous company logos. This will give you an inspiration you need to design your company logo accordingly. Much effective would be to check out your competitor’s logos so that you may avoid any plagiarism while designing you own corporate logo.

4 ) Color Scheme

Think about the colors that you feel will represent your business; your logo must reflect what your business is about as well as your corporate culture. Try to stick to a two color logo if you intend to print business cards and stationary as this will reduce your printing cost considerably.

5 ) The professional logo touch:

As a beginner you can opt for free logo design sites or if your budget permits you then I would recommend hiring a professional logo designer. Even if you have your own logo design skills, you should still consult with a design professional.

6 ) Analyze target market:

Do make sure that the logo is designed with the target market in mind. An effectively designed logo is compatible with the consumers of the product or services that you provide. Therefore your logo could be designed to appeal to the interests of the customers.

7 ) Compatibility:

Make sure that your designer gives you your CMYK, Pantone, and RGB color codes as color displays and prints differently on paper variations and other surfaces, this will ensure that your logo displays correctly across all mediums (print, digital etc) making it professional and consistent.

8 ) Corporate Identity manual:

It will be a good idea to get a basic corporate identity manual from your designer, this may cost extra but you can give this document to your printer or collateral manufacturer to ensure color consistency. A corporate identity manual is also the first step in developing your brand.

9 ) Proxemics:

Use Proper Spacing between the words that you use in your logo because spacing is important in all aspects of life. Successful relationships require space, as do successful sentences. Improper spacing can be the difference between Kids Exchange and Kidsexchange:

10 ) Protect your corporate logo:

It isn’t all about logo designing only. You also need to guard your business logo from infringement and plagiarism. You apparently do not want somebody else to copy your logo and use it on their brands. It will surely stain your reputation in the market. That is why you need to protect your logo by using the copyright laws.

11) Corporate Loyalty:

Start building the loyalty toward your corporate identity by communicating with your employees. Integrate your brand in your company’s offices and on everything that is used as a resource internally. This will deliver a consistent and repetitive message and hence give every employee ownership and familiarity with your company logo.

1 ) Too much Special Effects:

Avoid using gradients, patterns, and drop shadows to reduce your printing cost considerably

2 ) Too much details:

Be careful of too much detail as it will not display correctly when your logo is used in a smaller format e.g. on business cards and footers. When such corporate logo is printed on a business card, it loses its clarity.

3 ) Avoid common symbols:

While designing your corporate logo you must not use the common graphics and symbols which everyone seems to be using. Try to apply unique graphics and symbols to make your logo different. If you use overly unique typeface in your logo then you won’t be able to use trademark to protect your logo.

4 ) No room for controversy:

Based on the second point, do not leave room for controversies to develop over your company logo. Designing a complex logo may let imaginations run wild and possibly open up issues pertaining to various taboo subjects.

5 ) Haste makes waste:

Do not design the symbol in a hurry. Take sufficient time to build up a good logo concept. Your logo should clearly symbolize the products and image of your company.

6 ) Think Big:

The meaning of your company’s logo must not be underestimated. Think ahead at least 10 years from now and decide what your company’s ambitions may be then. It is imperative to choose the design that will still be able to meet not just what your business stands for today but what it will likely be in the future years.

7 ) Avoid trendy looks:

If you’re redesigning your old logo, you run the risk of confusing customers-or worse, alienating them. One option is to make gradual logo changes. But don’t plan to make multiple logo changes. Instead, choose a logo that will stay current for 10 to 20 years, perhaps longer. That’s the mark of a good logo design.