a logo is worth a thousand words.

So yesterday I had to give a little presentation to my fellow Chamber of Commerce members in our Leads Group. Every week one member takes about 20 minutes or so to talk about their business, their services and what a good referral would be. This helps the other group members to understand what exactly they're referring.

I have to be honest and say that I did run through my "speech" about 10 times in my head. As the newest member of this group, I felt it was best if I kept my lecture to a short and sweet overview of who I am and what 13thirtyone is all about. I quickly blabbed about my educational history and my work experience before starting my business. I then introduced the services I offer by bringing up how important it is to have a consistent and credible looking logo and overall brand. I thought I might expand on that point a little bit as, again, I only had 20 minutes yesterday.

Today there are so many companies fighting for the same consumer. Mom and pop shops and large corporations alike all want the same person to buy their product/service. While there are still some people out there who try to support start-up companies as much as possible, the average consumer tends to buy from the most credible source. Does this mean you have to have a huge office and an amazing budget and print four color ads twice weekly? No. However, if said consumer has to pick between a huge store with a cool and trendy vibe that's well known versus a small company with a great customer service repuation, but with poor visual appeal, who do you think looks more credible? The big guys.

I have met so many amazing people since starting 13thirtyone. My fellow small business owners are smart, timely and appreciate every sale they make and every inquiry they receive. I truly feel that they value the customer whole-heartedly and will try their best to make that customer happy. Sadly, I don't think these values are enough to attract new clientel. It only makes sense that you should have an image/logo/identity that also shows how great you and your company are. Offer the new customer an amazing package - not only you and your business, but a great looking product!

We live in time where looks do matter - a lot, unfortunately. I by no means am suggesting to "sell yourself out" or to not hold true to who you and your business are. However, if you can take your personality and incorporate it with a really cool identity, I think it will speak more than a thousand words on behalf of your company.