Create a winning logo for your credit repair business
By Brett on October 23rd, 2007
One aspect most credit repair startups (and even established companies) neglect is having a polished logo. Your logo is a visual symbol of what your company stands for. Your logo is a powerful marketing and branding tool. Yet many credit repair companies either don’t have a logo or skimp on developing one. Whether you are a solo operation or a large credit repair company, having an impeccable logo is a must.
Your logo will be used to entice potential customers and represent your company. A good logo can build loyalty between your credit repair business and your customers, establish a brand, and provide the “look and feel” of an established enterprise. You can do all that just from your logo!
Consider Michelin Tires “Michelin Man.” It immediately generates a caring, warm, fuzzy feeling, symbolizing trust and safety. You too can have a logo that triggers a positive psychological response.
Bad Reputation
Credit repair has not always been kind to the consumer. Unfortunately the industry has seen its fair share of scams, internet rip-offs and unscrupulous crooks. For the rest of us decent and ethical credit repair organizations, we are forced to overcome this tarnished reputation by presenting our company in the utmost professional manner. One of the best ways to do this is with a logo that demands integrity, trust and professionalism.
Logo Types
There are three types of logos: 1) Font based logos. Examples include Yahoo!, Sony, and Microsoft, all of which use a distinct font that makes them unique. 2) Symbol and font logos that illustrate what a company does. This is a tough one to do in credit repair. 3) Abstract symbol and font logo that uses a nonrepresentational image and font. A good example is lexingtonlaw.com. This is the most common of the three types and the style most credit repair companies choose.
Getting Started
The first stage in the process is to carve out the message you want your logo to convey. The best way to do this is to write a one sentence statement to focus your design efforts. Now, armed with your mission statement, the following tips will lead you to that special logo, tailored just for you:
- Study your competitors’ logos. Do your competitors use simple, conservative logos, or flashy eye popping graphics. Most logos I have seen in the credit repair industry are conservative. Think about how you want to differentiate your logo.
- Focus on your message. Decide whether you want your company to communicate in a serious or lighthearted way. What makes your credit repair service distinct from your competition? Whether you select a traditional logo or a new “web 2.0” logo, choose the one that best displays your company.
- Keep it clean and simple. Your logo must work well on your business cards, letterhead, web site, and marketing materials. A good logo should be scalable, easy to reproduce, and distinct. Vector art and icons should be selected rather than pixel photographs, because vector can scale to any size; whereas, photograph enlargement is limited. Make sure your logo doesn’t depend on lots of colors so it can be faxed and photocopied without losing its originality. The last thing you want is for your logo to appear as a “blob” because you faxed or photocopied it.
- Start with your company name. If your business name is “J.C. Credit Repair,” you may wish to use a cursive font to accentuate the initials. For a company called “Lightning Fast Credit” the logo must definitely feature a creative lightning bolt.
- Use your illustration to portray benefits. A picture is worth a thousand words. This is especially true with your logo. The lightning bolt example certainly conveys ultra fast credit repair service. Customers will automatically associate that logo with speed.
- NO, absolutely NO, clip art. Clip art is free and available. Which is precisely the problem: it’s free and available and can easily be copied. Original art will make a far more impressive statement.
Selecting the Colors
Take care in selecting your logo colors. The more colors in your logo, the greater the printing costs. Printing in full-color is not cheap. It is best to select just three or four colors. It is also a good idea to look at your logo in several different color variations.
Always Use a Logo Designer
Unless you are an experienced graphic designer, trying to design your logo on your own is a big mistake. Hiring a large design firm is also a mistake. The internet is coming to the rescue and many online logo companies can design you an original logo for a couple hundred dollars. Services like Logoworks and The Logo Loft offer affordable logos. One of my favorite web sites SitePoint, much like an eBay for graphic design, allows you to set the price you are willing to pay and have hundreds of designers compete to design your logo. You select the winning logo and only pay for the one you selected. This is a great way to see tons of examples of what your logo could look like. For $300 – 1000, you can receive a complete design package, including logo, business cards, letterhead, and envelopes.
Using and Protecting Your Logo
Once you create a logo that fills you with pride, that represents your company and expresses your vision, be sure you trademark it to prevent idea theft. You can apply for a trademark by visiting the U.S. Patient and Trademark Office web site (www.uspto.gov). A good start is simply reading the “how to” guides on the website.
Your logo should be one of the first things a company thinks about. Since a logo usually creates the “first impression” of a business to the marketplace, choosing the wrong one may have negative consequences – not only in terms of sales, but also in long-term brand equity. Therefore, take the necessary steps to craft a winning logo for your credit repair business. It will pay off in the long run.
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