ForumsInternet/eCommerce

So basically, a related logo to the business, will make customers more comfortable to buy online?

Logo is usually the first "visual" contact any visitor to your website, is gonna form with your company. Just imagine Amazon being without a logo! However, in web space, a "readable" word-based logo (in fonts) may have a far reaching impact than a geometrical figure or just a visual. If you notice, most of the web portals have their name styles as their logos. A logo speaks a lot about the website and its "quality".

My 2c,
Rohit

Nat, to offer an unscientific explanation, the brain essentially treats a company name as a word or phrase, and a company logo as a picture. It attaches and links different information to each, and stores and recalls each in a different way. Having both a name and logo simply gives consumers more ways to recognize, remember, and recall your brand or business identity.

In general, names are mentally linked to thoughts and factual data, while logos are linked to feelings and sensory information (repetition over time blurs that distinction, however -- for example, just the name "Enron" can trigger strong feelings and facts now, and so can the Nike "swoosh" which, for all you trivia buffs, was created in 1971 by a freelance designer in Portland, Oregon named Caroline Davidson for a fee of $35).

It seems logical to extrapolate that the less your business relies on emotional or sensory responses from consumers, the less a logo matters. In other words, if the predominant elements that trigger people to do business with you are fact/logic-based, it probably doesn't matter if you have a logo or not.

On the other hand, can you imagine a NASCAR racer without any logos? In a number of comprehensive studies cited by NASCAR FactExpert, it has been shown that NASCAR spectators (live and television) purchase considerably more of the product brands that are advertised on NASCAR vehicles than they do of competing product brands that aren't advertised there -- and, of course, the advertising is always just a logo alone, because the available space is small and the time for viewing may be brief (not unlike a web page with a new visitor).

No, you don't have to have a logo for a website to be successful. No one has ever made money from their logo, except in court. No company has ever gone out of business because of their logo. I have watched companies with outstanding products go under because they do not understand the importance of awareness. A logo will not make you or break you.

But a logo, even simple one, helps a company develop an image with customers. At a glance it serves to remind people about your product even when they are not thinking about your business. You don't have to go broke creating one.

There is no price that can be placed on instant recognition, the ability for people to recognize your business at a glance. What is that worth to a business owner?

How do you measure whether it adds to or takes away from the success of a business? I don't know.

What I know is that in a crowded market place, you want to be recognized quickly and easily - good logos do that.

Is a good lawyer in blue jeans and a t-shirt still a good lawyer? Yes. But would you want him representing you in court? More than likely not. Then, why do you want a poorly dressed image representing your business, your life blood, your dream?

People tend to be visibly motivated, a lot of our decisions are based on how things look. Study after study has proven this. If your product is good and the price is fair and people are still not lining up to buy your product, maybe their decision has something to do with how they perceive your business.

We all see it but don't notice it or probably don't question its relevance to our minds. Take a look at the following few sites, popular in India atleast.

http://www.myiris.com/ , http://www.icicidirect.com/ , http://shopping.indiatimes.com/ , http://shopping.rediff.com/shopping/index.html

All of them bear a logo (in font type). Its a statement you make via the logo. But guess you've understood the importance of it.

/Rohit

Nat,

My statement was a general statement, I was not questioning the quality of your product or whether or not people are buying it. What I was doing was making a point that there are more factors than just having a great product and a great price that influence the buying decision.

I tend to respond to the last post in the string because I don't want anyone to think that I am ignoring their contribution to the dialogue. I need to change this practice because it seems to cause confusion with some members.

I believe there is more to owning a business than selling a product or service. Most businesses fail for reasons other than the product being bad or the prices being high like - bad location, poor management, no marketing support, NO BUSINESS PLAN, inadequate financial support, poor customer service, just to mention a few.

I was approached by the owner of a hamburger place that I love to do advertising for him, but I turned him down because his staff's customer service is horrible. Before I drive anyone else to his business, he needs to address this issue. He understands that, and has begun to work on it. Would advertising have helped his business? Yes, in the short run but after one visit most people would not come back. He doesn't need a nicer logo. He needs nicer employees.