Are you thinking about changing your logo sometime soon? If so, this is the post for you. We are talking about how to help your customers get used to a new logo through a systematic approach.
In a previous post, we discussed the importance of considering a change in your logo carefully before changing it. The reason for this is that sometimes a change is not needed in order to be successful with your branding. Other times, it is necessary. This is a decision that you should consider carefully and think about how much of a change you want to make.
What the Experts Say
Most logo design experts and business experts recommend that the changes to your logo be subtle and not too drastic. (Forbes)
This will keep people from thinking that it is not your brand and moving on to your competitors. Netflix had a similar issue when they change their logo recently from the “Netflix” logo to the solitary “N.” Many users did not know when they were going to do this and the change was so drastic that they lost some users in the process.
To avoid this hazard, try these 7 ways of introducing a new logo to your customers:
Hype it Up Long Before the Change
Think about the last big promotion you did. How much time did you spend focusing on your email marketing for the promotion? Did you blog about it? Did you post the information on social media? Good. That’s what you should do for your logo change as well.
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPod, he didn’t just say that he had created a music player. He stated that they had created a “tool for the heart” that was going to “completely revolutionize the entire music industry.” And it did. Who is to say if it was truly the quality of the gadget itself and what it could do or the fact that he presented it in this way?
If you are confident in your logo change, then you should be confident enough to announce it to your loyal customers. You should start announcing about your logo change long before you do it. This will get customers used to the idea before you officially make the change.
Ask for opinions on social media.
When you have developed your new updated logo, try posting it on social media. Ask for opinions about the new logo in the comments of your post and direct it toward loyal customers. This will not only alert them to the fact that you are planning to make a change in the logo, but it will also tell you who is taking to the change in a positive manner and who is not.
Make changes to stationary and other materials first.
One thing you could do to alert your “real world” customers about the modification in your logo is to change it on your physical stationery and other materials first. This will get many people used to the idea long before you make the changes in the digital environment such as your websites and blogs.
Make a checklist of what needs to be changed.
To avoid confusion when changing your logo, you should make sure that you make changes on every item that features your logo, not just some items. This means making a checklist of everywhere that you are featuring your current logo and making the changes on each item one at a time.
Smallbiztrends.com makes the point that there are two major ways to change over:
- Change gradually by changing an item at a time.
- Select a target date and change everything at once.
There is no right or wrong answer on how to do this. You should just consider the process carefully since it is so important to make the transition in a manner that will accommodate your customers.
Advertise through your mobile app.
You can do a lot of advertising through your mobile app. People often find your site through your mobile business app so you could start by advertising your app while introducing the new logo at the same time. This may serve different purposes. In addition to creating more hype for your new logo, you are also increasing the level of interest in your brand.
This can help you to promote your brand along with your new logo, thereby reinforcing the relationship between your brand and your logo.
Introduce it on social media first.
With billions on Facebook and millions on other social media platforms, introducing your logo on social media first may be a good way to go. You can ask your followers and contacts to share with others, thereby increasing the number of people who will know about the change long before you make it official.
Offer prizes for sharing.
Consider giving out prizes to those who share it with the most people if you want to jazz things up and create more incentive to get the word out.
Create a video introducing the new logo.
Video is one of the most powerful tools that you have to increase hype around your brand. Consider creating a video around your logo change when you are ready to announce it to the world. You could even make this a part of the hype that you create around your brand before you officially release it.
Make the video entertaining by including some graphics or animation that will get their attention and make them want to share it with others.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
When you change something as important as your logo, remember that “out of sight is out of mind.” You should remember to advertise the change both before, during, and after you have made the change so that it will stay in the minds of your customers each time you contact them. Stay on your customers’ radars by keeping your brand in their minds through various means.
There should be a complete integration of your branding across all platforms and circumstances, both offline and online. You should always include your new logo along with anything else that symbolizes your brand when you send out marketing emails, create new social media posts, and announce other news items about your brand.
Consistency is the key when you are changing something as important as your logo. Getting the word out as early as possible, asking customers for their opinion through surveys, and other ideas are all good things to keep in mind when making a change to something as important as your logo.
Most of all, make sure the change is as subtle as possible unless changing it more drastically is what you need.
How do you know what you should do?
Consult with a professional logo design company like logodesignteam.com. We can analyze your logo, give you some ideas and brainstorm ideas with you so that your new logo will do everything you need it to do.
At logodesignteam.com, we take our work seriously and view each client as a unique opportunity to help them make an impact on the world through their brand and their logo. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.
For expert opinion and learning assistance, please read the information on the website studycrumb.