(Excerpt from This is Marketing by Seth Godin)
Busy people (you know, the kind of people you seek to change) don’t care about your work as much as you do. They’re not as up to date as you are, or as aware of the competitive landscape or the drama behind the scenes.
We scan instead of study.
And when we scan, we’re asking, “What does this remind me of?”
This means that the logo you use, the stories you tell, and the appearance of your work all matter. Your words resonate with us, not only because of what they mean, but because of how they sound and how you use them.
It’s not just the stuff. It’s even the way you set up the room for your company off-site.
If it reminds us of a high school cafeteria, we know how to act. If it’s a bunch of round tables set for a chicken dinner, we know how to act. And if there are row upon row of hotel-type chairs in straight lines, we know how to sit and act glazed.
We don’t care about you, or how hard you worked on it. We want to know if it’s for us, and if you’re the real deal.
…The people you are seeking to serve are trying to figure out who you are. If you’re going to show up in their world, make it easy for them to know who you are and where you stand.
The lazy thing to do is insist that you don’t need a flag (or a badge). That you don’t have to nod your head to the cultural memes that came before, or even wear a uniform.
…A brand is a shorthand for the customer’s expectations. What promise do they think you’re making? What do they expect when they buy from you or meet with you or hire you?
That promise is your brand.
… If a brand is our mental shorthand for the promise that you make, then a logo is the Post-it reminder of that promise. Without a brand, a logo is meaningless.