For small businesses, marketing and branding may be the last thing on your mind. You're busy with running day-to-day operations, focusing on what's happening in your company today. But don't forget to think of the future. How will you keep drawing customers in? What will your current customers remember about you after they leave? If they see your logo on a brochure somewhere, will they be able to recognize that it's your business? You need to develop a strong logo that does just that -- makes your customers recognize you and not forget you. Your logo needs to make your customers (current and potential) think of your business as something they can count on. Not an amateur "mom and pop shop," but a business with staying power. Here are some ways to make your logo look strong:

1. Keep your logo simple. If your logo is too complicated, it will be hard to remember. Your whole goal here is to not be forgotten! A good logo is important because it represents your business personality to your customers. Plus, it needs to be versatile, which is easier with a simple look. You'll need your logo for your business card printing to your brochure printing to your Web site. Having your logo on all of your marketing material creates a cohesive and professional look.

2. Choose one color from your logo to include on all your marketing materials. Look at the big guys: Target uses red, Sprint uses yellow. People remember colors better than they remember words. Pick a color that will set you apart from other companies, especially your competition. Also make sure your color works with your image and industry, and conveys your brand promise. For instance, if you were marketing butter, you wouldn't want a green logo would you? You don't want people to associate your product with something else (in this case, mold) that will turn them away from your product.

3. Work with one or two fonts. If you use two fonts, you should use one serif font and one sans-serif font. A serif font has "feet," the little extenders off the base of the letters. Sans-serif fonts don't have feet. Sans serif fonts look a bit more modern than serif fonts, and each type of font has its own feel. Choose one that expresses the feeling you want your customers to get when they look at your logo. Do you want to make an impression that you are fancy and rich, with a curly font or that you are strong and bold with a plain, sans serif font?

4. When you get sick of your logo, don't change it! You'll get tired of your logo long before anyone outside of the company will. You may be tempted to change it for a special circumstance, such as a new billboard, but don't! Logos help create brands, and people recognize brands. If you keep changing your logo, and hence, your brand, no one will be able to recognize who you are or what you do.

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