I got to the print shop while Bob was downing his third cup of coffee and the two of us sat together running quality control on some new printing jobs over small talk. Our Sacramento printing team decided a long time ago that the best way to ensure that our customers received only quality Sacramento printing was to hand check each and every product at least twice before it went out in shipping. Yes, this process does take a little bit more time, but the ability to catch a print error in our Sacramento printing shop before it went to the customers has allowed us, on more than one occasion, to catch problems on our end and rectify them before they go to the customer while still staying within our needed time.
Going through business cards one by one, I imagine that our Sacramento printing staff probably has more client information memorized than some of our clients. On more than one occasion I have heard one of the guys talking about a customer's restaurant, or a client who they needed for working on their car or home. As they don't keep any of the business cards, I first assumed it is just the matter of being in the right place at the right time. It was only later that I learned that when our Sacramento printing team was basically memorizing business information after looking at thousands of printed items for each customer.
So there we were in our Sacramento printing shop, the whir of the Heidelberg going behind us as we checked each and every business card. It wasn't long until we were critiquing each design and finding some sort of relevance between their logo and their company. Then one suddenly stopped me in my tracks. I looked at the company name again and then looked at their logo. I even thought of the products and services the company could and would potentially offer. No matter how I wrapped my head around it, it just didn't match anything I could come up with.
After returning my office with the orders in hand I couldn't help but continue to think about that logo. In no way did it seem to have anything to do with the industry, the more I thought about it, the more I realized the logo could be taken in a negative way. Two cards that had nothing to do with each other representing a cleaning company. Now generally I already cringe when I see cards or poker chips as a company logo. The negative stigma of gambling is something that I don't think any business should have unless they are directly related to gaming.
As my staff was unloading all of the orders from our Sacramento printing team, not being able to take it anymore, I called the owner of the cards. Turned out that the hand was the founder's dead mom's favorite hand when she was playing blackjack. Well though I sympathized with her I let her know how the logo might be looked at by potential customers. She thought about it for a moment and realized I was right. Shortly after we changed her logo for her and our guys in our Sacramento printing facility were once again quality checking her order.
A short time later she called me directly, thanking me as business had began to pick up.
Remember that your business logo should be something that will be memorable and reflects in a positive way to your company. Though her card made an impact, it was not a positive one. So look at your logo and ask yourself what your logo says about your business. If you need help, get input from a professional.
Don't gamble on your logo losing you business.
|
