Eragorn is correct.
Mine too! Last one without the magnifying glass.
I like the bottom right one.
Only an Inspector thinks the magnifying glass is overused.
You are not marketing to Inspectors.
The magnifying glass is the perfect symbol much like a Barber Pole that says what you do.
Some think you need a abstract pastel painting or something.
Joe Ferry still uses one on his website.
Perfect example. If you were a barber spending money for marketing, you wouldn’t want to waste it promoting an entire industry full of competitors, so you wouldn’t want your logo to be a barber’s pole. Same is true for your inspection company brand.
Brand ?
Sure you can convince the Mouse that roared it is a big brand needing marketing or you can be real here.
Are guys pushing personal branding with NACHI logos all over their sites ?
Anyway I have a bunch of websites and none of them use my actual name ?
Hmmm why would I not be smart enough to do that ?
Because I do not let ego get in the way of marketing and instead of trying to be cool and hip use URLS like Chicago property,Chicago home inspector,Chicagoland home inspection,home and condo inspection.
I use names and symbols people already know and identify with rather than being so egotistical that I think clients and potential clients give a rats behind about my cool now logo.
Nick the only reason you push the NACHI branding on inspectors is because you have limited competition from mainly ASHI and when newbie or inspector wannabes first think about joining an association you want them to see your association logo to give it perceived importance.
The above is example of a totally different target and mindset marketing philosophy that you are attempting to project here.
When I wear a shirt in public people will notice the graphic much faster than the words .
A magnifying glass and house immediately tells them what I do for a living.
That being said my official logo is designed for other reasons I will not discuss at the moment.
Summing up if I want people to know I am a Home Inspector immediately with no doubt it will be a house and magnifying glass every time.
No, they are emphasizing what I call “professional seriousness” which is why the CPI logo is better than the InterNACHI logo at that point (but either will work). The CMI logo is way better than both (Truth be told, if I was a CMI I wouldn’t dilute it with the InterNACHI logo at all, but that’s another discussion).
Anyway, your website doesn’t use your brand to get a client there… they are already there! It may reinforce your brand, but that is superfluous to the new task at hand which is to get them to dial your phone number from your website. If a consumer finds your website and is already on it, your marketing techniques (including branding) already succeeded… time to convert them from a website visitor to a paying client. Your logo at that point only matters to the extent that it looks professional (doesn’t unsell you). Your logo doesn’t sell like, say, the CPI logo does or the CMI logo really does.
Once you bring a potential client to your website, your efforts should switch from marketing to sales.
That is a really important statement so let me repeat it…
Once you bring a potential client to your website, your efforts should switch from marketing to sales.
One more time…
Once you bring a potential client to your website, your efforts should switch from marketing to sales.
Does that make sense? I can help further if it is unclear.
I agree, the branding builds familiarity, not credibility, not a call to action, that’s what the web site is for.
Lets see now.
Walk around in public with big magnifying glass over a house on my shirt and on my truck or a abstract cool looking and hip design like wavy lines to represent water cause I live near a lake.
Hmmm which one tells people I am a Home Inspector ?
Let me think on that a bit.
If the wavy lines need the Words “Home Inspector” to tell them what I do then skip the graphics all together because unless you are a big recognized brand already like McDonalds (arches do not mean food) it is self ego stroking.
By the way I see a big house with a checkmark to my upper left as I type this…hey what gives ?
Buying a home is a rare event for most people. And even then, the time between the moment when a homebuyer learns that his/her offer was accepted and the moment they choose a home inspector is short. That window of opportunity is very small (often less than a few hours long) and rarely comes around (on average about every 7 years). I would not trade anything valuable to my marketing and sales for the nearly astronomical chance that a homebuyer will see your shirt during that blink of time and hire you because your logo is more recognizably related to the inspection industry.
The odds of running into that one in a million buyer who would be otherwise unable to recognize that you’re an inspector without the magnifying logo design… at the precise time in his/her life when he/she needs to schedule a home inspection… is probably one in billions… or one in trillions. In other words, it’s not worth trading your brand uniqueness for.
So basically you are in essence telling us that putting your logo on the truck is a waste of money.
Not saying I disagree either as I would rather avoid all that cost and keep regular plates.
In Chicago ads and logos mean B plates and you can not park overnight on side streets,drive on Lake Shore dr or any blvd,and plates cost more .
Too be honest I’m still in disagreement because something basic will always catch the eye and spur conversation much faster with people you meet say at a restaurant or local watering hole.
I myself have received business from strangers that saw my logo at registers,or socially by chance.
Even if it only happens several times a year the clients more than not are going to be in your close areas and refer to their friends as well.
Let me finish by asking why you bother to print stickers with a NACHI logo for us to put on the bumper since it is such a waste ?
Nope. Trucks are free billboard ads, but use them to promote YOU, not the whole industry. It’s a waste to trade your brand identity for an intentionally created logo design that is more obviously inspection related in an effort to capitalize on a one-in-a-trillion opportunity. It’s a statistically horrible trade in other words.
Buying a home is a rare event for most people. And even then, the time between the moment when a homebuyer learns that his/her offer was accepted and the moment they choose a home inspector is short. That window of opportunity is very small (often less than a few hours long) and rarely comes around (on average about every 7 years). I would not trade anything valuable to my marketing and sales for the nearly astronomical chance that a homebuyer will see your truck during that blink of time and hire you because your logo is more recognizably related to the inspection industry.
The odds of running into that one in a million buyer who would be otherwise unable to recognize that you’re an inspector without the magnifying logo design on your truck… at the precise time in his/her life when he/she needs to schedule a home inspection… is probably one in billions… or one in trillions.
Since you brought up truck signage, I’ll tell you a funny story: When I owned Peach Inspections, I had our big Peach logo plastered all over one inspection van (just one). Now of course a peach is not inspection related. Anyway, within a few months, everyone was telling me the same thing… “I see your Peach Inspection vans everywhere!” Little did they know… I only had one logo’d van. Some people would ask me “How many of those inspection vans do you have? I see them all over town.” LOL.
There is guy in town that did a wrap on his truck. All it has on the side is Angler management in big letters. I thought what a perfect idea for a Home Inspector if he could find something that fits in.
If you have not figured it out yet he also has a big bass on the side of the truck. He is the leading tackle sales shop++ here is SSM On.
Sorry I can’t find a pic of the truck.
Point being is Nick is right to KISS keep it simple so people recognize the truck where ever you go.
ha ha… Guerrilla marketing .
Now stop sending us those bumper stickers.
Perhaps related many think my logo is city official related for some reason.
Go figure…