Safeguard Locksmiths Logo

Have a look at our Safeguard Locksmiths logo – it’s on the left if you can’t find it, and it’s been around forever. A few weeks ago, though, we decided it was time for a change. This wasn’t an easy decision, nor should it be. Currently located in North Melbourne, Safeguard Locksmiths is 48 years old and has traded under the same logo for so long that nobody remembers when or where the graphic was born; it’s safe to say that it’s as old as any of the employees or customers can remember.

So, based on these facts, should we have left it alone? Isn’t it part of our brand? Well, yes – but a brand is so, so much more than its logo. 

There are many definitions of a brand, but the one I like is the one that goes something like this: “a brand is what your customers say about your company when you’re not in the room to hear them.” So, how am I supposed to know what our customers are saying about us in that proverbial room? For the sake of our business, I hope they talk about our integrity, commitment to service, and most of all alignment of purpose. I hope that they see we ‘get’ them, that we know what they’re about and how we should play our part in helping them get to where they need to go.

Our most recent customer visit was to one of our favourite clients. They are all about shoes, but for me, they present more like a legendary record or fashion label. We had the privilege of having a tour of their Richmond HQ recently, and it was like walking through a town square where fashion shows and music festivals are in full swing. Products on display in retail like spaces separating all their different brands and colours (over 30 if you can believe that). Each even has its own logo, design space, and teams beavering away. Yet with all this variety of logo designs and colours, there was clearly only one culture on display – teamwork. Growth. People with a purpose all make it happen, together. 

What struck me, was the fact that despite all that focus and determination on their customers, here they were, taking the time to tour one of their suppliers through their business, because for them, alignment of purpose is key (mind the pun). We may be a small cog in their engine, but an important cog, nevertheless. Security in a business of over 600 shops can get quite dynamic as you could imagine, so quick response time is just the start. The real game is in understanding their culture of growth and their mindset to achieving those growth targets, which was what the site tour was all about. We got to see not only what they do, but how they do it and more importantly, how we can help them make it happen.

A supplier for our small business once said to us “the people in any business worry about logos & signage waaaaay more than any customer does”, and I’m inclined to agree with him. But then I thought about that statement. I thought “isn’t that the point?” If we think about the logo as being a symbol of what the business means to staff, it can make them proud to belong and offer more focus on “why use us” when talking to prospects and clients. If that’s the truth, then let’s make that logo change!

Safeguard Locksmiths | Your access | Your control | Your way | Since 1974.