A strong, recognizable brand can help your business succeed, which is why creating an effective brand identity
is not only essential but critical. But how can you make a brand identity to give you a competitive advantage?
This blog post will give you some basic ideas and insights to get you started thinking about your brand and how to create it.
A brand plan document is also essential so everyone in the company and outside vendors
communicates your strategy similarly. You will have an internal (how well the company knows itself)
and external (how well the company connects and relates to others) identity.
If they are both the same, you will have a strong brand. Source: blog.tbhcreative.com
Why do only some companies have a brand strategy?
First, most business leaders feel they already have too many issues. Besides lack of time,
many want to avoid putting their budget into jeopardy when there isn’t enough money
to do the things they already feel are required. Yes, it can take time and lots of thought.
Some CEOs neglect brand identity because they need to understand its importance.
And it is getting more critical every day. Also, they must have all the information they need to apply
their knowledge to a brand strategy program. But, consumers’ attention span is getting shorter and shorter every day.
Also, technology is making the barrier to entry for new companies and products more accessible.
And even legacy brands need help to stay relevant in the marketplace.
A strong brand identity is not a luxury. It is crucial for businesses to differentiate themselves from competitors.
But it will help you acquire clients, earn more profits and stay top of mind with clients.
What Is A Brand Identity?
“Brand identity is the collection of all elements that a company creates to portray
the right image to its consumer.” (a quote from “99 designs.com).
Brand identity, defined by ” proofbranding.com,” combines all the elements a company
creates and projects to represent an image and entice a feeling when people interact.
It’s the process of shaping and molding the impact your products and services leave on a customer.
Essentially, your brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers.
Here is another definition from feedough.com. Brand identity is the company’s side of the story.
It’s how the company feels that the consumers should perceive it. Efforts like developing a brand
outlook, personality, and design are some strategies used to make the brand uniquely
identify itself in the crowd of competitors. It’s an aggregate of brand name,
tagline, brand voice, brand positioning, brand associations, and brand personality.
The Process Of Creating A Brand Strategy
Creating a brand strategy can be complicated and take some time to prepare. However, having a
brand strategy is critical if your goal is to be viable and profitable. You need to take
some basic steps from Mike Moser’s book,” Together We Stand,” to get started with your brand strategy.
Step One: Make a list of your core brand values. These are internal core values.
Matters your company considers integral to its existence. They should be simple,
believable, and unassailable. Some examples would be innovation, honesty,
trust, commitment, simplicity, fairness, Etc. Then, select 3-4 that reflect your core value.
Step Two: Create and fine-tune your external core values for your brand message.
These will be part of your key message that captures your company’s reason for being.
Put them in writing. For example, quality, integrity, knowledge, innovation,
and passion. The fewer you have, the more you can focus on them,
Step Three: Create and refine your core brand message. This message captures the
critical reason your copay exists. Other messages will also support your key brand message.
Step Four: Determine your brand personality. Your brand personality will
determine your company’s tone and attitude to deliver your core brand message.
Step Five: Clarify and prioritize your brand icons. A brand icon is anything unique
to your brand that brings up an image of your brand in the customer’s mind.
Steps one through four will help your brand values and messages. Step five will help you evaluate
and choose appropriate colors, typefaces, layouts, music, and signage for your brand signage.
Finally, prepare a step-by-step guide for your brand. Put all the critical information
on one sheet of paper so everyone in the company and anyone you use
outside the company to help you with messaging will be on the same page.
Why Is Brand Identity Important?
Besides the rationale that brand identity makes the brand unique and identifiable in the market,
here are some other important aspects of brand identity from feedough.com. While brand identity is the
outward expression of the brand, brand image is how the customers perceive it. Identity is vital
for the business as it creates the brand image. However, it’s a task for the marketer
to make customers form an idea of the brand similar to its identity.
Brand identity helps the brand develop its unique stance and differentiate itself from others.
This differentiation also helps create a positioning strategy and get a loyal customer base in the market.
Consistency is the most critical aspect of branding, and brand identity gives rise to consistency.
A consistent outward expression is essential to be perceived as the brand.
A brand identity is the visual identity and representation tool to express the brand’s personality.
For smaller businesses, according to tomango.co.uk, a good brand identity positions you in your
customer’s minds as providing quality worth paying for. If you want to attract more
customers prepared to spend more money, getting your identity right gets
them through the door, primed and ready to splash the cash.
Without A Brand Strategy, You Can Face Some Problems.
According to proofbranding.com, you could have some of these problems if you don’t have a brand strategy.
You may make decisions without a clear understanding of who you are and your “mission,”
so you make decisions that don’t reflect your values. Your pathway to meeting your objectives
needs to be clarified because you may need a corporate and marketing strategy and plan.
You may not have all of your employees working from the same page and representing your
company with the same brand story to every customer. Your communications programs –
from your website to your content marketing- which may be confusing prospects and customers.
Conclusion
The bottom line: Even though Apple products are quality-wise on the same level as the competition,
Apple can charge a premium price. In the minds of its customers, its effects are worth more
than many other technology brands. This perception has a lot to do with brand identity. So what can you learn from Apple?
By creating a robust and unique brand identity, you, too, can attract high-paying customers.
Do you currently have a brand strategy? Are you thinking about creating one? Love to hear your thoughts.
Cheers, Jim Zitek
Harborcapitalgroupinc.com
Where Innovative Strategies Fix Revenue Problems
