A brand identity -- one with a face, trust, and a mission -- attracts people who agree with what your brand has to offer. But once these people become customers, that same brand identity gives them a sense of belonging.
A good product generates customers, but a good brand generates advocates. If you want your business to become a well-known and beloved brand name, it's going to take some work.
The following steps will help you build a brand identity. They are simple steps; implementing them, however, is another story. Just like any other aspect of starting a business, the first step in creating a brand identity is to complete market research. You should clarify and understand these five things. It's no secret that different people want different things. You can't usually target a product to a pre-teen the same way you would target a product to a college student.
Learning what your audience wants from a business in your industry is vital to creating a brand people will love. What makes your business unique in your industry? What can you offer your consumers that others can't? Knowing the difference between you and your competition is imperative to developing a successful brand.
Keeping an eye on your competitors will also educate you on what branding techniques work well and those that don't. You know what your business offers, but be sure to have a clear and direct mission statement that describes your vision and goals. In other words, know your business's purpose -- you can't very well create a personality for a business unless you know what that business is about. Even though you're not necessarily branding an individual, that doesn't mean that you can't be personable when developing a brand image.
Use your type, colors, and imagery to represent who the brand is. Then enhance that visual representation with your tone of voice: Are you a confident business with a lot of sass, like Nike? Or are you ritzy and professional, like Givenchy? Either way, be sure to develop your brand as a way to represent your business. Research may be boring, but the more you know about your business, the stronger your brand identity will be.
Considering the characteristics of the brand will help you find characteristics you want to portray in the brand. SWOT stands for:. Once you know your business inside and out, it's time to bring your brand to life. In the words of graphic designer Paul Rand , "Design is the silent ambassador of your brand. Although the logo is not the entirety of the brand identity , it's a vital element in the branding process -- it's the most recognizable part of your brand. It's on everything from your website to your business cards to your online ads.
With your logo on all of these elements, your branding should look as cohesive as this example:. Image via Creative Commons. As imperative as your logo is to branding, it's not the only element that makes a brand identity strong. Your product s , the packaging, or the way you present your services all need to play a part in your brand identity.
Visually representing your business in everything you do will create consistency and help create a familiarity with your consumers. Take McDonald's golden arches for example. They used an interesting form to create the iconic "M," which is now recognizable all over the world. Creating a color palette is a way to enhance your identity. It provides you with variety so you can create unique designs for your business while remaining faithful to the brand identity.
Type can also be a double-edged sword if not utilized properly. Although "mix and match" type design has become quite the trend, that doesn't mean mixing a handful of fonts is necessarily a good idea for your business.
In your logo, on your website, and on any documents that your business creates print and digital , there should be consistent use of typography. If you take a look at Nike's website and its ads , it keeps the same typeface and type style throughout all aspects of the business -- and it works wonders for them.
You probably send out emails, type up letters, or hand out business cards to potential customers on a daily basis. Creating templates even for a detail as minute as email signatures will give your business a more unified, credible, and professional look and feel. As mentioned in nearly every step already I can't stress it enough , consistency is what can make or break a brand identity.
Use the aforementioned templates and follow the design choices you've decided upon for your brand throughout all areas of your business to create a harmonious brand identity. Yes, consistency is crucial -- but remaining flexible in a society that is always looking for the next best thing is just as important. Flexibility allows for adjustments in ad campaigns, taglines, and even some modernizing to your overall brand identity so you can continuously keep your audience interested.
The key is keeping any changes you make consistent throughout your entire brand e. One of the most effective ways to ensure a business sticks to its branding "rules" is to create a set of brand guidelines that document all of the do's and don'ts of your brand.
Skype is one brand that has done an amazing job creating a clear, cohesive brand guide that anyone can follow. This is one way to empower people to build brand assets and share your brand while remaining brand compliant. Now that you've established your brand within your company and have taken all the necessary steps to develop it, you're ready to integrate your brand within your community.
And one of the most successful ways to accomplish this is for your brand to provide quality content. It's your salesperson, your store, your marketing department; it's your story, and every piece of content you publish reflects on, and defines, your brand. So, great content, great brand.
Boring content, boring brand. Use language that matches that personality of your brand. A brand that is consistent and clear puts the customer at ease because they know exactly what to expect each and every time they experience the brand. It is important to remember that your brand represents you…you are the brand, your staff is the brand, your marketing materials are the brand. Your brand can help you be strategic and will guide your marketing efforts saving time and money. Purchasing is an emotional experience and having a strong brand helps people feel good at an emotional level when they engage with the company.
Think about the brands that you purchase from Coca-Cola, Wrangler, Apple, Ford, Chick-Fil-A, QuikTrip … are these companies really worth their equipment, their products, their warehouses, or factories? No, these companies are worth much more than their physical assets…their brand has created a value that far exceeds their physical value. The best branding is built on a strong idea… an idea that you and your staff can hold on to, can commit to, and can deliver upon. Your brand needs to permeate your entire organization.
When your organization is clear on the brand and can deliver on the promise of the brand, you will see tremendous fruit while building brand loyalty among your customer base.
Learn how to accelerate your brand with our Free Branding E-Book. Table of Contents Branding promotes recognition. Your brand helps set you apart from the competition. Everything the customer experiences in the process of evaluation, trial, purchase and adoption is a verification of the original promise. Second is superior products and processes.
Brand leaders are well aware of the sources of brand value. To attract customers and maintain their loyalty, brand leaders must offer them products or services that are superior to others, thereby reducing the risk that the customer will not be satisfied. Nokia has taken the view that it cannot rely solely on suppliers to deliver the components that comprise the products, so it is buying up its suppliers in order to have control of the whole process.
Third is distinctive positioning and customer experience. Brand leaders capture what is special about their offering, convey it to the desired audience and allow customers to experience it. IKEA has opened up the furniture showroom to touch like no other retailer.
Chairs are pounded with machinery to demonstrate durability, displays are elaborate and constantly changing, and customers are invited to stay by means of a restaurant and product-knowledge sessions. Marketers and brand managers focus their strategies on the customer.
In general, employees have been the last to know about the latest marketing campaign, or have not been appropriately trained in the brand values. Leading brands understand that an internal culture supportive of the brand strategy has a far better chance of delivering a consistent yet differentiated experience.
The internal values are aligned with brand values to shape the organisation's culture and embed the core purpose. The true test of a leading brand is whether employees' commitment to the brand is high, because that will help keep customer commitment high. Those who live the brand will deliver the brand. Finally, there is the ability to stay relevant. Leading brands constantly maintain their relevance, ensuring ownership of points of difference.
For every great brand there are scores of failures. Even once-successful brands lose their way, and in most cases the causes are obvious, but are recognised too late. This can happen when brand owners treat them as a cash cow. This causes erosion of the original brand idea, as it marginalises the customer experience. There is a popular story told in business schools.
For many years a man ran a successful roadside restaurant. Word-of-mouth recommendations from regular customers were so effective that the restaurant itself became the destination, rather than a passing stop, for its good value, high-quality home cooking and its smart, well-trained and well-paid staff. The owner was proud when his son got a place at a good business school and he gladly paid for the education he had never received. Following his studies, the son joined his father in the business, perhaps with the goal of franchising the concept.
Following a detailed analysis of the restaurant, he recommended reducing the number of staff, bringing in more junior people who could be paid less, and buying lower-grade food, which would be cheaper. The father was wary of the changes and concerned for his staff, but went along with them. Food, service and cleanliness all declined in quality and staff turnover became a problem.
Regulars deserted the restaurant and word-of-mouth recommendations stopped. The son decided to advertise on billboards in the city and along the road to the restaurant and to run special promotional offers. This provided a small boost, but new customers were quick to decide that their expectations were not met. This story is used to encourage students not to be rigid in their approach and to be sure to include employees and customers in any changes.
But the tale also has brand lessons. The son saw a cash cow that could be manipulated for greater profit. He did not recognise that if he disturbed what made the brand great in the first place, he ran the risk of breaking its promise.
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