The way people perceive a company, organization, or product can influence purchase habits and customer loyalty. With a strong corporate identity established via consistent marketing and messaging, the company for which you work may inspire new sales and consumer loyalty. Understanding the many processes and tactics for developing a brand’s identity can help you decide which technique will be most beneficial to your team. In this post, we will examine brand identity, how to create it, and many ways and tips for cultivating a stronger brand.
What is brand identity?
Brand identity refers to all of a brand’s stylistic characteristics, such as its design, color, logo, personality, and typography that set it apart in the minds of consumers. A company’s brand identity appeals to the senses and seeks to establish quick brand recall through visual, aural, oral, or tactile connotations. Brand identity is critical to establishing and maintaining a brand’s relevance in consumers’ thoughts.
How to Develop Brand Identity
Creating a brand identity that is congruent with the beliefs and qualities of the company and product is an essential step toward success. Ideally, all aspects of the company’s branding should work together to convey a single message. Here are nine steps that will help you create an effective brand identity:
1. Conduct research
Begin by analyzing the market to discover its strengths, opportunities, and shortcomings. Understand your company’s identity and point of differentiation. Identify factors that distinguish you from other brands.
2. Determine the business goals
Create your mission statement based on the capabilities and purpose of your brand. Describe what makes your company unique and why your products or services are in demand. If you work for a firm with a clear mission, consider what advertising goals will best serve both the company and your clients’ needs.
3. Identify customers
Conduct surveys, focus groups, and interviews to determine a consumer group. Understanding client wants and expectations can help develop brand identity and increase customer loyalty. This could entail undertaking audience segmentation and identifying multiple subgroups within your general audience. You can divide these subgroups depending on a variety of criteria, such as a customer’s age, geographic area, or shopping behavior.
4. Determine the personality and message
Consider whether your brand focuses on enjoyment or solving a consumer’s concerns while developing or redefining its personality. The brand’s voice is an identity that is consistent throughout the branding process and is represented effectively through rigorous brand identity decisions. All brand aspects, including the name, color palette, and font, work together to create a cohesive identity.
5. Create a logo
Create or redesign your logo. A logo is a visual trademark or sign that identifies the brand. The logo, like a sports team mascot, visibly reflects the brand and its principles.
6. Consider other visual aspects
Consider how the various visual aspects of your logo, packaging, advertising, or website might reflect your brand. This may include evaluating the following visual aspects:
- Color: Colors that are unique and specific to the brand instantly improve product visibility. For example, heather gray may convey serenity, but a more robust, vibrant green can convey confidence.
- Shape: Some brands can also be identified by the visual look of their shape. For example, the distinctive square-shaped bottle of a soft drink or the linear shapes of a game controller can instantly recognize the brand.
- Graphics: Distinct patterns can also serve to create a memory structure around a single brand, making recognition quick.
- Text: The size and style of your typeface can convey a brand’s personality. A wispy typeface, for example, may express a sense of ease, whereas Times New Roman may represent tradition and stability.
7. Create a slogan
Create or tweak the brand’s slogan. This is just a memorable way to express a brand’s positioning. A tagline should be succinct and memorable, making it easy for customers to recall. Many brands, for example, use slogans that contain alliteration or rhymes.
8. Choose your tone
Determine your brand’s style or tone. Specific word choice, often known as “diction,” refers to the vocabulary used in association with a brand and serves to form its tone and attitude. The language chosen to interact with consumers can influence the type of customer a brand draws.
The tone of your brand is often related to its personality. For example, a company focused on entertainment may use a more casual tone, whereas a business that provides medical devices may try to cultivate empathy.
9. Consider your audience’s other senses
Consider how your branding can activate your customers’ other senses when appropriate. This style of marketing, also known as sensory branding, may appeal to each of a prospective customer’s five senses. Here’s a quick overview of how you can use the other three senses into your branding:
- Sound: A brand’s own set of auditory notes, tones, or sounds can aid to increase brand recognition. A musical jingle can often direct a customer’s attention to the company name, resulting in a stronger brand identity.
- Taste: A brand’s flavor or flavor combinations can have a significant impact. For example, a restaurant may serve a secret sauce with a specific dish, whereas a soft drink manufacturer may offer 27 distinct flavors.
- Touch: For organizations that offer items, think about how they physically feel. Consider how the product or package feels to the touch, whether it is weighty, smooth, or rough, and how this affects branding.
- Scent: Companies that sell smelly products, such as food or cosmetics, may consider refining distinct odors that buyers can identify with their brand.
Tips for Creating a Brand Identity
Here are a few suggestions to assist you further enhance your brand’s identity.
● Continuously monitor your brand
Continuously monitor statistics connected to your branding. Keeping track of many components of your brand’s success will help you understand how well these disparate elements positively influence factors such as public awareness and consumer loyalty. It can also assist you determine how to improve key areas of your branding.
● Connect your customers with your narrative
Give your customers a cause to care about the firm for which you work by sharing brand-related tales. For example, you may publicly disclose your brand’s origin story or a tale about developing the brand’s new objective. Telling stories about your brand can build a customer’s empathy for the company, enhancing brand loyalty.
● Research your competition
Investigate your key competitors to identify what sets your brand apart from theirs. This could include investigating competitors’ mission statements, values, advertising campaigns, and product or service attributes. A better awareness of your competition can assist you acquire insight into the distinguishing features of your brand’s product or service offerings, mission, and personality.
● Allow the business to evolve
Make sure your branding strategies are flexible enough to alter over time. Although it is crucial to develop a distinct and distinctive brand identity, it can also be beneficial to allow the branding to evolve. This strategy can help the brand react to changes in the market or consumer opinion.
● Be available to your audience
Make it easy for your target audience to find and connect with your brand. This could include having a social media presence, launching an online store, or creating a website that is compatible with several operating systems. Being highly accessible to your target audience can help you raise public awareness.
