How to Build a Strong Brand Identity
If you're building a brand or business, you need to know the importance of having a strong brand identity. A meaningful and effective brand identity is what differentiates your business from others in your industry. In this article, we'll break down what makes up a strong brand identity and how to achieve it.
What is a strong brand identity?
A strong brand identity is the foundation of your company, and it's important to know how to build one.
A brand identity is the way in which people perceive your business, including its logo and other visual elements like colors or fonts. It can also include non-visual elements such as voice (the tone of writing), personality (how you talk about yourself) and behavior (what kinds of things do).
To understand why this matters so much for your business--and how you can create one yourself--let's take a look at some examples of good branding strategies from a well established companies:
CHANEL: The iconic, interlocking logo, the consistency with elegance, intelligent tone in their ads, casting models and celebrities with a strong confidence when they walk and talk, and merging a sense of adherence to the foundation of the classics while living a grand adventure.
Chanel has an extraordinarily strong sense of brand identity that goes far beyond its recognizable logo.
Why is having a strong brand identity important?
A strong brand identity will help your company stand out from the competition, attract new customers and increase revenue, but it also keeps your company’s team on task, able to see the long-term vision and relevance of what they do every day when the come to work, and be clear on making decisions because they know what lines up with the intent of the business.
Branding is identity. Without clear branding, your business has no identity.
It's important to understand what exactly "brand" means before we can fully appreciate its value in creating successful businesses. A company's name, logo design and color scheme are all elements of its visual identity--or branding--but these things alone do not make up your entire brand identity; they're only one part of it.
The definition of "brand" varies depending on who you ask: some people say that it's any promise made by an organization; others define it as how consumers perceive products in relation to other competitors' offerings; while still others believe brands represent specific values held by organizations (e.g., quality). But regardless of which definition most resonates with what you think about when hearing "brand," having one isn't enough; in order for companies like yours succeed today -- especially during tough economic times -- having a strong sense of self-awareness is essential for surviving and thriving.
How to build a strong brand identity.
Know your audience.
Create a brand story.
Create a visual identity.
Create a consistent experience.
Use social media, but don't rely on it as your only marketing tool.
The importance of storytelling.
Storytelling is a powerful tool for connecting with your audience, establishing trust and helping you build relationships with customers. It can also be used as a way to solve problems.
When you're telling stories, it's important to remember that they don't have to be long or elaborate; in fact, shorter stories often work better because they allow people who are listening or reading them more time to process what they've heard before moving on to something else. The goal here isn't just entertainment--it's engagement! If someone isn't engaged by what they're hearing (or reading), then they won't care about what happens next in your brand's narrative arc - which means fewer sales conversions over time if this continues unchecked.
People are attracted to clarity and consistency. They want to know they fit somewhere in the narrative so they can be a part of it.
It's not about the product. It's about the experience.
While branding is often thought of in relation to the product, it's important to remember that people don't buy products; they buy experiences. And while there are many ways you can build a strong brand identity, one of the most effective is by focusing on creating an experience for your customers that aligns with their expectations and exceeds them.
When we talk about "exceeding expectations" or creating an experience for our customers, we're not just talking about giving them what they want--we're talking about giving them more than what they expect. This means going above and beyond in everything from customer service (responding quickly) to product quality (making sure everything works perfectly) right down to packaging (including thoughtful touches like handwritten notes).
The goal of your brand identity is to build a connection with your customers. This connection does not need to be based on the product you're selling, but rather on an experience that they can share with other people in their lives. As long as there is a story behind what makes up your brand and how it came about, there will always be people who identify with it and want more from it than just another product on their shelf at home or office.
Book a complimentary consultation with us TODAY to discover if your brand identity is best supporting your business’s long term goals.
If it’s not, we can help get you on the right path with a proven process and clear guidance, every step of the way.