How to Build Brand Identity
How to Build Brand Identity and Brand Yourself Correctly
A powerful brand identity doesn’t happen in a single day. You can spend nights searching for a brand template, examples, the right color palette and feel like you’re getting nowhere.
Furthermore, brand identity isn’t just a cleverly designed logo. Companies like Apple didn’t create build brandy identity just by engraved an apple on every product. The design is half of the picture. The other half is providing top-quality products, services, and even how you communicate with customers.
Since it’s crucial to take small steps, in the article, we’ll explore how to build a brand identity as a genuine representation of what your business strives to be.
What is Brand Identity?
What is the definition of brand identity? Maybe it’s the company’s logo and how they present themselves visually.
According to Investopedia, brand identity is a company’s visible aspects like a logo that makes the brand unique for the consumer.
But brand identity is much more. Apple “Think Different” and Nike’s “Just Do It” makes each of their customers feel unique and powerful. While the slogan is the message, the logo is the representation of that message.
Through careful marketing, they create a powerful brand identity that expands with every new customer.
Some of the key elements that make a powerful brand identity are:
- Name
- Logo
- Colors
- Slogan
- Corporate font
To an average customer, it might not sound like a big deal that Facebook recently removed “the” from the company’s name. Facebook or “The Facebook, what does it matter? Thousand delicate and often invisible parts make a powerful brand identity. So, although removing “the” didn’t do anything for Facebook overnight, it will affect in years to come. The same goes for every other element of the company’s brand identity.
Brand value seems like something you only find at the end of a rainbow. It’s impossible to calculate or quantify. Nevertheless, the presence of a powerful brand can make a difference in how your company performs.
How to Build a Strong Brand Identity?
Before you start looking for copywriters and designers, you need to understand the market first. Who’s your competition? More importantly, who are your customers?
1. Do Market Research
It’s vital to understand who your company is, who your competition is, and how do you correlate to other similar businesses.
You can discover pressure points by doing a proper SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). For example, maybe unlike other grocery stores, you provide a much greater product diversity, and you’re not even aware of that. If so, use that to build your brand identity.
On the other hand, maybe your prices are 5% bigger than in other grocery stores. Here you can lower the prices or be daring and play the price = premium product card.
Nevertheless, until you do market research, you won’t know where you should start.
2. Define Company’s Goals
The brand identity should push you and the customers towards the same goal. Some fiction writers write the ending first and build the story from there, so should you.
You can’t know if you want to turn left or right without knowing where you’re heading first. As an example, maybe your brand goal is to take over the baby product market. You certainly won’t achieve that by advertising yourself around retirement homes.
To define your company’s goals, first, you need to identify the customers. If you’re aiming for young families, do surveys and focus groups with parents. Find out what they need, instead of you guessing what they need.
Finally, it goes without saying that making a profit isn’t a proper goal. It’s the reward for when you reach the goal.
3. Brainstorm the Slogan & Logo
After you do your research and determine the goals, it’s time to combine everything into one coherent brand identity.
Take small steps because you don’t want to end up selling luxury products with rainbow colors in your logo and a slogan that says “Be Simple.” Think about it. Your tagline says “be simple,” yet your logo has countless colors all mashed up in one image. That doesn’t sync, and you’re losing brand value.
Maybe you want customers to associate your business with a place with affordable prices. When you brainstorm, don’t list synonyms such as cheap, inexpensive, or low-price.
Instead, brainstorm what visually represents your brand identity. Maybe it’s a shiny nickel right next to a shopping bag.
When you move to logo design, start with visual first. Take your time and create the best mockup first. Next, brainstorm the right color palette, and finally, the font that fits with the logo and your overall brand identity.
How to Keep Brand Identity Strong?
Fast forward a year. You created a unique brand identity. Everybody knows your store is the one with the best prices and deals in the state. You communicate with your customers regularly via social media, and things are looking up.
But the competition is trying to outsmart you, the same way as Huawei or Samsung is trying to outsmart Apple.
To maintain strong brand identity, you need to do two things:
- Keep an eye on your competition
- Be active and consistent on social media Analyzing the competition doesn’t end with creating brand identity. Instead, it’s a constant practice that ensures you maintain dominance. Social media activity is the tool that keeps the brand identity going. Meaning, it’s essential to use the same tone of voice and elements you used to build brand identity. If you notice weak spots emerging, maybe it’s time to go back to the drawing board and try something different. Conclusion Branding yourself is an ongoing process from when you start a business to the moment you decide to retire. Creating and maintaining a strong brand identity requires consistency and knowing when it’s time to make a bold move. Brand identity is what makes you different in the sea of millions of fishes. You need to go against the current and be wise not to waste precious time and money.
Now that you have the basics of how to build a brand identity, it’s time to get to work. Good luck.