The concept of branding has come a long way since ranchers first began burning symbols into the hides of their livestock. While this practice is still used on many ranches, the definition of branding has expanded dramatically, to the point where it now refers to virtually any effort made for the purpose of establishing a company, entity, or even individual in the public eye.
An Easily Identifiable Brand Image Is Key
A strong, respected, and easily identifiable brand image is essential in today’s market, when millions of businesses are competing on a global scale for a sustainable share of any sector’s customer base. But while a healthy, positive, and effective brand image is the ultimate goal, brand identity is what gets an entity there.
The difference between brand image and brand identity might seem granular and academic, but it is actually quite important to understand. Brand identity refers to everything that goes into and results in a company’s brand image—from logos, fonts, and color schemes to the language used in advertisements, the activities the company engages in, and even the name it selects for itself. All of these seemingly small but interconnected factors help create the company’s overall brand image—and can mean the difference between failure and long-term success based on enduring customer loyalty.
Building a Strong Brand Identity
The following suggestions can help businesses build a strong brand identity.
Develop a Compelling Name/Logo Combination – It might seem painfully obvious, but it’s impossible to overstate the importance of a catchy name and logo. Just as a swoosh immediately brings the name Nike to mind and the golden arches make one’s mouth start watering involuntarily at the thought of a hamburger, the ultimate goal for any company is for their name, product, logo, and overall brand to become subconsciously interchangeable. The less the general public has to think and the more they can simply react to the visual representation of a brand, the closer the business is to creating lifelong customer loyalty.
Create a Relatable Narrative – As important as a name and logo are, branding involves more than a few lines on paper. A lasting, effective brand is one that communicates a story—and that story needs to resonate with its audience. Customers want a reason to align themselves with a brand, and the most compelling reason is shared values, principles, aesthetics, or identity. When businesses craft corporate cultures and narratives that are not only entertaining, but also relatable, they are one huge step closer to establishing brand loyalty. The goal in marketing should be to create a story that the customer feels they are a part of.
Focus on Feelings – The best stories are those that help the audience to feel authentic emotions—and the same holds true for corporate narratives. Whether a company wants to be associated with empathy, happiness, coolness, or even emotions that are often thought of as negative (after all, sadness, nostalgia, and fear are all effective motivators that can help to sell certain products), it is important to develop a brand in a way that elicits these feelings in prospective customers. While it might seem like logic should play a major part in purchasing decisions, the reality is that most people buy based on emotion.
Build a Team of Excited Employees – Of course, companies are more than their names, stories, and products. The employees of a business are the lifeblood of the organization. They show up every day, keep the company running, create its products and marketing, and provide the services that it sells. When employees are happy and excited about the company and their work, this is reflected through the company’s output. It might not always be a tangible, quantifiable difference, but a business populated by happy, motivated employees has a palpable vibe that embeds itself in the public psyche and subconsciously strengthens its brand. On the other hand, a company whose employees are dissatisfied and simply doing the bare minimum to collect their weekly paycheck will ultimately struggle to establish authenticity, no matter how much money and resources are poured into marketing. By creating a work culture that employees enjoy being a part of, a business can go a long way toward creating a strong brand.
Stand Out from the Competition – It isn’t enough for a company to tell potential clients what they make and why it is important for people to obtain them—it also has to convince customers to buy a specific product or service. General marketing of a niche offering has some value—after all, if people don’t know about a product, they probably won’t buy it. But if a business’ entire branding campaign is focused simply on industry awareness, it will end up spending ad dollars to help its competitors gain clients. In addition, a company’s branding needs to help it stand out from the competition and explain to customers why its particular product or service is going to make them happier and more satisfied.
Listen to Your Customers – Many businesses get so busy drinking their own Kool-Aid and forget to evolve and grow. If their products or marketing efforts have been successful in the past, they see no reason to change them in the future. If they have established a strong brand that has become part of the zeitgeist, helping to define fashion, tech, or whatever industry they are in, it becomes easy to get stuck in the trap of self-congratulation and tastemaker pride. But while branding does involve an element of trend
creation, it will prove ineffective if the trend being pushed isn’t one that the public actually wants. Successful businesses identify gaps in the market—needs and desires that prospective customers have—and then find innovative, compelling ways to fill those gaps. In order to ensure long-term viability, these businesses need to continuously turn to their customers for feedback—and listen to the messages their customers are giving them. This requires a level of humility and an open mind—in addition to effective data collection techniques, such as surveys and product testing campaigns.