Brand and identity explained
Before you even draw up a plan for the amazing business idea in your head, there are a few BIG questions you should be able to answer easily before you go to market:
- Who you are
- What you stand for
- How you want to do business
And how all these weave together, form the cornerstone of your brand.
What does brand mean?
For most people it’s a logo, a slogan or a set of colours that set them apart from other brands.
In business the logo is just the visual aspect. The deeper meaning is in the essence of the company represented by the logo.
An old boss once said to me:
Brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.
Brand Manager, Virgin Care
As an intern at the time, I thought it was a bit woo-woo, but as I developed into my career I got a much deeper understanding of the hard work that goes into building and creating meanginful brands that people connect with. It is not just a logo situation.
We’re talking about the quality of your offering, your point of difference, your customer service, your commitment to a sustainable approach to business (or not) – it all matters, and it shapes the way people see and value your business.
Brands are perceptions
Ignite Brands 2020
You can therefore describe brand as the relationship between the customer and the business. How the client perceives and interacts with your service or products and what ideas are conjured up when they think of you.
Values and purpose
Nailing down your purpose and how you want to impact the market, is a strong point to lead with in marketing yourself to your ideal audience… and consumers love a brand-led business!
Conscious consumers are wising up to the need for more ethical and sustainable practices and are choosing to align with businesses that they connect with (and ditching the ones that they don’t).
As an independent business, you can decide where you stand and what values you will lead with. It’s proven to be a successful strategy for smaller businesses to incorporate this into your marketing (as this sets you apart from big corporations).
Communicating this and celebrating it as a point of difference is a great start to shaping perceptions.
99designs.co.uk
Values – core company beliefs and culture that represent who you are and how you do business
Mission – the purpose you serve to your clients and wider communities
Vision – current and future objectives (where you are and where you want to get to)
Ethos – your motto, your tagline and how you do business
Branding and identity
Brand identity is the visual representation of your business and branding is the application of your visual identity and key messages.
This is about being recognisable and presenting yourself consistently to the market.
This includes the look and feel, the tone of voice and the way you communicate your message.
Your identity incorporates elements such as:
- Logos
- Font styles, typography and colour palettes
- Icons and imagery that distinguish who you are
- Tone of voice and the style that you write in
- The unique themes that run throughout all your materials
Therefore, branding is how you apply these elements across your materials and platforms, that makes you distinguishable and identifiable.
Consistency is king
You’ve heard the saying ‘content is king’? Well, that’s for another blog post…
Without consistency you may as well forget the content. Here’s why…
- Inconsistent colours, fonts or badly placed logos make you look counterfeit
- You lose credibility and trust
- It changes perceptions over the quality of your products or services
- You look like a small-time player and unprofessional
- People don’t recognise you
The best way to maintain consistency is with a decent set of guidelines (if you don’t already have them). Many businesses skip this step in order to rush to the market with their product, but it’s worth doing – especially if your team is going to expand.
Brand guidelines are a genius way to maintain control of how your business is presented, acting as a blueprint for the teams that you work with. A good set of guidelines will include:
- Helpful references for colours, fonts and language style
- Story, vison, mission, and values
- Guidance on the correct application of your brand elements (helpful for internal staff, designers, and other external agencies)
Sloppy branding impacts perception, so remember to keep it tight!
This goes for your communications, presentations, social media posts and even the uniform that you wear.
Key takeaways
- Brand is about perception
- Define your brand early on in business and put it heart and soul into what you do
- Brand identity is the visual representation
- Consistency is king
Do you need help defining your messaging or pulling together the elements of your brand identity?
Get in touch and let me know how I can help.