Building a successful business isn’t just about offering a great product or service — it’s also about creating a strong brand identity. Why? Because branding turns good businesses into great businesses.
With brand identity, businesses can achieve 'immortal' status, meaning unkillable. Immortal businesses will always have innate value in their brand, they have a true brand identity. Prime examples are McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Google.
Your brand identity is essentially how your business presents itself to the world. It’s the personality of your business, encapsulating everything from visual elements to the core values that guide your company. In this guide, we’ll delve into the essential components of crafting a compelling brand identity that resonates with your audience.
What Is Brand Identity?
Brand identity is simply the look and feel of the business, it's the personification of your business. Imagine your business as a person - its appearance, mannerisms, values, desires... the list goes on. Just like individuals, businesses have distinct characteristics that define them.
The Look (Visual Identity)
This encompasses your logo, colour schemes, typography, and overall design aesthetics.
The Feel (Personality)
Often overlooked but equally (if not more) crucial, this includes your brand's voice, values, mission, purpose, and vision. It's how your business communicates and connects with its audience on a deeper level.
People feel that the look is the most important, forgetting to look at the feel. Instead, you should look more closely at the feel, rather than looking so much at the look. You feel me?
Why Is Brand Identity Important?
Builds Recognition:
Presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. Consistent visual elements and messaging make your brand easily recognisable.
Builds Trust:
59% of shoppers prefer to buy new products from the brands they trust. A clear identity communicates professionalism and reliability, building the trust they want.
Marketing & Growth:
77% of marketers feel branding is a crucial factor in future growth. Branding provides a foundation for effective marketing and growth campaigns.
Fosters Loyalty:
89% of shoppers stay loyal to brands that share their values. Through your branding, you can find an audience that shares the values of your business.
Data Source
Creating The Feel:
The Feel of your brand is about establishing its personality and voice. Here’s how you can develop it:
Finding Your Brand's Voice:
Determine the tone and style of your communications. Is your brand casual and friendly, or formal and authoritative? Research different types of brand voices to understand what will suit your business best.
Defining Your Brand's Values:
What principles guide your business? Research the values of brands you know and use them as a reference in crafting your own values.
Coca-Cola's Values:
Leadership: The courage to shape a better future.
Collaboration: Leverage collective genius.
Integrity: Be real
Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me.
Passion: Committed in heart and mind.
Diversity: As inclusive as our brands.
Quality: What we do, we do well.
Crystallising Your Brand's Vision:
Your vision is a grand look into the future. What is the ultimate north star for your business?
Nike's Vision:
To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world
Focusing On Your Brand's Mission:
Your mission is how you intend to achieve your vision. It is action-oriented and gives your audience an idea of what your business does. If you could achieve your vision in the next 20 years, how is your business going to do it?
IKEA's Mission:
To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.
Creating The Look:
The Look of your brand focuses on its visual elements. To design your brand, you really do need a professional. But there's a set of steps you need to take first that will help shape your design brief to ensure that your brand is on point.
The steps may seem unrelated to the look of your brand, but all will become clear at the end - we promise. During each step, keep the following points at the forefront of your mind: logo, fonts, and colours.
Finding Your Niche:
Don't try to take over the whole market (that will come later), instead, you should aim to differentiate your business so you can carve out a slice of the market. Your niche should align with your strengths and interests to ensure long-term commitment and success. What small sub-set of the market could your business be for?
Knowing Your Audience:
Develop detailed profiles of your ideal customers, including demographics, psychographics, and buying behaviours. This helps in understanding their needs, preferences, and pain points. Social media and engaging in online communities with your target audience is a great place to start.
Analysing The Competition:
Make a list of your main competitors in the market. Look at both direct and indirect competitors to get a comprehensive view. Analyse what your competitors are doing well and where they are lacking. This can help you identify opportunities to differentiate your brand.
Having A Name That Fits:
Start with a brainstorming session to generate a list of potential names. Think about names that reflect your brand’s identity, values, and the products or services you offer. Again, you should be using your name to differentiate yourself.
Hiring A Professional:
With the above steps completed, you will have conducted enough research to have a good understanding of where your business will be within the market, the audience you will serve, the competition currently operating, and hopefully the name of your business. All of this information is exactly what a designer needs to know to craft your brand effectively.
Don't forget about the information you will have acquired, you may have noticed that your competition all have similar names, logos, colours and fonts. That's the perfect opportunity to differentiate yourself and stand out with your brand. From the research into your niche and audience within it, you will understand what kind of brands resonate with them, you will understand what messages your brand needs to convey. Use your knowledge gained!
Conclusion
A strong brand identity is not just a logo or a colour scheme—it’s the soul of your business. By carefully crafting both the visual and personality aspects of your brand, you can create a compelling identity that resonates with your audience and sets you apart from the competition.
Kieran
Founderli CEO, Founder.
