What is the Value of a Strong Brand Identity?
Developing a strong brand identity should be the first step of your business efforts in order to appeal to your target audience. A strong brand identity can help build your reputation, make you stand out from your competitors, and project your company values and personality to attract your ideal customer.
The brand identity is the image you want to portray to the world and is one of the most valued aspects of your business. The biggest companies in the world are not valued just by their physical assets, but by their perceived value too, which is achieved basically through their brand reputation or equity. We should not confuse brand identity with brand image though. The brand image is the world’s opinion about your brand. As Marty Neumeier, the author of world-famous books like “The Brand Gap” and “Zag”, once said "Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is." But a powerful, well-designed brand identity will influence your customers’ perception of you. And visual design should definitely not be ignored if you want to position your new company for success.
So what are the most important benefits of a strategically designed brand identity?
1. Builds Trust and Loyalty
You may have a wonderful, perfectly crafted product, but this will not mean anything if your visual style doesn’t communicate quality, a distinct personality, authenticity, and emotion. If you have all of that, it will be so much easier to build a long-term relationship with your customers, and they will keep purchasing from you and recommend your products or services to their friends and family.
2. Makes your brand memorable and remarkable
The key to making your business memorable is consistency. If your audience sees your logo, color palette, and graphic style constantly and as much often as possible, it will help them remember you in long-term as well. In order to achieve this, your logo and visual style have to be simple, relevant, appropriate, and responsive, meaning it will look clear enough on mobile, on desktop, in print, and in large advertising media. Your logo, in particular, should be instantly recognizable and should convey the right values of your brand.
3. Price-premium
A great brand identity commands a price premium. Why do some people choose Apple over all other technology brands? There are a lot of competitors with similar technical capabilities, but Apple is the most trendy, iconic, visual-oriented tech company and their identity is designed in such a manner that they appeal to the right audience: creatives, innovators, and design lovers. I honestly can’t think of a technology company that has a more powerful logo and more beautiful products than Apple does.
The same principle applies to smaller businesses. There may not be that much difference between what you offer and what your competitors offer, but with a powerful brand identity, in the customer’s mind, you’re positioned as better quality. In short: Look better than your competitors and they’ll follow you.
4. Differentiation
Companies are continually looking for ways to differentiate their brand’s identity from their competitors. A strong brand identity can make you stand out in a crowded marketplace. You should never try to look and sound like your competitors if you don’t want your brand to become overshadowed and lose credibility. If your most relevant competitors zig, you zag. The essence of differentiation is to offer different experiences than your competitors are offering. This is the step where strong brands need to get really creative and strategic. Any feeling or experience you might choose to offer, should be reflected in your visual identity as well.
That being said, a strong brand identity should have a “Yes” answer to these questions: Does my visual identity reflect who the brand really is? Does my brand identity look different from my competitors? Does my brand identity connect emotionally to my ideal customers?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start with your visual brand personality, I’d love to have a chat and see how I can help your brand live up to its true potential.
