If you are struggling to define the intricacies of your business, you might be surprised to learn that many businesses share the same problems and that a number of them haven’t developed a strong brand identity. Although this statement might make you think whether you need it at all considering those businesses are operational. But think of it as fine-tuning: you can unwind a screw with a fork or a similar impromptu tool but nothing would be as efficient as a screwdriver.
Representing the face of your business, a well-established brand identity can help you be more efficient with building customer loyalty, recognition, and credibility, and therefore expanding your customer base. With that in mind, here are some proven steps you can take towards building a strong brand identity.
Know who your customers are
The core reason your business exists is your customers since no amount of effort or different strategies would make any sense if it wasn’t for people who purchase your products or use your services. In practical terms, your goal is to find a mutual ground between ideas you have about your brand and your customers’ expectations.
That being said, it is not always easy to determine who your customers are because it is not as plain as ‘hungry people’ if you are a restaurant owner or ‘overweight people’ if you are a gym owner. Your customers might be looking for a restaurant that is close-by to take their foreign friends or coming to the gym for simply recreational purposes (as opposed to losing weight). You need to learn your customers’ gender, age, occupation, location via different sources since some of these data might help you shape your brand identity.
Leverage what makes you different
In the world where new startups are sprouting daily, it may seem as if it is impossible to offer something unique. And truth be told, you are not obliged to create something revolutionary – what’s essential is to conclude what makes your brand tick and make sure that each element and every strategy of your brand are in accordance with that essence.
When you know your audience and those core elements that make your brand different, you can find a way to represent your vision to your audience more easily. You need to be able to communicate to them why they should choose your products or services and not somebody else’s. What makes your brand special? This is the question you need to consider and its answer will be both your competitive advantage and an integral element of your brand identity.
Get noticed online
Having a strong brand identity will make you more noticed but the process also works the other way around: you can additionally help the process of building brand identity by ensuring more exposure for your brand and website. Regardless of the part of the world you are at, the universal recipe for climbing the ranking ladder is to work on SEO.
To illustrate, let’s say that your business is local and based in Hong Kong and that you want to promote your brand to local customers. Being placed at the top of the first or the third page of the search results makes a significant difference which is why many businesses leave the deciphering of Google’s algorithm and ranking factors to experts. In the example above, hiring a reputable SEO agency in Hong Kong will help you with your local SEO efforts and ensure you improve your brand’s online visibility and reputation. That would, in return, strengthen your brand identity.
Make your visual appearance memorable
Visual elements play a notable role in the process of building a brand identity simply because people value aesthetics very much. If you do this portion right, the memorable visual elements will make your brand identity distinct as well. So, the first thing to start with is the logo and to make it easy to remember, stick to basic shapes and colors.
Speaking of colors, they are a powerful tool for creating emotions which is why you need to give them some thought. For example, if you sell products related to sleeping and relaxation, such as massage oils or memory foam pillows, you might want to avoid the color red. This is because it serves better for evoking passion than slowing down a pulse that would go against your brand identity.
Remain consistent
Consistency with all brand identity elements is crucial for the identity’s strength. A strict style of your website’s blog will be confusing to your predominantly teenage audience when compared to the easy-going style of your social media profiles. These inconsistencies are the reason why your audience will not make a purchase in the end – you will seem unprofessional and inexperienced.
This is why your visual identity should be the same throughout every channel and you need to have the same colors on your website and social media. Also, your logo has to be present everywhere, including your products and promotional material. The style addressing the audience and your brand’s message need to also be balanced so, if you take a humorous stand on your Facebook profile, make sure that humorous steak is visible on your website content. By preserving the consistency of your brand identity, you are making it stronger.
Wrapping up
If all of these steps seem complicated, just give yourself time to process them and find the right elements that make up your brand so that you can create a strong and recognizable identity. Naturally, if you feel lost at sea, there is nothing wrong with hiring experts to help you with individual steps. What’s crucial is that you understand the importance of working on your brand identity so that you may have a stable basis upon which you can build your brand and expand your business.
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