If you’re a business owner you’re probably trying to figure out how you’re going to remain relevant. A bad day can lead to a bad week and you start to question your business strategies and marketing techniques. And suddenly, you’re having a brand identity crisis, which can lead to a panic where you want to change everything ASAP.
Don’t do that. Take a deep breathe and we’ll get you through this. Contrary to popular opinion, your logo is not your identity. Sure, it helps, but it’s not who you are on the outside that is going to attract or keep customers.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and on the brink of having a full blown you’re brand identity crisis, take a moment and ask yourself these questions:
Who is your audience? Yes, in a perfect world “everyone” would be your customer. Figuring out your desired customer base and to whom your product most appeals to is the first step to discovering your brand identity. This is where research comes in. Who lives in the area? What are their ages? Income? Education level? And yes, it all matters.
What is your company’s mission? What do you offer to your customers? Obviously you know your product, but people will want to know about you as a business. What do you stand for? Why is your business going to make a difference?
How do you identify with your audience? Now that you’ve determined your audience and defined your mission, identifying your brand’s personality should be super easy, barely an inconvenience. Think of your ideal brand representative. What does he/she/they look like? How do they talk? Figuring this out helps set the tone for your messaging across all channels.
What makes your brand emotionally appealing? Establishing an emotional connection with your audience is important. Creating that bond between your brand and your customers helps to leave a positive memory and more importantly, leave them wanting more.
Is your visual brand clear? Now we can talk about your logos, fonts, color palettes. Your brand name and logo should be clear to your audience. This isn’t the time for inside jokes or attempts to trick your audience. Your logo should be a clear visual representative of your brand. Think of brands you use consistently, what is their logos. Would you recognize the brand based on the logo alone?
Last, but not least….
Can you remain consistent? This is the hard part. Once you’ve determined how to answer the rest of these questions, the next step is implementation. But, it can be really easy to alienate your audience if you’re not consistent with your brand messaging. This has become a lot harder now that the spectrum of marketing channels continues to increase rapidly. If you struggle to unify your communication, your message will not be as strong.
It may seem daunting, but it can be done. This is the fun part for us. If you’re having a problem answering even just one of these questions, give us a call. 816.753.7272.