How to Develop a Unique Brand
Humans are diverse, creative, complex, and impulsive creatures, so a strong brand strategy naturally plays a large part in the human psyche. When you look at some of the biggest international brands including Starbucks, Google, and McDonald’s, they all have a warm and feel-good presence subconsciously, so using their products and services becomes a compulsion. The imagery associated with such businesses is where the need and compulsion start for consumers.
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The terms “brand” and logo” are often used interchangeably. But though a logo can be the symbol of a business, it is not the entirety of a brand. In fact, creating a logo is just one small step toward developing a strong brand identity.
With millions, if not billions, of businesses trying to make a name for themselves, having a strong brand has become crucial for businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
If you’re working to develop your first brand identity for your own business, it’s important to first understand what a brand is and what it takes to create one. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as giving the business a name and plastering it on everything.
Your brand, a vital part of your brand identity, is defined as a name or a type of product manufactured by a particular business.
What is brand identity?
A brand identity is made up of what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product, and what you want people to feel when they interact with it. Essentially, your brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers. As Jeff Bezos says, “Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Your product leaves an impression on your customers long after you’ve made the sale. Brand identity is the process of shaping that impression.
Why is brand identity so important?
As the embodiment of almost everything your business is and does, a brand “lives and evolves in the minds and hearts” of consumers. Its identity, therefore, is crucial to the business’s future.
So, if your brand is more than just its logo, how can you replicate what brands like Coca-Cola have done and tap these other elements of your business’s identity? Here are some components of a well-developed brand identity, and why it’s so important for you to develop them.
How a Brand is Made?
Simply put, a brand cannot be made without a consumer base, much like a reputation cannot be made alone. Giving into consumer’s needs, mostly emotional, can give sentimental value to your product or service, further intensifying your company’s brand and potentially resulting in brand loyalty.
REMINDER: Brand loyalty is what every business should strive for since it often ensures long-term interest in your products or services. Loyal consumers should always have their expectations met and exceeded since they are the gatekeepers of your reputation.
- Research your audience, value proposition, and competition.
- Design the logo and a template for it.
- Integrate language you can use to connect, advertise, and embody on social media.
- Know what to avoid.
- Monitor your brand to maintain its brand identity.
SWOT Brand Analysis
Finally, completing a SWOT Analysis can be beneficial to better understand your brand. Considering the characteristics of the brand will help you find characteristics you want to portray in the brand. SWOT stands for:
- Strengths: Positive characteristics of your business that provide an advantage over your competition.
- Weaknesses: Characteristics that prove to be a disadvantage to your business.
- Opportunities: Changes and trends in your industry that offer opportunities for your business.
- Threats: Elements in the environment or industry that may cause problems for your business.
The "Face" of Your Business
For all intents and purposes, your brand’s logo is the “face” of your business. But that face should do more than just look cool or interesting — a logo’s contribution to brand identity is associative, too. It tells the public that [this image] means [the name of your company].
Credibility and Trust
Having a brand identity doesn’t just make your product more memorable; it makes your brand more authoritative in the marketplace. A brand that establishes a face, and maintains that face consistently over time, develops credibility among its competitors and trust among its customers.
Advertising Impressions
A brand identity is a template for everything you would include on an advertisement for your business — whether that ad is in print, online, or a preroll commercial on YouTube. A brand with a face and industry credibility is well prepared to promote itself and make impressions on potential buyers.
What Do Consumers Want?
Understanding your target audience is the best way to leverage your company’s value and create long-term loyalty. A basic understanding of psychology alongside your target audience is the best way to understand basic behavioral psychology.
Needs, such as breathing and eating, are essential and often automatic. Wants are mostly emotional desires that we crave. We need to eat, but why don’t we need the hottest new curling iron? Simple, because there hasn’t been a strong enough argument to support why we do. Apple and Google are becoming needs, so why not your products or services?
Value As A Brand:
Perception is paramount in all aspects of marketing. Your value and what you can bring to the customer will set you apart, so it is important to be clear about what your company represents, why it valuable, and what you can bring to the consumer. Vagueness will squash your brand and leave potential leads unresolved as to why they should invest their time into your services.
Be Impulsive:
Humans are impulsive creatures, so if your services or products are seen suitable or beneficial, consumers will likely want to take further action and pursue a purchase. Timing is critical when closing, so make sure purchasing is an easy process with no distractions. Giving someone the option to buy quickly without second-guessing will work both in your favor and theirs!
Be Passionate:
Transmute the passion that started your business back to the consumer. Display your love for your business and your consumers, and be hospitably passionate with interactions. Passion is not only attractive across the board, it makes you look approachable, dependable, and dedicated.
Be an Experience:
Starbucks innovated greatly when they setup a café that represented an alternate atmosphere between work and home. What can your business offer people? Find a way to make your products or services part of an association to an alternate state. For instance, Lulu Lemon used their clothing wear as a brand that promoted more spirituality and peace; consumers associated their clothing with inner peace. Understand your market and what will bring them comfort, joy, and tranquility if they purchase from you.
Be an Experience:
Needs lead to actions, so by making wants needs, there will be a large demand from consumers who are loyal. Appfy has all the resources you need to make your business stand out so you can transmute your passion to a larger audience. Call our team today for more information on expanding your personalized brand.
