Why Is Brand Identity Important and How to Develop Your Own

If you’re wondering ‘why is brand identity important’ then keep reading.

When building your business, you need to think about how you want to portray your brand to the world. You need to consider the perception that you want your customers to have as this is going to decide whether or not they buy from you.

For example:

• Do you want to be seen as high end or affordable?
• Do you want to disrupt the market or play it safe?
• Do you want to focus on innovation or tradition?

All of these questions form your brand identity as this is how you present yourself.

Lots of people hear the term ‘brand identity’ and start thinking of logos and pretty pictures.

While your logo is a big part of your brand identity it’s not the be-all and end-all as you need to consider the full scope of how your brand communicates with its audience.

Let’s start by breaking brand identity down.

What Is Brand Identity?

Your brand identity refers to the visual elements of your branding including your:

• Business name
• Logo
• Colour palette
• Tagline
• Messaging
• Typography

Essentially it’s the overall design style that separates your brand from others on the market.

By curating the way you want customers to perceive your brand you can stand out from companies claiming to offer the same thing.

Your brand identity is what makes your brand unique.

It has the power to make your company memorable, by creating an impression in the minds of your target audience. Some examples of brands who excel in this are McDonalds, Apple, Nike, and Amazon.

You can pretty much see any visual element of these brands in isolation and you would still know which brand it was. Take the Nike tick for instance, even without the brand name, messaging, or tagline, you would know it was Nike.

The same applies to McDonalds. As soon as you see those golden arches you don’t need to see anything else.

This goes to show the power of crafting a strong brand identity as this is what connects with customers and forms trust on a much deeper level.

Aside from trust, there’s lots of reasons why brand identity is important which we’re exploring below.

The Importance of Your Brand Identity

Your brand identity is not just about looking pretty with a nice logo.

Your brand identity is a key part of your wider company strategy as it influences how customers interact with your brand and whether or not they trust you.

Without trust they won’t convert, so it’s important you take time to get your brand identity right.

Other reasons why your brand identity is important are below:

Create an emotional connection with customers

You want customers to feel something when they see your brand. If they’re just making a passive purchase, they’re less likely to return to your brand in the future.

This means it’s easy for your brand to get lost in a sea of competitors, and customers are likely just choosing you because of price or convenience.

However, by crafting your brand identity and establishing an emotional connection with your customers, you can keep them loyal to your brand, even if something changes in the future (such as the price) as they won’t want to shop anywhere else.

Being different from what’s already available

Customers are swamped with brands every single day claiming they can offer them something unique. So why are they going to choose your brand over another?

This is where you really need to think about what makes your brand different by focussing on the value you bring to customers. It’s not about why you think the brand is great, but instead thinking about why your customers should think your brand is great.

Consider what you have to offer that no one else does. For example:

• Do you offer super quick delivery?
• Is your customer service line open 24/7?
• Do you offer a new product that hasn’t yet been seen in the market?

Whatever you define as your unique selling point (USP) make sure this is clear through your brand identity. You could include it in your tagline by having ‘super speedy delivery nationwide’ for instance, which immediately communicates how you benefit the end user.

Make it easy for customers to recognise you

Whether a customer is looking for car insurance, a new dress, a holiday, or anything else in between, they’re literally spoiled for choice.

This makes getting your message heard more difficult as lots of companies are competing for the same customers as you. It’s no longer enough just to have a great product or service and expect customers to buy from you because of that.

You also need to stand out and give them a reason to pay attention to you in the first place, which can be especially difficult for start up brands.

This is why crafting your brand identity is so important as you need to make people stop. By considering elements such as your logo, your tagline, your colour palette, and your brand positioning, you can make sure people pay attention to your brand longer enough to invest in it.

Creates consistent messaging

A strong brand is a consistent brand.

Regardless of which platform you’re using to communicate with your audience, you need to be consistent otherwise it weakens your overall identity.

Going back to the example of McDonalds, imagine if they suddenly used their old logo on a tv campaign or unexpectedly changed their colour palette across product packaging.

This would confuse customers as it’s not the brand identity they’ve come to know and love. It’s not familiar, and it’s not McDonalds, which leads to fractured customer perception.

But, by building a strong brand identity and by creating a set of brand guidelines (which outlines how your brand is meant to be used), you can make sure your branding is consistent wherever it is seen.

Increases the perceived value

If you have a strong brand, you can justify a higher price point as you can build an identity that conveys premium value and exclusivity.

This means customers are more likely to pay for the perceived quality and experience as they believe they’re getting something more luxurious.

To do this, think about elements of your brand such as your logo and colour palette. In both of these areas, premium brands tend to be more stripped back, letting the brand do the talking rather than overloading the customer with text and images.

They also tend to steer away from bright colours, often using black, white, and grey. Think about the following brands and what they have in common:

• Jo Malone
• Apple
• Hotel Chocolat
• Chanel
• BWM

All of their branding is simple and sophisticated, leading to a sense of luxury and elegance.

By avoiding bright colours and heavy imagery, they create a more refined appearance that appeals to high-end consumers, despite the product/ service remaining unchanged.

Engages your employees

A strong brand identity is not only important for external reasons, but also internally too.

You want your employees to be fully invested and engaged in your company as this is how you get the most out of them. When they’re engaged, they’re more likely to be happy, which in turn, means they’re more likely to be productive.

Many businesses can overlook this and assume employees are already ‘bought into’ the brand just because they work there. However whilst the brand identity is set at a high level, it needs to be fully communicated with each and every person at the company so that everyone is aligned.

This level of transparency helps every employee feel a sense of purpose and belonging, whilst also tying them to the brand’s vision and purpose.

This is important for staff retention as motivated, engaged employees are more likely to stay put.

How to Create Your Own Brand Identity

Creating your brand identity is certainly not easy to do. Whilst making your branding attractive and appealing is a priority, so is considering how this connects your target audience and makes you different from everyone else in the market.

It’s a careful balance of standing out, being memorable, but still communicating the unique value of your offering.

Whilst it’s hard to outline this in one blog (we recommend speaking to a professional branding agency for the best outcome), we’ve put together 7 steps for you to get started:

• Identify your target audience – You need to know who you’re selling to otherwise even the best product or service will fall flat. To do this, create your ideal audience persona (this is the person you want to buy) by outlining their demographics and pain points.
• Think about your brand story – This is how your business came to be and the journey it’s been on until this point. By defining this, you can establish what makes you different, the value you bring, and why customers should choose you.
• Choose a brand name – This is so important, but is often one of the hardest things to do! Go back to your brand story as this can help you choose a brand name which is fitting. Some top tips for your brand name is making sure it’s easy to pronounce, it carries some sort of meaning, and that you can get a domain for it.
• Establish your brand’s tone – This will determine the way you communicate with your audience through any part of your messaging, such as your tagline and product packaging. Think about whether you want to be seen as corporate, humorous, or sophisticated as this will influence every part of your identity.
• Create brand guidelines – These guidelines ensure every part of your branding is consistent across all touch points. They include specifications for your logo usage, colour palette, image style, typography, and tone of voice, ensuring everyone understands how to present your brand correctly.
• Create your logo and brand assets – Your logo is the visual representation of your brand identity and it needs to appeal to your target audience. Think about what makes your logo memorable and distinctive to make an impact. It also needs to be able to adapt to different sizes as your logo will be applied to different assets, both print and digital.
• Launch your branding – Once you’re happy with your brand identity you need to let the world know about it. So get the word out there by using different platforms such as social media, your newsletter, and any internal boards.

A List of Brand Identity Services

Knowing which brand identity services you need can be confusing as branding is so broad and involves lots of different elements.

For example, you might be happy with your overall brand strategy but unhappy with your current logo. This means you need logo design services to help you rethink the way your logo looks.

To make life a bit easier, we’ve broken down the different branding services you might need either whether you’re refreshing your existing brand or creating a new one:

1. Brand strategy development – This involves elements such as your brand mission, values, vision, and positioning, ensuring you stand out.
2. Logo – Your logo involves creating a distinctive and memorable design that represents your brand’s identity and works across different platforms.
3. Typography and font – Typography involves selecting fonts that align with your brand’s personality making sure it remains the same across all touch points.
4. Brand guidelines – These are your go-to guide and outline how to correctly use your logo, typography, imagery, and tone of voice.
5. Tagline and messaging – Key brand messages such as your tagline help you define the way you want to speak to your audience and what makes your brand unique.
6. Tone of voice – Defining your brand tone of voice is important for maintaining a consistent tone through all communications.
7. Visual assets – This includes elements such as icons and graphics that can be used to support different messages across marketing materials and platforms.
8. Website design and development – This service involves creating a website that aligns with your brand identity whilst also providing a seamless user experience.
9. Packaging design – This service ensures that your packaging is not only functional, but also visually represents your brand’s story and brand values.
10. Social media – This involves designing profile images and templates so that your brand remains consistent across your promotional channels.

Why Is Brand Identity Important and How to Develop Your Own

Hopefully after reading this post, we’ve answered why brand identity is important and why it’s so much more than just your logo.

Try not to get tied up in the ‘pretty’ parts of your brand, but instead, think about your brand identity as a strategic tool that can build a loyal customer base.

You’re competing with all sorts of different companies, regardless of what industry you’re in, and consumers have more buying power than ever before. This makes cutting through the noise with a strong, considered brand identity key.

Doing this on your own can be tricky as you need to balance the attractiveness of your brand with the purpose behind it.

We’ve worked with lots of different companies such as Voicentric, helping them create a strong brand identity that separates them from others in the same market. Find out how we can help your business, by getting in touch with our team.