|
Author: Scott D. White Article source: http://www.erises.com/. Used with author's permission.
Brand Identity is simply the promise a company makes to its customers. It may be purely the function of a product, or it can be personality or values-oriented. Whatever it is, it's something companies all over the world attempt to leverage as a way of strengthening their businesses.
Why is Brand Identity important?
A brand identity is important because it has the power to single-handedly set a company apart from its competition. And those who successfully craft their brand identities to positively affect their bottom lines know that doing so takes time, money and effort. It's not as simple as just a logo or a tagline. In essence, brand identity is the reason you give your market to choose you…is it compelling enough? Your market will decide.
A word on revising your brand identity…
The key to a successful re-branding effort is "evolution," not "revolution." You must reassure your existing customers that everything they like about you will remain intact and become integral part of something even better. Don't go to unjustified extremes for any reason because major perceived changes may destroy existing emotional ties to your brand thereby eroding valuable customer loyalty.
More than marketing, Brand Identity is the lifeblood of a company having an outward brand identity that resonates with your market is very important, but just as important is the people who make up your company understanding that brand identity and doing their part to reinforce it. Truly effective marketing starts from the inside out. Do your employees believe in the company? Do they feel like they're an important part of it and that they have a vested stake in its success? A company with truly solid brand identity can say yes to those questions. If your company can't, here are some steps to address the issue:
1. Get your brand personality, values and corporate culture on the same page: Marketing needs to work closely with human resources to ensure values and expectations are in sync both internally and externally.
2. Empower your employees to effective brand representatives: Align your criteria for recruiting talent and rewarding performance in such a way that promotes voluntarily brand reinforcement from your team.
3. Constantly reinforce brand-centric values and behaviors: Internal communications are a useful tool for achieving this. Like a good football coach, keep hammering the fundamentals until they're second nature.
Your employees are your brand ambassadors and the people who determine ultimate success or failure for your company. That's why it's so important to get them to buy into your brand identity and take individual ownership and responsibility for it. When that kind of culture exists in a company, growth and success simply become byproducts of a happy, motivated team. Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru, a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, near Boston.
Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.
Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, Archway Marketing Services, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies. Scott can be reached at swhite@brandidentityguru.com or 508-238-4347.
Tanning Beds: History and Advice
Tanning beds were brought to North America by German scientist Friedrich Wolff in 1978 and rose to popularity in the mid-1980s. Since then, tanning beds have be...
Make Your Resume Keyword Rich and Scanner Friendly
Employers and recruiters increasingly use keyword searches of resume databanks to find qualified job candidates. Is your resume keyword rich and scanner friendl...
Vitamin Supplements – Are They Beneficial or Just Hype?
We will look at the widely perceived idea that vitamin supplements provide huge health benefits to humans. Is it fact or fiction?
Design vs Content: Who is KING?
Well it is not Elvis, that's for sure. I am a firm advocate of good design but most of the time people tend to interpret design as amazing graphics and astoundi...
Home Equity Loans - How To Use Your Homes Equity to Consolidate Debt
If you are in a lot of debt, a home equity loan could be the way for you to get on top of, and start paying down that debt.
First-time House Buyers: to Buy or Not to Buy; that is the Question
First-time buyers are continuing to suffer from house prices rises. While incomes are not increasing as fast as property prices, first-time buyers are forced t...
How To Ignite Your Sales
If you own a website, you definitely want to improve visibility and get more traffic. There are a number of ways to do so like using search engine optimization,...
The Classical Guitar - A Rich Heritage
The classical guitar offers a rich heritage regardless of the style your into playing right now. Read this new article to find out why!
3 Gurus Secret Strategies
Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates transformed the business world with their wisdom, skills, innovation and strategies. As you know, they were once small bus...
Each Watch Band is Unique and Tells Its Own Story
Anyone who possesses a valuable and unique watch will also want something special from the watch band that is worn with it. HIRSCH artisanal watch bands are mas...
Frequent Business Question: How Do You Start a Web Business?
How to start a web or internet based business with minimal capital and maximum potential for success.
The Beauty of Life
Very few people try to define what LIFE really means. As a result of this, they are missing the real reason for being born. I'm not here to tell you what you ...
Prepaid Cell Phone Plans – Are They For You?
Most cell phone users are on plans that offer a fixed number of minutes per month. An alternative to this -- that's becoming increasingly popular -- is known as...
Confessions Of An Info Junkie
Yes, I have to admit it -- I Am An Info Junkie. It has
become an addiction. I subscribe to dozens of ezines...
Bad Credit Home Loans - Dealing With Bad Credit Mortgage Companies Online
Here are some things to know about dealing with bad credit mortgage loan companies online, that can help make the process much smoother for you.
The Skinny on Billboards
Outdoor is not a "quick fix". If sales are
down, you can't quickly put up a few boards to
boost the numbers.
Goal Setting Basics - 3 Steps Plus 1
Goal setting isn't really as complex and complicated as some folks like to make it out to be. You read and hear these convoluted theories: 7 steps, 10 steps, 12...
The Power of Awareness
Have you ever gotten all worked up about something, and said something (or did something) that you later regret? Things might have been different if you had rec...
The Morality of Using Stem Cells
Half of all Americans could benefit in some way from stem cell research. "Could" is the operative word in the preceeding sentence. Don't we owe it to the alre...
Lets Talk About Trust
Columnist Nan Russell shares career insights learned over 20 years in the corporate world, including as a Vice President at QVC...
How to Avoid Getting Ripped-Off Online
Online security is one of the top catch phrases these days, but hardly anybody knows what it means and worse, most home computer users think security only appli...
Verbal Self Defense – A Critical Factor in Self Defense for Women
Knowing verbal self defense, or the use of your voice in a threatening situation, is an extremely important and critical tool neccesary in protecting yourself.
Conservatory Planning Permission in the UK
An overview of some of the issues that cause your conservatory to require planning permission in the UK...
The Pizza Parable
This humorous parable deals with the tendency for many of
us to think that we know it all simply because we have
received some new revelation.
|
Print this page