Today's business arena needs both a business owner and their marketing team to expand the limits of their creativity to have a strong brand image. Whatever industry you are in, having a strong brand identity helps your business set itself apart from your competitors and shift potential customers' focus towards you.
This guide will show you how to create a brand that people love. We'll cover everything from designing a standout brand aesthetic to crafting the brand's identity that resonates with your audience.
Let’s get started!
What is a Brand Image?
A brand image is people's overall perception of your business. It's the mental picture customers form based on their interactions with your brand, from your products or services to your marketing, customer service, and overall brand messaging.
Think of your brand as a person. Just as people have personalities, values, and reputations, so do brands.
Key components of a brand image:
- Brand personality: The human-like qualities and characteristics you assign to your brand.
- Brand values: The core beliefs and principles that guide your business.
- Brand messaging: The consistent communication of your brand's story and values.
- Visual identity: Your brand's logo, colors, typography, and overall design aesthetic.
Benefits Of A Strong Brand Image
The benefits of a strong brand image go beyond just lead conversion. Most are long-term, which immensely helps your business in the long run. Here are some of them:
Consumer Confidence
When your brand consistently delivers on its promise across various platforms – your website, social media, or physical stores – it builds trust and confidence. Consumers are more likely to perceive your business as reliable and competent.
Trust and Loyalty
Your brand is more than just a name or logo; it reflects your company's values and personality. When the brand's core values resonate with your target audience, they foster a deep emotional connection— people are loyal t
o brands they feel personally connected with.
Trust for brands is built over time through consistency. A strong brand image helps to cultivate this trust by demonstrating that your business lives up to its promises. This translates into repeat business, positive word-of-mouth, and a strong customer base.
Commitment
Investing in your brand image is a strategic decision that signals your commitment to your business and customers. It shows that you're serious about building a lasting brand presence. When consumers perceive a high level of commitment from a company, they are more inclined to support it.
This commitment is often seen as a shared goal, inspiring customers to become brand advocates. A strong brand image can also attract and retain top talent, reinforcing the company's dedication to excellence.
Stability
The rapidly changing business landscape requires brands to consider stability a valuable asset. A strong brand image conveys a sense of longevity and reliability. Customers want to know that a company will be around long-term. When a brand consistently delivers on its promises and maintains a consistent image, it creates a perception of stability.
This stability is crucial for building long-term customer relationships and fostering trust. Customers are more likely to choose a brand they perceive as stable, as it reduces uncertainty and risk.
What Makes A Strong Brand Image
Your brand image must be based on your audience’s perception, not yours. This means that you have no direct control over it, but you have influence over factors that influence the brand perception. These key elements must be the focus of an effective brand strategy:
Brand Name
The name is commonly the first thing a person knows about a brand. Your brand name defines your business, distinguishes you from competitors, and is your business's first impression. Also, it is shaped by customer experience: a good customer interaction reinforces a positive image, while a bad one tarnishes it.
Choosing a name is not as simple as picking something that sounds "cool." Consider these three characteristics when you choose:
- Original: A unique and original brand name helps capture attention and leave lasting recognition. It may be challenging to develop something entirely new, but even a slight twist on an existing concept can make a significant difference.
- Memorable: A memorable brand name helps customers easily recall when they need a particular product or service. To achieve memorability, think of using wordplay, alliteration, or evocative imagery.
- Simple: Keep the brand name snappy, simple, and easy to remember. A complex or convoluted name might be difficult for customers to recall or spell, especially for startups. If possible, avoid using jargon or industry-specific terms that might confuse your target audience.
The Logo
Your logo is one of the most recognizable features of your brand. Some of the world’s most famous brands are known for their logos alone, with some becoming household icons in industries like clothing and food products.
Much like your brand name, the logo must be simple, memorable, and original. Also, make sure that the logo is usable in various mediums and capable of fitting in common shapes. If you want to take your logo design to the next level, consider having a context-aware logo.
Consistent Brand Identity
With the help of a brand style guide, you can maintain a consistent brand image by applying your design standards throughout the branding process. Visual elements, color schemes, and other visible elements must be the same throughout various platforms, such as business cards, social media graphics, web design, and the theme of your establishment.
You can create a brand book that becomes the basis for the brand's look, visual style, and feel, making sure that the design choice for whatever aspect aligns with the brand's image.
Target Audience
Boosting brand awareness helps create a strong brand identity. This is done correctly by understanding your target audience. Consider their preferences, life habits, beliefs, and goals, and see if you can build your brand image around them. Prioritize how to fulfill their needs and build your brand messaging from it.
Your marketing materials must be consistently found on platforms your target customers usually use.
Memorability
Most consumers prefer to buy products or services from brands they know, making customer loyalty a high priority. Make no mistake: brand memorability doesn't have to come at a high price.
The simplest strategies, such as excellent customer service, authenticity in marketing communications, and maintaining high standards of service or production, are critical elements in keeping loyal customers.
Becoming A Thought Leader
Attaining the position of a thought leader in your field effectively strengthens your brand image. Being a thought leader means your brand is recognized as an expert in your niche.
Your brand becomes the go-to for anyone who needs information about your expertise, whether these are current customers or prospective customers. Thought leaders are often featured in news articles, blog posts, and industry journals and are invited to speaking events, webinars, and podcasts. This creates massive brand recognition and awareness, reaching a wider audience.
How To Build A Strong Brand Image
A well-coordinated brand marketing strategy that combines owned, earned, and paid media is the best way to create and maintain a strong brand image. Here’s how you can do it;
The Mission And Vision
Start the journey with an idea of where you want to be. Your brand image must be anchored to your mission statement, brand vision, and values. Otherwise, inconsistency with these will damage your brand image.
Ask yourself with questions like:
- why does your company exist?
- What compels you to cater to this specific audience?
- What makes you different from other brands?
A strong brand strategy always starts with understanding where your brand stands at the moment and identifying what improvements you can make. For example, if your goals is get a wider audience reach, its always a good start to measure brand awareness first.
Branding Design
Your brand's visible elements have a huge impact on your overall image. The visuals are the first thing your audience notices, so how your brand presents itself is important. But don’t overload your site with elements, as responsiveness must also be your focus on website design. Explore themes, symbols, and color theory, and keep it simple and sincere.
Should you need to, consider investing in a design team or outsourcing the design work to make your website more visually appealing.
Brand Positioning Statement
The most valuable brands understand the need for a brand positioning statement. This statement addresses your customers' needs and tells them you can meet them better than your competition. When done right, it creates a lasting impression on your customers.
Unlike a mission statement, which is primarily a public statement about what your company wants to achieve, a brand positioning statement summarizes the value that your product, service, or brand brings to your target market. As an example, look into Coca-Cola's brand positioning statements, as seen via Hub Spot;
"For individuals looking for high-quality beverages, Coca-Cola offers a wide range of the most refreshing options — each creates a positive experience for customers when they enjoy a Coca-Cola brand drink. Unlike other beverage options, Coca-Cola products inspire happiness and make a positive difference in customers' lives, and the brand is intensely focused on the needs of consumers and customers."
This positioning statement outlines what Coca-Cola offers to its customers, what it wants to achieve, and what makes it different from the competition.
Brand Personality
Your brand persona defines your image as being like a person. Shaping your brand as a living being makes it relatable and vivid. Brand personality comes in many forms, but it generally depends on what your target audience is. For example, posh and refined personalities are for luxury brands, and humorous and casual tend to be brands meant for the wider general audience.
The brand persona exemplifies your product benefits and key identifiers, so it must be consistently reflected in your tone, promotional content, and social media.
Public Relations
In contrast to advertising and marketing, public relations (PR) is a more subtle approach to sending your message to your customers, making it suitable for boosting your brand image.
Good PR helps establish a connection with consumers since it is about telling your brand's origin story. The goal is to use any compelling angles of your story to create a positive brand image and present this to your audience.
Social Media Presence
Out of all the marketing channels we have today, maintaining an online presence is the quickest to rise on the list of priorities, making it the focus for expert marketers today. Social media channels are valuable tools for sharing information and interacting with your audience. They are often credited with increasing website traffic and improving your image to new and current customers.
Your posts and interactions must be consistent with your brand voice and personality. Value your audience impressions and feedback, as this can give insights on improving your marketing campaigns and your products and services. Furthermore, seek trends related to your brand. Perhaps something can be used as an opportunity to go viral online.
Customer Service Standards
Happy customers stay happy when a product or service is paired with good customer service. Although various technological advances like AI address the need for humans in the customer service process, consumers still appreciate (and sometimes prefer) a human presence. Highly trained, empathetic customer service staff are still a necessity.
Final Thoughts
Building a strong brand image is a cornerstone of business success. Understanding the importance of your mission, vision, and branding design can lay a solid foundation for your brand. Remember that your brand is more than just a logo; it's a promise to your customers.
Let us know how Evolv can help you build a brand image that will leave a lasting impression on your audience.
Also, check out our blog page for updated insights on brand building.
