In our last article, we talked about a couple of examples of brands making huge missteps with their corporate identities. One would think that large, well-established brands would know better than to make such mistakes, but as it turns out, many brands are simply bad at establishing a corporate identity.
One of the reasons for this is that many companies don’t bother to build corporate identities (CI). Beyond getting a logo designed (or sometimes doing it themselves!) they give little thought to corporate identity, and sort of just let it develop itself.
This is a huge mistake, but corporate identity can be hard to execute on, and it takes a lot of time and effort which is why it’s often forgotten about in favour of responding to the day-to-day urgencies of running a business. Eventually, a brand’s identity can end up completely out of its control, inconsistent in the eyes of the market, and forgettable in comparison to its competitors.
Identity should reflect in product
Another reason companies are often so bad at branding themselves comes down to lack of appropriate consideration being given to the task. Often, so much focus is put into the core product or service, that identity becomes an afterthought.
But this approach fails to understand that modern consumers develop relationships of trust with the brands they are most loyal to. That’s why presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. When people recognise you, they’re more likely to trust you.
The other problem with this approach is that it misses product development opportunities that can be provided by the market research behind developing a powerful brand identity and experience.
Back when companies had no online presence whatsoever and relied on newspaper advertising to market themselves, a small brand could get away with being non-descript and forgettable – mostly competing locally meant you could differentiate on product or price alone.
The internet took over and changed everything. Now, if they want to stand out from the crowd, companies must put corporate identity near the top of their priority lists, and build it even into their core product and services.
By building your corporate identity into both into your products or services, and into the channels and platforms across which you communicate, you can ensure a consistent experience that is memorable and that keeps your brand at top-of-mind.
This is a powerful method of marketing your brand. Apple is an example of a brand whose identity is embedded into every service, every product, ever channel, every platform, and every value-add.
Building corporate identity that so readily appeals to their buyer persona has helped the Apple brand to earn legions of dedicated followers.
In fact, if you look at Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders last year, the top 5 brands with the greatest consumer loyalty are:
1. Amazon: online retail
2. Netflix
3. Amazon: video streaming
4. Apple
5. Domino’s Pizza
All brands with strong identities, built into every facet of their marketing and even product development machines.
What can companies do to brand and market themselves better?
If companies want to market themselves better, they need to start building their corporate identity from the ground up, this means that they need to build their CI into their core product and services.
The idea is simple, but difficult to execute. To brand a company it requires a strategy for all their products and services which they need to implement.
Building your brand identity is hard, but possible. That is why you should consider working with a corporate identity and corporate branding consultancy agency. With a consultancy agency, you can focus on your core product and services while they take care of the details.
To build a corporate identity, you need to think of the core values of your company and make sure that they are reflected in your branding. You also need to consider what makes the people working for you tick and ensure that these things are reflected in your branding.
A good Consultancy Agency will guide you through all this and take you through the process of building your corporate identity.
Choosing a CI-building partner
When choosing a consultancy or agency to help with your corporate identity development, the following are important considerations:
1. Do they fully understand the importance of a corporate identity and corporate branding?
2. Can they help you build your CI from scratch, using a strategy that is unique to your business needs?
3. Can they organise the important elements of a CI into a cohesive brand platform that is easy to follow, easy to remember and easy for your target customers to recognise
4. Is their CI development backed by market research, ensuring that the brand’s character aligns with its market?
6. Can they integrate with and work alongside your internal team, where necessary?
Contact Us Today
If you would need a brand-building partner or consultation on how to align your corporate identity to your business goals and objectives, in order to build a better, more comprehensive brand and customer experience, contact us today for a free consultation!