Your identity as a person is who you are, what you believe and what you do. The same applies to a company -- the owners and managers are responsible for developing the entity's brand identity. Learn more about this process and what you can do to establish an identity for your own company, product or service.
Definition
A brand is a connection or relationship you have with your customers that you develop through marketing. You use this brand to sell to customers and clients. You can brand a product you manufacture, a service you provide or even just the company as a whole. One of your goals in creating a brand identity is to make your offering stand out from the competition. Developing a brand identity may include designing the packaging for a product, creating a special logo, coming up with slogans, and advertising unique attributes and features of the offering.
Benefits
When you have a strong brand identity, people can recall the brand quickly. For example, the companies that manufacture Kleenex and Vaseline did an exceptional job of developing the brand identity for their products. People often use the Kleenex and Vaseline brand names interchangeably with the name of the type of product (tissue and petroleum jelly). When you have strong brand identity, it increases your chances of continually getting the sale over the competition.
Establishing Brand Identity
Creating a brand identity starts with your marketing plan. You must first decide what you want customers to think or believe about the item that you wish to brand. One of the first steps is to decide on a brand name that represents the product or service. Recognize that many people are very visual creatures, so you must appeal to their visual senses with attractive colors, words and images. You must also identify key features and benefits when developing your brand.
Challenges
Once you establish a brand identity it is difficult and in some cases impossible to change it in the future. Attempting to modify the brand identity can cause irreparable damage to the company's image if the campaign fails. For this reason it is important to take ample time when establishing your company's identity.
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