A strong brand identity goes beyond a logo or an icon or colours and even any other visual elements. When you think about creating a brand identity, it is really important to think about your business in totality. This includes how your brand identity is going to look, how it is going to make your consumers feel, the interactions between you and your consumers, and what your consumers are going to experience.

With the use of technology, it takes a consumer a few seconds to go and research your brand and even compare it to other brands that are offering the same or similar products and services. Within minutes of their search, the consumer has various thoughts and feelings about your brand and others and have formed some opinions. Hence, a strong brand identity will ensure a positive outlook and experience while the consumer interacts with your brand.

Creating a brand identity has become a number one priority amongst businesses. Building a brand is a demanding process and requires time, investment and commitment. However, when done right, it helps align business partners, directors, stakeholders, employees, and even customers with your brand, creating a strong foundation for your business for long-term sustainable growth. You may be wondering why brand identity is so important and how it will help your business.

It is crucial to be aware of the brand experience you want to create for your consumers and have a strategy in place to create that experience. A strong brand identity is not just a logo that is created for your business, but a well-thought and well-executed strategy. But first, let’s understand what a brand identity is and what makes it stronger.

A brand identity is a unique identification of your business that is powerful, recognisable and scalable. However, till now, a brand identity only included the visible elements such as a logo, an icon, colour, fonts, and other graphical elements. Today, it has expanded to much more and has become an integral part of any business.

Building a strong brand identity creates a foundation for your business, because it is all about you, your business, and what you are trying to achieve. As I define it, “Branding is a way of doing business” that begins with bringing complete clarity and defining who you are, what you do, and how you are going to do it. It is a process that involves enquiring with yourself and the team that helps you achieve this clarity. The most important question, however, is why do you do what you do?

A brand identity is becoming the core of every business and it has slowly begin to become a necessity. Any form of identification, i.e., from visual elements to audio to an experience that can help your consumers recognise your brand, is a part of your brand identity. Competition is increasing day after day, and differentiating your business from others is important so that consumers can recognise you, remember what you do and the experience you created for them.

There is only one of two ways you can differentiate your business, i.e., Create a product or service that doesn’t exist. That way, you’ll be the only one in the market. However, that may be a slightly impossible and also in opportunistic times like today, someone soon will start doing what you have created, improvise it, and even sell it cheaper creating a marketplace for themselves. Secondly, create a brand identity for your business that is truly yours and is 100% dependable. This way, the consumers know who they are dealing with and are aware of what to expect, and then simply recreate the same or better experiences for your consumers.

A part of your personality also goes into building a strong brand identity. Hence, it becomes necessary to understand what your values and beliefs are. This is something that will be imparted within the brand identity. A brand identity is created keeping its target audience in mind to assist them in identifying, recognising, and distinguishing your business from others.

The whole purpose of creating and building a strong brand identity is that your consumers can identify and recognise you in any way they can. I believe every business is offering a solution to their customers but most of them aren’t aware of this. This means they aren’t sure of the value they are providing to their consumers and remain traders. But what happens when the competition increases day by day? These same businesses will begin to offer discounts, reduce profit margins, possibly compromise on quality, or develop cheaper products in order to survive in the competition.

If your business does not have a strong brand identity to identify with, your consumers will have a hard time distinguishing your business from another. In this case, the consumer will tend to go with other favourable options out there until they have found some brand that they can relate to and take their business there. Here are some reasons why you need to create and build a strong brand identity for your business.

Building a brand identity and creating differentiation are extremely important for the success of your business. Brand identity is a powerful tool that businesses can use to influence their consumers and create or change their perceptions of your brand. A strong brand identity informs your customers about your brand, what you stand for, what they should expect, and what they should not expect. Fulfilling your consumers’ needs and expectations will make them feel positive about your brand and help you stand out from your competitors. When you have a strong brand identity, people can visualize, experience and feel your brand by the actions it has been taking and stands out from the competitors.

A brand identity is one of the most important aspects when it comes to building a brand because it helps the business be recognisable to the consumers and interact comfortably. Without a strong brand identity, you could lose a chance to be recognised even when you have put all your efforts into creating awareness of what you do. It is the face of a business that people identify with. However, from designing an identity to creating an experience, everything is a part of a strong brand identity. Consumers have felt, experienced, and predicted the outcome of their interactions with your brand. This is why consumers tend to stick to the brands that they have used before. Consumers will naturally notice a business with a strong brand identity and will stay in their mind for a very long time.

A strong brand identity can help your consumers recognise you within a few impressions and make it easier for them to remember what you do and more importantly the experience that was created while interacting with your brand. When you have a clearly defined brand identity, it helps you attract the right kind of audience as they share similar values and belief systems and can connect with your brand effortlessly. Brands are designed keeping in mind the consumer, and those who put the needs of their consumers before everything else are the ones who gain higher trust and loyalty. A strong brand identity demonstrates its values and builds an emotional connection with consumers. When you and the consumer share similar values and beliefs and have created a positive experience, they are more likely to choose you over the competition, creating complete trust and loyalty.

Do you introduce new products and add new services for your customers? Every business does introduce new products and services as a part of an expansion. When you build a strong brand identity for your business, you create trust and loyalty for yourself in the marketplace. Some customers are already buying from you and not just that there is an audience who is already aware of your brand and waiting to buy from you. It becomes much easier to launch new products and services in a place where you have built a brand for your consumers who trust you and are loyal to buying from you. Every new product or service that you introduce gets accepted easily by the consumers because they know it is going to meet their expectations.

A well-defined brand identity is very effective. When you deliver your brand identity in the market place, it helps you build a reputation. In all businesses, reputation is a major deciding factor for a consumer choosing their product or service. When a business has a good reputation, it will always be recommended by the consumers to other people and becomes the only choice for them. However, the difference is that in traditional businesses, a reputation is built by the owner himself and is largely dependent on the owners. A strong brand identity with the right strategies of branding can eliminate the need for the business to be dependent on a single person. Building a strong brand identity can help you reach a large number of audiences, creating the same experience with or without you, without compromising on the values and beliefs.

Building a strong brand identity clears your perspective and enhances your business goals. It helps you define who you are, what do you want to achieve, who is your target audience and what do you want to communicate. When you have such clarity in your business, you become aware of the needs of your consumers and constantly come up with innovative ideas for new products and services. Delivering something new and innovative consistently builds your brand identity stronger and also keeps your customers engaged which helps you boost your business from time to time.

It just isn’t about sales anymore, but how you sell it has also become important in this competitive market. It is only natural that you have complete clarity of who you are, what you do, and why you do it to make your marketing and advertising more effective. It is impossible to know what to communicate and to whom without a strong and clearly defined brand. You may end up only talking about your product or service instead of sharing a compelling story that connects with the audience.

A strong brand identity will help you to understand the feelings of your target audience and their needs, allowing you to market and advertise more effectively. When you have a clear and well-defined brand identity, it changes the way you communicate with your audience.

Establishing a brand identity helps increase the overall value of any business. Branding consistently reinforces your position in the marketplace and attracts the right kind of customers. When your brand delivers a positive experience, the customers are happy, leading to great recall value. This means the customer will keep coming back to you because they know their expectations will be fulfilled. When your consumers know who you are, the experience you create for them will not only retain the existing customer but also add new customers and drive sales. In fact, a strong brand also charges a premium because they know the value they are providing along with the products and services to their customers is much higher.

A brand identity is one of the most valuable assets a business has. Your brand is what you stand for and what sets you apart from your competitors. When you have a clear and well-defined brand, there is a sense of belonging and pride amongst everyone. A business with a strong brand identity is aware of its values, beliefs, and purpose and has a clear vision and mission. These are noted down in consistency with the brand identity and serve as a guiding principle for all. This helps companies develop a non-negotiable culture that is focused on fulfilling the brand’s vision without compromising the level of service for its consumers.

A strong brand identity is more than just a logo, an icon, colours, or any other visual elements. That is why when you want to build a strong brand identity, you have to define a purpose for yourself and your business. Your purpose is basically the reason why you do what you do. This gives your target audience a strong reason to believe in you and that you can genuinely fulfil their requirements.

Building a brand identity is a process that becomes the core of your business and that’s why being authentic and genuine is really important. You cannot sell something that is not true. If you have a vision of building a sustainable business and have long-term goals, you will need a strong foundation to build your business on. It is important to consider every aspect of your business while creating a brand identity because that’s how it will make your consumers feel, interact and experience your brand.

However, most businesses fail to consider the importance of branding and the impact it can have on their business. A strong brand identity is a strong foundation you need for your business to become recognisable, scalable and powerful.