How do your customers identify with your brand?

What part of your company’s brand attribute do your ideal clients identify with, whether consciously or unconsciously?

A while ago I attended a Public Relations training course at a Johannesburg based business incubation institute. While there, I had the opportunity to witness the influence that a strong and effective corporate identity has on, not only the clients, but the staff working at the institute as well.

Their offices were the epitome of design thinking, internal marketing communications and a power that a strong identity has on the workplace, clients and how they perceive the organisation. The graphics on all their communications materials uniform in their theme and style, and drove the culture behaviour in the organisation. Among other things they did very well, I was mostly impressed that they had an automated induction process that made use of high quality corporate video presentations they made use of when introducing course attendants to the institution and study program.

Ultimately they had, what I deemed, the most effective customer service experience I’ve seen at work in any organisation. During my visit there, my understanding of what the corporate identity model is and how it impacts both internal and external stakeholders experience has been significantly expanded.

As a result, I thought it may be worth documenting what I think has worked well for them and maybe you can find a useful insight here that may help you in growing your brand. These ideas will not only illustrate how this impacts the client's perception of your business, but how having an identity influences all aspects of your business culture.   

"Most entrepreneurs have the understanding that a corporate identity is the logo that goes on your communication materials. At the very least these CI elements can get you started in terms of building a brand, but they will not  suffice in and of themselves."

A corporate identity is how your clients and staff identify with your business, and the operative word here being "WITH". And this applies to all aspects of your business, from what your logo and website look like to the packaging and communications standards that you use in which you dispatch your products, invoices, or your customer service messages.

Your brand identity is found throughout the performance and people cultures in your business, and the thing all brand owners need to ask themselves is, “what part of our company’s public presentation does the client identify with, consciously or unconsciously?”. In my opinion, this is the first major step to gaining “brand advocates” that repeatedly want to do business with you over the long term, instead of them just being another satisfied customer at best.

Think of how Apple is a great example of this. Steve Jobs understood that the Apple identity went far beyond their name and logo. He knew that the product design philosophy, considering the kinds of people who would use their product, and the experiences they had with it were the first means to building a cult-like customer loyalty that has become synonymous with the Apple brand name. Something in human psychic resonates with, and aspires to, the simplicity and the beauty associated with Apple devices.

Jobs advocated that the company logo, marketing campaigns, product packaging, customer service and product experience all follow a consistent "simplicity-meets-beauty philosophy", and that’s what underlines everything that Apple corporate identity is known for. Steve once said, “Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.” His words resonate with my point, when designing your corporate identity think of how it will work in communicating your mission and leadership philosophy inside and outside your business.

"When designing your corporate identity think of how it will work in communicating your mission and leadership philosophy inside and outside your business."

So in creating or reimagining your corporate identity, think as your ideal customer and identify their underlying emotional triggers or purchase decision drivers and what response your communication and design will inspire in your customers. Consider your target market and their demographics and psychographic profiles. Are they driven more by social dynamics or is it their sense of individuality?

Then anchor your brand and corporate identity practice to meet their values throughout all your communication efforts, from your social media to how they perceive your organisational culture and business practices through your customer service.

To get started in thinking along these lines, here are a few questions to consider:

1. How would you describe your client/market?

2. What are your clients core values?

3. What symbols does your market closely associated with?

4. What do clients see in your business that they see in themselves?

5. What is it about your business that has retained your existing clients?

6. If you were in your clients shoes what would you want from your service provider?

7. Does your company reflect the values your clients aspire to?

8. How would you like your client to describe your business to another person?

How you can craft a brand identity that aligns with your target market and corporate culture starts with understanding how “fit” plays a major role in communication, as not everyone will relate to your brand identity. For instance my experience with the here mentioned institute's brand identity and how they communicated their values was a fit with my own values and aspirations for greater communication efficiency.

For better application of these and more growth marketing principles we can assist you with conceptualising your brand strategy and provide the creative production services required. We will consult with you to brainstorm and conceptualise an identity that is aligned with your values and those of your business goals.

Contact us if you need any assistance with building your business brand.