Corporate branding has become a keystone of success in the today’s brutally competitive business environment. It represents the essence of your company’s identity, values, and commitment to your audience; it is more than just a logo or a catchy phrase. Corporate branding is the art of influencing consumer perceptions and establishing a distinctive presence. We’ll explore what corporate branding comprises in this blog and offer a step-by-step tutorial for creating a powerful brand strategy.
Table of Content
- What is corporate branding?
- Why corporate branding is important
- Key elements of corporate branding
- How to establish a powerful corporate brand
- Tips for creating brand strategy
- Case study: Apple Inc.
- Conclusion
What is corporate branding?
Corporate branding is a tactic that positions and markets your brand as something other than a simple good or service. Your brand’s corporate branding includes your logo, values, narrative, purpose, target market, and market difference. Public perception is shaped by your brand, which also helps you stand out from the competition. One can lead to expansion, brand loyalty, and repeat business.
The process of developing and maintaining a company’s overall brand identity is known as corporate branding. It includes every facet of how a business is viewed by its stakeholders, such as clients, staff members, investors, and the general public.
A corporation can benefit from a strong corporate brand by:
- Be different from the competition.
- Entice and keep customers
- Build credibility and trust
- Improve the spirit of the workforce and output
- Get favourable media attention
- Set a high price for its products or services.
Why corporate branding is important
Corporate branding that is done well crystallises and communicates the character and values of your company. It covers the majority of your company’s operations, including marketing, sales, and customer service. A powerful business image can:
- Link you with your target market. Strong brands have a distinct mission and set of principles that, when effectively expressed, resonate with the ideals of your target market.
- Your decisions should be guided. Your foundation for making decisions should be based on your brand’s mission statement. Your approach to everything, including customer service, corporate culture, and communications, can be determined by it.
- Set your brand apart. Particularly in the age of ecommerce, consumers can become overawed by the variety of options. Corporate branding that is memorable and captivating can help you stand out from the competition.
Key elements of corporate branding
- Brand identity: Brand identity is made up of aesthetic components that act as the public face of your company, such as logos, colours, typography, and designs. It is vital to maintain consistency in these aspects across all touchpoints.
- Brand message: Your brand’s voice, tone, and message reflect the character and values of your business. This messaging ought to be in line with the goals of your company and appeal to your intended market.
- Brand experience: The interactions and feelings that customers have when they interact with your brand are referred to as the brand experience. Positive interactions encourage loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising.
- Brand Promise: The promise you make to your customers is known as your brand promise. It establishes standards and outlines what clients can expect when using your goods or services.
How to establish a powerful corporate brand
Although developing and implementing a brand strategy takes time, having one ultimately can aid in more effective decision-making. This is how to create a powerful corporate brand.
1. Define Your Brand’s Identity
- Mission and Values: Clarify your company’s mission and guiding principles. What do you believe in and what change do you hope to see?
- Vision: Imagine your company in the future, including its location and the image you want to project.
- Brand Personality: Identify the characteristics of personality that will represent your brand. Is it creative, trustworthy, hospitable, luxurious, etc.?
2. Determine and understand your target audience
The many consumer personas (a depiction of customer types and traits) who share your values make up your target audience. Determine who your ideal customer is by looking at their geography, education, occupation, age range, income, spending patterns, goals, and personal values.
Keep in mind that your brand doesn’t have to appeal to everyone; instead, your brand’s value proposition should be evident to your target market. For instance, premium companies appeal to a lifestyle-oriented audience rather than a price-conscious one. Instead of appealing to a practical audience, trendy brands appeal to an audience concerned with being in style.
3. Examine your competitors
Understanding your competition is a crucial first step in figuring out how you vary from them. Check out how your competitors are positioned across all of their consumer touchpoints, analyse their voice and tone, and look for real client feedback. As you carry out your investigation, respond to these queries:
- Who are my primary rivals?
- What do they promise their clients?
- Do they fulfil that promise?
- How do they communicate with their clients?
- How are they seen by clients?
- What chances are there to defeat them?
4. Create a brand voice
Your company’s personality and style of “speaking” with clients are expressed through your brand voice. Whether your voice is humorous (like Old Spice or Wendy’s) or inspirational (like adidas & maybeline), it should reflect your brand’s values and mission and address your audience directly.
5. Specify your USP (unique selling proposition) and value proposition
Joey Ng, the CMO at Yami, has some excellent advice: “Find your niche and define in very few words what makes your brand distinctive.” Finding your niche in this context entails determining precisely what benefit you offer to clients and why you do it better than your primary competitors. Your value proposition and unique selling proposition (USP) are essentially represented by these.
Respond to the following inquiries in order to determine your brand’s value proposition:
- 1. What special advantages do you provide your target audience?
- 2. What problem are you going to solve for your audience and how? How will your offering help their situation improve?
- 3. How does your product provide the only remedy for their problem?
- 4. What sets you apart from the competitors or makes you more effective?
6. Establish a brand concept
Your visual identity will impact how your brand’s assets and touchpoints look, just as your brand voice will influence how your business’s text is written. The following are some pointers for developing a visual identity:
- Consider how your images fit with your core principles. Do you want your brand to have a straightforward, clean, and uncomplicated appearance? Or might a maximalist graphic identity better serve your brand’s goals?
- Do your research. Ensure that your audience will understand every element of your brand identity. Cross-referencing your concepts with various cultures is a smart move to ensure that nothing is lost in translation.
- Use the free design tools available. There are inexpensive methods for creating a brand identity. For instance, Canva can assist you in creating marketing materials and advertising components regardless of your design experience or financial constraints.
Tips for creating brand strategy
Additional suggestions for creating a business branding strategy are as follows:
- Consult with all interested parties. Your team, clients, and other stakeholders can offer insightful opinions on what your brand should stand for.
- Be genuine. Your brand should be sincere and represent the real principles of your business.
- Be innovative. Don’t be afraid to try out various branding concepts.
- Be tolerant. Establishing a powerful company brand takes time.
Case study: Apple Inc.
Apple is a great example of successful corporate branding. Its inventive products, simple branding, and elegant design all speak to its dedication to simplicity and cutting-edge technology. Consumers responded strongly to the company’s “Think Different” campaign, which perfectly captured its brand ethos.
Conclusion
Corporate branding is the core of your company’s identity, not just a trendy marketing term. By encouraging client loyalty, brand recognition, and a dominant market position, a well-designed brand strategy may take your company to new heights. You may build a compelling corporate brand that stands out in today’s cutthroat business environment by establishing your company’s purpose, comprehending your target, and developing a consistent brand identity and messaging.