Why Design a Brand identity and Brand image?
I think a lot of people get confused between brand identity and brand image. Let us discuss these in detail and then help you on your way to get yours perfected. . . What do you say?
We are faced with the question a lot of why we offer brand design services instead of merely offering a quick fix logo design solution. We do offer both but would always work to get you to do more than just merely have a logo designed for you.
But Why, Why a brand and not just a sleek-looking logo?
Brand identity 101
I believe that there is more to your business than just a logo, and I would go so far as to say the actual design of your logo is not nearly as important as the perception of what your logo stands for that matters, and that is brand identity.
Yes, your logo is an indicator or iconic signifier of all your brand stands for but in that, you can see that it is so much more.
That brings us to the brand identity and the brand image.
Now we as a marketing and design agency, can design your brand identity, and yes we help you define your brand image, but it takes more than merely the design of your actual logo it is a process of incorporating all you stand for in delivering on your brand image; your values your mission and your vision and incorporating it into a wholesome set of touchpoints and ideas across all your channels to deliver on your promise and tell the story of who you and who your brand is.
Then as you were asking what is a Brand identity? Let us look at a generic definition of brand identity against brand image:
Brand identity is the visible element that signifies the business. This is done by choosing unique colors, a logo, and alternative notions and signifiers that link the business and its trademark in the minds of its clients. This is what our design team does (Magically)
Brand image is the interpretation of who and what your business is without you being there, the perception of your brand in the minds of your audience.
Yes, that is what we do with our social media marketing and marketing solutions, but we cannot ultimately shape the entire perception.
Think of it as Brand identity is what you can see, the design the feel the look. Whereby brand image is the experience you deliver! Yes, brand experience is ultimately what shapes the perception and thus is such an important point. As you can imagine there is quite a bit of entanglement in-between both yes, the identity does mix in with the experience as you can imagine, the UX of the website, the inside of your office, but it is also the level of service, the follow-up rate, the quality of the product and or Service you deliver.
What you see is not what is perceived, it does shape it to some extent but what you see and feel and live is what you perceive and how you as a brand manage the feeling part is, I would say about 70% of your image.
Your business in the mind of your customers, this is what ultimately gets you “return” business, gets you the biggest word of mouth marketing, this is what makes or breaks you.
Yes, we can design your identity and help shape your image through design, service, and telling your brand story, but ultimately the three most pertinent things to keep in mind are what we call the three excellences of business success.
These build Credibility and Trust it is the link between your company, Mission and Vision, and does your brand lives it. Does your target audience experience it or is it merely seen as fluff that does not matter?
Brand identity and image fit
It is also crucial that whatever you get designed in terms of branding resembles the service or level of excellence you portray. You don’t want to appear unprofessional, and then be professional i.e. your business cards, website, and brand identity ooze perfection, and then you deliver second rate service or worse your brand identity sets up the perception of mediocre second-rated whilst your actually the greatest service out there (Yeah, I’m plugging our services here we can help you not let that happen!)
The Three keys of excellence to being a top-rated brand identity and having a winning brand image that not only ensures that your brand perception (Who your customers believe you are) and brand reality (Who you truly are) are as close to the same notion as possible but also excelling in delivering the best there is to deliver when it comes to putting your name behind it.
No one can always fulfill all three levels of the three aspects of excellence, but you can always work your best to deliver on all three:
Operational Excellence
Everything runs perfectly, there is no delay between order and delivery or no perceived delay, your entire business process is mapped out perfectly and there are no surprises in the client’s view of what happens when and where they are comfortable and at not stage face any frustration in any operational delivery of your brand.
Product or Service Excellence
The product or service is of such high quality that it does not matter what or how you get it if you get it. A product or service that is perfectly delivered everything you perceived it would be (You can also see how product service excellence and operational excellence intertwine)
Relationship excellence
This is one where most brands struggle somewhat, however, it should be the one easiest to manage, that is why we have social media, to build relationships, it’s probably one of the first steps in business and brand, people do not do business with people whom they don’t trust, trust is built by relationships. Need I say more.
With all of this, I hope you have a better understanding of your brand image, your brand identity, and how we can help you with both strategies to get the best of it all but how ultimately it remains a process that needs to be built and perfected with interaction, perception, and experience of the brand.
Conclusion:
There is more to your business than just a fancy logo and the way it is perceived by your audience its about all touch points of your brand each in their own iterations. Yes, Magic-E as a design agency can delver on the visuals and start to form the perception visually, and yes Magic-E as a Marketing agency can tell the story of your brand and thus further bring out the feeling of your brand. It’s the entire business cycle and time in front of client that ultimately shapes your brand image.
The operational, product or Service and relationship excellence aspects of your business that will differentiate your business between the best or just merely another service provider.
Being the best is a whole company effort, we can tell the story, we can design the visuals, we can sell your vision, mission, and most of all you! But the delivery of exactly who and what your business is and how close you get to excellence is up to all your touchpoints.
From business cards from your sales representative to the way that your receptionist answers the phone. Make you brand stand out amongst all there is.
Get the brand identity that fits with your brand image.
If you are looking for a brand identity design solution in Toronto ON, Vancouver BC, Johannesburg GP, Pretoria GP or Greenville, SC Give us a call or just drop your details in the form below and I will personally do my best to deliver on all three excellence aspects of brand image and get back to you soonest.
