From Unknown to Unforgettable: Building a Business Identity People Remember

Image by 1tamara2 from PixabayWe tend to think that in a crowded marketplace, the businesses with the biggest budgets will be the ones that win the fight for new customers. And while that is often the case – the more shots you can afford to take, the more chance you have of landing one – it’s not just the big-budget companies that stick in people’s minds. A strong business identity can be as pivotal in winning those battles as a huge marketing budget – but you do need to put a lot of effort into creating that brand.

Decide on your brand personality

Everything in your branding journey starts with your identity – the personality of your business. The decisions you take, on colour palette, logo and tag line, flow from that initial identity. Or, at least, they should if you want to have a unified message – which you definitely do. You can be the customer’s quirky friend, or someone who wants to help them make sensible decisions, or anything else – but consistency is the most important element of this. Make sure that all elements of this personality complement each other.

Wear your values on your sleeve

Values are part of the branding process more than they ever have been, and it is important you take the right message from this. Your values shouldn’t be a branding decision – you shouldn’t decide to be eco-conscious because it sells – but you should showcase those elements of your existing values to the customers out there who will make decisions based on the message you’re putting out there. Whether it’s a diverse workforce, sustainable practices, or a willingness to offer second chances, make it part of how you showcase your business.

Create a recognisable online presence

We’re in the 2020s, so let’s be honest – most customers will interact with you online initially. Whether through social media or your online store, this interaction should reflect who and what you are as a business. It’s important to consider website design in this regard – this is how you express who you are as a business and it should be recognisable as yours. If you’ve been successful in expressing your personality elsewhere, your website should feel like a consolidation of that. 

Tell your story

Think of any big-name personality in any space – a sports professional, a musician, or a business titan – and you can probably give a certain potted history of the individual. Even if you can’t say when they were born, where they grew up, or any of a number of facts about them, you can probably give a general idea as to how they got where they are. 

You will need to tell your business’s story to potential customers, so consider it in light of the above. Do you want your content to pepper the customer with a bunch of dates and places as though they’re cramming for a history exam? No – you want to give them a taste of your background without it feeling like a list of bullet points. This means explaining why your business came into being more than when or where, and focusing on how you brought it into the world. You want people to identify with your message above all else.

When you build a strong business identity, customers will recognise it by more than just the name. Even spotting a few colours or shapes may be enough to remind them of you. This is the power of branding – and harnessing it can be the key to beating businesses with bigger budgets.