Does your Brand do your Business Justice?

To answer this question we first need to know what a brand actually is, so here’s my take to give you an overview. A company’s brand is more than just it’s logo, it stretches into everything that comes out of your business, from your website, your social media presence to the way you answer the phone, your business’s culture and even the way your customers experience and interact with your company.

In fact, that leads me to a good point, to put it simply, you may have less control over your brand than you may think. I know sounds crazy right, but no. The aspects I mentioned above such as a logo, website or tone of voice can be described as your “Corporate Identity”. It’s what you might get your mate Dave who did Art in college to knock up, or if you’re more of a ‘splash the cash’ business, pay an agency for. Quickly summed up a corporate identity is how you’d like to be perceived by your customers. It’s what they see and hear when they interact with your company. This is where your brand comes from, your customers perception of your corporate identity.

This means that you could have a logo consisting of a smiling emoji with bubble writing and a fluffy strap line below (not recommended), but if overtime someone calls your office they’re met with a ‘What d’ya want’, its more than likely that over time your brand will move away from your identity and could have a detrimental effect on future business. This can work the other way too, if a business with a smart, professional and high-end visual identity but a casual, informal tine of voice, it is likely customers drawn to the classy logo may begin to look elsewhere when the service they receive doesn’t match.

Imagine you went to Aston Martin looking for that dream car, you walk across the forecourt, past the array of cars with price tags too large to fit in the windscreen. You walk through the titanium lined doors and are awash with a feeling of prestige, and just as you think ‘I’m in the right place’ a salesman walks up dressed in t-shirt and jeans and says ‘Al’wight mate, any of these mo’ors tickle ya’ fancy?’. It’s safe to say most people would be left feeling a little confused and perhaps unsure of the authenticity of the business. Now the example above is purely fictional and just an extreme one at that, but the principle is the same for any business. No customer should feel misled or deceived, and inconsistent or confused identities can harm your brand and ultimately leave it not doing your business justice.

In summary, a business should create a corporate identity that purveys the way they do business, the way they want their clients to feel and what they want their to customers say about them. If done right and nurtured, your customers will form a perception of identity and create what becomes your brand. But wait, we still haven’t answered the real question, is your brand doing you justice. Well one sure-fire way to find out is to ask your customers, if they use words that you want them to then good work, sounds like the way you interact with your audience matches your ideal perception. If not, then we’re here to help. Our designers are on hand to help your brand meet it’s potential, so if you think you may need a rebrand, refresh, a snazzy logo or maybe just some helpful advice, get in touch or ping an email to our studio@kalexiko.com.