“I look at branding as a matchmaker…trying to make two things fall in love with each other.” –Yo Santosa, Founder at Ferroconcrete
There is something magical about finding a company that gets you. More often than not, interacting with or buying products from a company evokes little emotion–or worse, evokes all the wrong kinds of emotion like frustration, anger or dread.
The companies that get it right for you (and it’s probably a short list) cease to be just a supplier of whatever it is they’re selling and become a part of your life. There are even the select few that we actually fall in love with. They become one of our beloved brands.
Emotional Value
Think of one of your all-time favorite companies right now. Got it? Can you picture their logo? What colors they use? Could you describe the overall tone they communicate? Can you describe how it feels to be their customer?
It’s likely you can answer all of these questions without hesitation. Why is that?
It’s because we choose products and companies based on how they make us feel and what we perceive their emotional values to be. The better they make us feel and the stronger their perceived emotional value resonates with us, the more likely we are to choose them.
The Key To Their Hearts: Brand Identity
So how can your company do this? How can you win the hearts of your customers and become a beloved brand? The answer is through brand identity.
The right brand identity is far more than a name, a logo, or a set of business cards and stationery. The right brand identity communicates on an emotional level with your customers and works as an unwritten contract promising to deliver consistency and quality.
4 Ways to the Right Brand Identity
Here are 4 methods your business can use to build a brand identity that can help win your customer’s hearts:
1. Making a Personal Connection
The right brand identity grounded in the emotional values that make your brand unique will resonate with your audience, encouraging them to make a personal connection with your brand.
2. Building Trust and Loyalty
When your customers see your brand identity executed across all of your assets, from your company website and social media, to the smallest promotional thumb drive, it fulfills their expectations. Doing this consistently and predictably will strengthen their trust, and over time, build loyalty.
3. Reducing the Anxiety of Making Choices
The more developed and consistent your brand identity is, the more your audience will know about your brand. And the more your audience knows about your brand, the more confident they’ll feel about choosing it time and time again.
4. Establishing a Personality
A strong brand identity establishes a personality for your brand, creating differentiation from your competition. While this will ensure your brand stands out from the crowd, it will–even more importantly–allow your brand to speak directly to your customer.
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Successful brands aren’t really selling products or services. They’re selling strong emotional relationships with their customers. To win the hearts of your customers and become a beloved brand, you need to establish an emotional connection with them through a strong brand identity.
Increase Your Brand Value with a Digital Marketing Plan
Marc lives in southern California, right near the Pacific Ocean. When not parked in front of his computer designing, you can find him training for a marathon along the beach, cooking, or enjoying the strangest cinema he can find.
Very well written Marc. Thanks for sharing. Appreciate it.