A corporate logo is one part of a company brand identity. This includes the graphic depiction or representation and the consistent use of colors and type fonts. However, a well-conceived and well-developed brand identity goes much deeper. It represents the totality of who you are as an organization rather than the specific products or services you sell. And it takes into consideration specific components.
4 Components of a Company’s Brand Identity
- Vision and mission statement. It’s difficult to create a distinct corporate brand without having a clear vision and mission statement. The vision of the company represents a visualization of why the company is in business. It also represents where it will be when it has achieved the success it seeks. The mission describes what the company does. Making sure these two elements are in alignment is essential.
- A unique business or selling proposition. Sometimes this is reflected in the corporate tagline and is incorporated in all external and internal communication channels. A unique business or selling proposition has to have marketplace significance and answer the questions: What does the company do better than or different from the competition. Why should potential customers care about you and select your company as a trusted vendor?
- Values and corporate culture. A company’s values can create a competitive advantage but only when the behavior and actions of everyone within the company reflect those values. This doesn’t happen without effort and requires purposeful communication and ongoing training.
- A call to action. Utilizing vision, mission, unique business or selling proposition, values and corporate culture to encourage prospects to act is important. It should incorporate, as Sammy Blindell writes, “the psychology that converts,” and form the basis for an emotional connection that makes prospects want to buy, customers remain loyal and employees and management proud.
Consistent Branding
The bottom line is that although the marketing department can invest a great deal of time and money on creating a brand, the only thing that really matters is how you are perceived in the marketplace. To assess whether your branding is consistent with your intentions, reach out to customers, management, employees and other stakeholders to see what they think. Then, use those insights to shape your decisions about evolving and changing branding initiatives that will keep your brand relevant and top-of-mind today and in the future.
