Corporate identity refers to how a company uses a combination of colours, words and designs in order to make a statement about them selves and to communicate the business philosophy. Corporate identity acts as a symbol of how a firm views itself, aims to be viewed by others and to allow others to recognize and remember them.
It acts as an all out sensory experience by being conveyed by items such as logo, name and slogan, upon others. Ultimately, a business’ financial performance doesn’t ordinarily have a bearing on how corporate identity is established.
Importance of Corporate Identity
As a leader in Branding in Perth, we place a large emphasis on corporate identity.
1. Building Corporate Persona – This refers to the initial impact your business has upon the introduction of your business to the client. People will form opinions on your business by gathering cues from what they see and feel, this is why it’s extremely important to build a strong corporate identity. In order to stand out from the competition, a company must have a strong brand image to allow the client to have a unique and pleasing initial impression of your company.
2. Consumer Loyalty – How a business chooses to design their corporate identity must be consistent with the objectives set by the business to uphold the ethos and culture of your business. If your corporate philosophy is similar to that of your target market, customers will feel a greater sense of connection to your company and therefore, more likely to build a strong sense of loyalty within the business.
3. Business Enhancement – Customers, and their purchasing decisions, are strongly influenced by positive personal experiences with the corporate identity of the business. A corporate identity, which creates a strong and positive impact, will create a favorable image of your business in the mind of your customers. A well-planned identity has been shown to give good returns of referrals as well as repeat business.
Building and Maintaining Corporate Identity
1. The Big Picture – The bigger picture of your corporate identity is more than just your logo. It includes all visual and sensual aspects of your company. Tools such as corporate identity standard and a style guide lay out steps, which should be implemented to ensure that a positive impact would be made of the company on the general public.
2. Brand Management – The effectiveness of brand management largely depends on factors such as maintaining the reputation of your brand, position of company within the competitive market and the relationship built within the target demographic or audience. Once corporate identity has been established, it is important to choose the most suitable means to convey this identity to the population. This can happen on local, regional and international levels to ensure all customers have consistent experience with the brand.
Advertisement is usually the first method to contact an audience. However, this must be followed by a series of encounters such as website visits, social media, email services and finally a purchase. When a customer eventually reaches the ultimate goal of making a purchase, the in store experience must be consistent with the ideas they established about your brand through all previous encounters.
3. Philosophy and Values – Elements of your business such as your mission, values, purpose and culture are extremely essential but often, are the least visible aspects of your brand. These heavily affect how the public perceives your brand, and how they develop their idea of your public persona. This is done by your decision making and marketing strategy. The more clearly defined, consistent and articulated these aspects are, the stronger your brand corporate identity will be.