As markets get more saturated with similar products and several brands offering these products, it is often terribly difficult to break even by appealing enough to customers. Thus, an appeal to customers has to be made, such that even with cheaper or better brands out there, your customers become so inclined to your products that they flock to you anyway. A very good strategy to employ in this direction is to
create a sense of brand identity.
When we speak of the most reputed brands in the world, we recognize them by their names alone. When one says Ferrari, one immediately thinks about luxurious supercars. This sense of identity that stirs one’s imagination and lulls it into a sense of lust for their product is how excellent brand identities work. It is the creation of this impactful value that helps differentiate timeless brands from other good ones. Here are a few key strategies to build your brand identity:
#1. Having a quirky logo
Your logo is the pictorial representation of your brand, and this is the first thing that people notice about your brand after hearing its name. In fact, brands such as Google are identified more from their logos than from their names. So, it’s no surprise that big brands often spend a lot on their logos, as they put brand identity among the most crucial facets of their business identity.
However, small businesses often eschew from the idea of going big for something as small as a logo (undoubtedly ironical) and go for cheap designers and sometimes, even generic free blog logo maker. Our advice in that regard would be to not to use logo maker tools, although they are cheap you end-up with a cheap generic-looking logo that looks like countless brands existing in the market.
The old adage of “you get what you pay” applies! Either take control of your logo yourself—by using a custom designing tool or hire a reliable freelance designer or an agency.
However, companies often mess up making logos, and they turn out to be terrible renditions that barely represent their brands at all. The cardinal rules of logo making include:
Simplicity
The most identifiable brands in the world have simple and minimal logos that stand out. Be it a half-eaten apple, for, well, Apple or the names of the brands themselves used as logos in the case of Google or YouTube simplicity is key.
Not only does minimalism appeal to class, but it also aids in remembrance. Uni or bi palette of colors suits this minimal scheme. A black and white logo is simply timeless and used it by both Apple and Mercedes. A white and blue color pattern isn’t bad either and is employed by BMW.
Creativity
It isn’t rare to be lost in the clutter of bad art that most brands use to make their logos. The key to memorable logos isn’t doing as much as you can on your logo, but doing as little as you can, but saying more than enough about your company.
It is in representing your brand within a minimal logo that the creative genius of your brand, and hence your dexterous brand value it associates with, is emanated. Strong bold lines, instead of complex curves, create a better impact. A Burger King logo of the Crown is rather simple and creative and is recognized easily by hungry 10-year-olds.
Scalability
Tied down to simplicity, is the ability to be aesthetic in all sizes and forms. Your logo should look good on tiny adverts on someone’s phone screen, and on a giant billboard as well. This rule of thumb is what often brands mess up, which is probably why their beautiful drawing boards end up looking ugly in the real world.
#2. Customer experience
While all brands recognize that customers are a priority, most do not understand how to maximize the quality of product consumption. Offering free trials, free deliveries, offering services at dirt-cheap prices is a good start, but it often isn’t enough and definitely not sustainable in the long run. Thus, maximizing customer satisfaction comes through one way alone: Quality, and yes, even if it means you have to charge your customers more for it.
Be it Apple making phones and laptops that offer a far smoother experience compared to the competition, Emirates offering hotel quality experience on their flights, or Gucci offering a timeless class in their product line, all these brands are recognized only because of excellent quality alone, even if it comes at a premium.
Thus, building your brand around excellent products or services that have been polished to perfection is a proposition you should definitely consider if you want to stand out in the long run.
#3. It’s all about the connections
The number of customers you get to fall in love with your brand depends on how well you are able to bond personally with them. Any new and coming brand differentiates itself by youthful branding and social media presence.
Most tech brands targeted to the youth have active Twitter handles that constantly tweet out exciting features about their brand and answer queries or even joke about with fans or even trolls commenting on their posts. Another great example is Amul making cartoons on paper that automatically makes them a much more likable brand.
Often brands focus on social issues or make commitments to fight injustice. Capitalism has the monetary ability to end societal problems, mainly through advertising but through donations and charities as well.
One good example is Nike pulling a completely 360 and posting a ‘Don’t Do It’ after the Black Lives Matter protest. Several other brands followed suit. Not only does your brand receive a lot of respect for it, but it also ensures that you’re taken more seriously by the politically motivated young minds of today. After all, the person is political, and a customer is a person.
Conclusion
Customers typically search for three important things in a brand:
- Quality products or services
- Lower costs of said products and services
- A sense of fulfillment at ownership also called brand value
In a market that is over-saturated with several companies of the same type, differentiating yourself boils down to your ability or creates a sense of brand identity, that is unique and differs widely from the competition. Once you are able to accomplish establishing brand value, the need to offer cheaper products is also reduced, and much like OnePlus, your fans flock to you to be able to own and show off to the world, their proud ownership.
