You’d be surprised at how many company owners and teams think the only things important to corporate branding are a company’s name and logo. But in fact, there is a lot more to it, and there are aspects that are often overlooked. Make use of them, and you’ll be elevating your brand presence and turning it into a marketing campaign of itself, and the best part is, corporate branding done right, will bring unity and set the tone for every piece of communication you do.
With that in mind comes the burning question – what is corporate branding and how do you get it right? Let’s explore.
A Brand Is More Than Just a Logo
One of the most commonly failed corporate branding examples is thinking that your business brand is just the logo. The logo is just a visual piece, but the brand includes a who, what, why, and for. Who are you? What do you do? Why do you do it? Who do you do it for? Answer all of these for your customers, and you’ve got an idea of what your brand is and how corporate branding applies to it.
Here’s a question for you. What designations do you think about when you see the McDonald’s logo? You think of cheap fast food. You think of happy meals made for kids. You think of burgers and fries that taste pretty much the same regardless of which McDonald’s you go to. Every marketing channel, from the happy meal bags to the social media channels, looks the same. The font, logo, messaging, they’re all identical.
And here’s the thing – you’ll never see the logo in a different color. You’ll never see them serve a ribeye steak. All designations they do are branded, and everything they go for as a business is consistent. When it comes to corporate branding, consistency is incredibly important. If your brand keeps jumping from one style of branding to another, consumers will find it hard to recognize, and you’ll lose potential customers. On the other hand, keep these designations consistent for a few years and your customers will know that it’s your brand and your company the minute they see any piece of a marketing campaign.
What Is The Process for Corporate Branding Should Companies Go Through?
When it comes to branding, there are a couple of things most companies’ marketers and management teams will do. This is the process you want to go through, where each step is made to give companies a boost in the marketing department.
Audit
As is the case with most overhauls, you need to know what’s wrong before you can fix it. This is why, when it comes to branding, the first thing you want to do is check out the current business visual identity, brand messaging, website look and feel, marketing channels, etc. This should give you a good idea of what you’re missing, and what you want to keep the same. While you’re at it, have your marketers analyze your competitor companies too.
Determine the Who, What, Why, and For
The next step of the corporate branding guide is to discuss (with everyone, not just the marketers and management) what your brand stands for. How do you want customers’ perception of you to be like? What is your mission and who are your customers? What products and services do you offer? And what promise are you making to your customers?
Now, while this is something you could do internally, a good idea would be to hire a professional that could lead the discussion. This way you know things are headed in the right direction, and nothing will go sideways because it’s a crucial step of the process.
All Aboard
When you’re working on branding for your business, you don’t just want to advertise what you did to your employees – you want them to be a part of the process itself, as it’s not just a management decision. Ask them what they think, what they would change about how the brand looks, its designations, and what it communicates. This will give you a good idea of whether or not their perception is aligned with yours as an organizational leader, and whether or not you’re on the same page.
Commit To It
This step is one that will settle everything – take all the information you gathered, and present it as a unified brand strategy, followed by a visual representation – a logo. In some cases, companies just take their current logo and update it slightly so it aligns with the branding and mission, but in other cases, you need to start from scratch.
This process will “make or break” everything, so the logo isn’t something you want done by someone in management who has edited birthday photos in Photoshop before and thinks he knows his stuff. Hire a professional team, one that knows how to convey your message into a brand that will become iconic.
Create a Corporate Identity
Once everything is done, put it together into a full-fledged corporate identity. Include the logo, the colors and fonts used, as well as how the logo should be used in different situations. This will be the product of your corporate branding process, the one you advertise that will visually showcase your brand statement.
Are the Advantages of Corporate Branding Worth the Effort?
Yes. Unequivocally yes. Doing things right means that every customer, both current and potential, will instantly know what your brand is all about when they see you advertise your logo. They’ll have a clear vision of your brand statement, they’ll have a good idea of what you’re offering them and why they should become your customers.
This is an oftentimes underutilized marketing strategy, but if you play your cards right and go through the corporate branding process properly, without skipping steps and without cutting corners, you’re looking at a chance to strengthen your brand and make it a household name in the niche or industry you’re competing in. And that, by itself, is an opportunity you should not miss out on.
Next steps, take our free brand assessment, or contact us to help develop or refresh your corporate brand.
