You saved for years and put together the best business plan possible. You’re ready to start your small business venture! But, how do you differentiate yourself from the other 627,000 new businesses that start in the United States each year?
One of the best ways to set yourself apart is to have a great brand identity and brand image. But, what do those terms even mean?
We put together this quick guide explaining brand identity vs brand image and what they mean for your business. Keep reading to learn how to take your marketing strategy to the next level!
Why Is Brand Image Important?
Your brand image is the opinions and feelings consumers get when they think about your brand. This is important to figure out while you’re creating a brand because you want to create a strong emotion in the consumer so they remember your brand.
Why Is Brand Identity Important?
Brand identity is like a brand image but it’s more of a collection of elements and ideas that represent your brand in the consumers’ minds. Most small business branding strategies put a good deal of focus on what elements best represent your business because it solidifies who your business is in the eyes of the customers.
A strong brand identity helps to ensure that the brand image that develops in the minds of your consumers is what you want them to feel. If you don’t have a strong identity, the public will decide your image for you and it’s not always flattering.
Brand Identity vs Brand Image
Brand identity and image are like two sides of the same coin. You define your company’s brand identity and then the consumer unpacks that and the brand image develops as the way the consumer perceives your company.
Keep in mind that you decide your brand identity and can tweak it when you want to. But, the public decides your brand image and that image can change at any time and without your input.
What About Brand Positioning?
Another way to make your company come to the minds of your customers is to define a brand position. Come up with a mission statement that embodies your company and market that statement. Many companies will choose a hot button issue to stand behind as a way to relate and appeal to their customers.
Check out this page for more info about brand positioning.
Define Your Brand Before They Decide It for You
You may want to see how customers react before solidifying a brand strategy. But, if you do this, you may not like the brand they choose for you.
Keep this article in mind as you figure out your brand identity and brand image. That way you can decide what the public feels when they think about your company instead of the other way around.
We hope you loved reading this article and that you learned about brand identity vs brand image. If you’re looking for more informative articles about business and more check out the rest of our blog today!
