Before you can use your powerful brand identity, it helps to break down all the moving parts that come together in the process of building a successful brand. As a business owner, you aim to stand out, connect with your ideal audience, offer value, and foster loyalty.

At the core of a great brand you can find:

• A promise to customers and a mission to the work

• The delivery of value toward that mission

• An intentional focus on a specific audience

• Human characteristics & relatable messaging

• The ability to connect and retain clients and customers

• Visual components (like logo, color palette, font, etc.)

These core elements— the visual design along with a strong value proposition— contribute significantly to good brand memorability and the overall perception of your brand in the eyes of potential customers or clients.

Fun Fact: brand messaging influences the buying decisions of over 75% of consumers. That percentage is too high to ignore and let your brand image fall to the side.

Think about it! Have you ever purchased an item just because the packaging looked elegant or intriguing, or the product name was clever, and it spoke to you on a level that made you feel understood? I know I have! That is a great sign that the brand successfully incorporated these concepts to convey its authentic brand identity.

Defining a strong brand identity

A strong brand identity is defined by a distinct personality, vision, mission, and values that resonate with its intended audience. As mentioned above, specific brand assets play a crucial role in promoting these components and creating a memorable brand identity, as seen with strong brands like Apple, Coca-Cola, and Nike. Because of their strong branding, you can likely picture these brands in your mind without further explanation.

A strong brand serves as the initial impression and must be unique to your business— just as you are unique and offer the world something that is only true to you.

Lastly, just as the first impression is important, brand values contribute to forming a lasting impression within the target market and reflect the values of its customers, clients, and personnel.

Crafting a compelling brand promise

A compelling brand promise is a clear and concise statement that communicates the unique benefits and value a brand offers to its customers. A Unique Value Proposition (UVP) outlines the distinguishing features of a brand compared to its competitors, the advantages it offers to its clients and customers, and how it can address their issues. Many brands that struggle to make an impact fail to outline or clearly communicate this part of their company.

Here's a template you can use: We provide [insert your deliverables — service or product] for [insert your ideal audience] so that [insert the promise].

For example, here in the studio, my mission is "to help coaches and wellness brands [my ideal audience] create a resounding impact [my promise] through mindful visual branding and website design [the deliverables]."

To effectively communicate the company's mission throughout the organization and its marketing initiatives, a written statement is important. This statement should emphasize the brand’s heart, unique selling points, and advantages while considering the needs and preferences of its audience.

The role of consistency in branding

I'm sure you've heard the quote, "Consistency is key!" Great brands tend to follow this advice. Branding consistency is necessary for establishing trust and recognition. Research shows that consistent brands generate 30% more revenue. Maintaining consistency in visual elements, tone, and messaging across all marketing channels allows customers to quickly recognize and identify your brand, leading to increased trust and loyalty.

Tip: Purposeful branding can help with brand consistency. Read more about that here!

While maintaining consistency, you need to also think about flexibility. Brands need to be adaptable and make necessary adjustments to their ad campaigns, tag lines, and brand identity to keep audiences engaged and interested. Striking the right balance between consistency and flexibility is the key to successful branding.

Building a connection with your target audience

Before you can connect with an audience, you first need to identify your ideal customer. Once you lock in who your company is serving, you can focus on making intentional connections with them. To build a connection with your ideal client, it’s necessary to understand their needs, preferences, and challenges and align your brand’s messaging and offerings to make their lives easier in some way. Personalizing customer experience and engaging through marketing are two effective ways to establish this connection.

Personalizing customer experience

Personalizing your customer experience is key to establishing strong relationships and nurturing brand loyalty. You can do this by providing high-quality products or services that cater to your customers' specific needs and preferences. As mentioned above, a big priority for a company would be identifying what those needs are.

An excellent example of personalized customer experience is Warby Parker’s “home try-on” program, which allows customers to experience their products in person. This kind of customization not only improves customer satisfaction but also creates a unique connection between the customer and the brand. They have successfully crafted their marketing strategies and offerings to create an emotional connection with their audience. By doing so, they have fostered a sense of connection to their brand and increased customer loyalty.

Engaging through marketing

Marketing initiatives that engage real customers, like storytelling through marketing campaigns, helps brands in connecting with their audience and expanding their reach. Brands like Apple have effectively engaged their audience through marketing efforts that resonate with their target market.

Have you seen the ad campaigns for the iPhone 15? One video features a nervous father watching his daughter drive to school. He anxiously sits at the table when he then receives a notification on his iPhone of an automatic check-in that she arrived at school safely. Their line is, "Check In automatically notifies your friend or family member when you’ve reached your destination. Relax, it’s iPhone." Apple noticed a relatable and emotional need of their customers and communicated a solution through storytelling.

By crafting authentic and emotional stories that align with their brand’s personality and values, these companies have managed to create a positive emotional connection with their customers. This connection leads to increased brand loyalty and advocacy, ultimately driving business growth.

Branding strategies that amplify visibility

Thought leadership, as a branding strategy, effectively positions an individual or company as an industry expert. This boosts visibility and credibility. According to Forbes, to become a thought leader, "Start by being your true, authentic self. When you’re true to yourself—to your strengths, talents and passions—others will take notice."

Talk about truly knowing the heart of your brand!

Through consistency of being in service to your mission — your purpose — you can help to build relationships and trust with new customers while continuing to be a company that loyal customers can rely on.

Using thought leadership

Now that we know about this concept, how can we implement this as a branding strategy? This can be done by using the expertise, personality and talent of a person. Here are just a few ways thought leaders use to build trust and recognition among their specific audience:

• Articles

• Blog posts

• Industry journals

• Webinars

• Podcasts

• Live speaking events

Successful brands like Airbnb have positioned themselves as thought leaders by promoting their efforts to make travel experiences more accessible and convenient through multiple facets of marketing. For example, with the Airbnb Newsroom, this company grabs the heart of readers by sharing real-life stories of those who host and travel using their platform.

Another great example worth mentioning is Brené Brown. Brené is considered an expert in her field and makes her expertise accessible through her three podcasts, many articles, and speaking events — one of which is among the most watched TedTalks.

By leveraging this strategy, businesses can enhance their credibility, trust, and brand visibility.

The impact of your visual identity on brand recognition

Visual identity, with its memorable logos, brand colors, and design elements, significantly contributes to a company’s brand recognition and overall appeal. We've talked a bit about companies like Coca-Cola and Airbnb. Brands like these have created strong visual identities that resonate with their target audience and reflect their core values.

For example, Tesla’s iconic logo, which came from a mechanical component, illustrates the company’s expertise in the industry and commitment to innovation and sustainability. By focusing on creating a distinct and memorable visual identity, successful brands can ensure that they stand out and remain top of mind for their audience.

Nurturing brand loyalty through quality and values

When someone is talking about your business, what would you like them to say? Maybe you'd like people to rave about your nurturing service and professional process. Maybe people are in awe of your ability to nurture, make connections and provide services that make them feel good. This is the quality that you deliver and it keeps people coming back for more, and better yet, it encourages them to refer you to others who could benefit from your work.

To nurture brand loyalty, delivering high-quality products and services, remaining faithful to your brand’s values, and consistently meeting client expectations are necessary. Quality and values play a huge role in fostering loyalty, as they allow customers to receive a consistent experience that meets their expectations and reinforces the brand’s values.

Many companies see success by providing repeat clients with a consistent experience that meets their expectations and reinforces the brand’s values.

Differentiating your business online

I get it— it's really easy to feel like just one brand in a sea of millions. But remember: you are already unique just as you are. So being yourself and, again, staying true to who you are as a business will go a long way.

So how do we lean into this?

To differentiate your business online, your unique brand identity, along with a cohesive online presence, and a clear value proposition can help distinguish itself from competitors. By analyzing your ideal client, defining your Key Brand Attributes and brand pillars, brands can identify what sets themselves apart and create a distinctive online brand identity.

Developing a consistent tone of voice that resonates with your ideal audience and building a unified, cohesive visual identity across all online channels, like your website, social media posts, and campaigns, are essential steps in standing out as a business online.

Real customer stories: the power of testimonials

We talked a bit about creating a connection with your audience – testimonials are a great way to foster this connection!

Real customer stories and testimonials act as potent tools for establishing trust and credibility, showing the positive impact of a brand on its customers. By providing social proof and demonstrating the positive experiences of prior customers or clients, testimonials can boost confidence, influencing the purchasing decisions.

Brands that use customer testimonials, or even case studies, to boost their credibility can lead to increased customer loyalty and business growth. We've all seen a "Before and After" story, and often they can be very inspiring. A great brand knows how to highlight experiences in which they somehow made their customer's life easier— or even changed their life for the better! A company's success wouldn't exist without the people they are serving.

Aligning brand strategy with company growth

Naturally, hard work pays off. Successful brands tend to see growth and expansion. So, how can we make sure the brand stays relevant and adaptable as the business evolves and expands?

It's so important to align brand strategy with company growth. By staying true to the heart of your mission, establishing clear business goals, while continuing to iterate the business and brand strategies mentioned above, you can effectively align your brand strategy with company growth. It's the idea of blending ambition with authenticity and progress with purpose. It's about making sure that every decision, every initiative, resonates with the very soul of your brand.

If you still feel you're starting at square one... don't fret! This free workbook sets you in the right direction with simple steps to Get Your Brand Together.

Now it's your turn!

Creating a magnetic brand identity involves understanding a few core principles of good branding— connecting with your ideal client, using strategic marketing strategies, leveraging thought leadership, and nurturing brand loyalty through quality and values.

➡️ Most importantly, identifying and staying true to the heart of your brand.

By implementing these principles and strategies in your business, you can create a strong brand identity that captivates your audience and drives business growth. I can't wait to see what you create!