To refresh and boost your business, your organization might be facing some critical changes. Therefore, you might need to decide what kind of approach you want to take, but also maybe change your brand image and identity.
While brand identity and brand image are commonly used together and can complement each other, they are quite different and have a significantly different purpose.
However, to better understand these two, we are going to disclose differences between brand identity vs. brand image, and how you can use them to improve your business.
Brand identity
As the name implies, brand identity is the way one company present itself in front of customers and how it wants to be perceived by potential clients. In other words, brand identity is the company’s face, which reflects the personality, values, and ideas one business represents.
It also involves all the features, qualities, services, performance, support, and attributes. Brand identity is a result of an altogether effort of the company and its team to create a respected product or service, which has particular characteristics. In this case, the management of the company determines how the targeted audience in the market recognizes the product.
For that reason, marketing, promotion, and branding strategies help a lot, by creating a general image, while passing this information to customers. It all comes down to operational and intellectual connections with the brand while setting it apart from the competition.
Brand image
Compared to brand identity, brand image is the way consumers perceive one company. Basically, it’s the perception of the customers, what they think about the particular brand. It is the collection of all ideas, beliefs, as well as impressions held by consumers.
These thoughts are collected from various sources, and in finer terms, it explains what one customer thinks about a specific brand or the product a particular company develops.
Unfortunately, you can create a brand image overnight; it’s a rather tedious and challenging process. It takes a lot of time, promotional campaigns, and direct customer interaction, to build an outstanding brand image.
Everything your company does will affect the customer’s opinion. A lot of times, they create a connection with a brand, often through an interaction with a product or the services they provide. However, these connections can either be positive or negative, and it depends a lot on the current market position, as well as the quality of the goods and services the brand offers.
How to redefine brand identity?
Establish a goal – if you plan to change your company name, then what is the result you want to achieve? Specifically, define what you want to accomplish!
Know your position – what your brand’s current market position, and will the change of the name negatively or positively affect its position?
Set apart from the competition – is it important to set your company apart from the competition, to avoid brand confusion?
Consider customer’s feedback – when developing a brand identity, you need to listen to your customers, as well as their demands. In this case, their feedback will provide you insightful information on how you can improve your business and services.
How to redefine the brand image?
Review your brand image – begin with a couple of questions that will help you understand the brand image you have created, but also the image you wish to have in the future. Later on, you can survey clients and customers to define brand perception and awareness.
Create a strategy – make sure to analyze data, market position, brand vision, and customer feedback to build a brand image.
