“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” I was once asked that during an interview, and I believe I awkwardly rambled on and on about my love for apples. It’s a silly question, and at the time I didn’t understand the purpose it served.
What my potential employer was trying to uncover was my self-awareness of my identity and my ability to associate that identity with the qualities found in a certain tree. Discovering your true identity or the identity of your company or business is not as easy as it may sound.
Brand identity is NOT the same as branding. It's the product of effective branding. Brand identity is also not the same as visual brand identity, even though many people confuse the two. Brand identity includes four components:
· Brand Voice
· Visual Brand Identity
· Brand Values
· Brand Personality
Together, these components create the look, tone and feel of your company to the outside world. While your brand identity may evolve slightly over time, taking the time to define your company is absolutely a valuable exercise. Ask yourself these five questions.
1. What kind of personality do you have?
Brand personality is defined as a "human set of characteristics" that are connected to a brand. Brands with a strong, well-defined personality instantly win some likability points because customers are able to relate to them on a personal level.
Human personalities are rarely single-faceted. Brand personalities shouldn't be, either. When you are in the beginning stages of defining your personality, it may be helpful to think in terms of archetypes. Some household brands and associated personality archetypes could include:
Apple: Rebel
Cheetos: Jester
REI: Outdoorsy
Target: Bold
Dawn: Eco-friendly
Subway: Optimist
Whole Foods: Peace-lover
2. What are five words that describe you?
An important exercise towards defining your brand's identity can be developing a list of five adjectives that describe your brand's personality, look and voice. If Chik-Fil-A were to create a list, their five words might be:
Quality
Consistency
Values
Customer Service
Commitment
3. How are you different?
What does your brand offer that your competitors can't? Perhaps more importantly, how can you communicate this in your brand identity?
Whole Foods is one of the most visible and well-known organic grocery chains. Their difference is communicated clearly in the brand's logo, which is green and includes a leaf.
It is important to note that simply being different isn't enough. As branding blogger Tito Phillips highlights, you need to actively "make a difference." This means actively carving out a niche, and continually playing to your strengths. Anyone who's shopped at Whole Foods knows the grocery chain isn't trying to compete on price.
In order for Whole Foods to maintain their "niche" of fresh, local, and specialty foods items, they can't compete on price -- and considering their brand identity, that's perfectly fine.
4. Why do your clients trust you?
Conducting customer interviews or talking to your sales team can be an important tool for learning why your customers ultimately pick your company. The factor that leads to prospect trust and customer conversions can provide important clues to your brand identity. Your company's unique trust factor could be:
Transparency
Expertise
Flexibility
Use this "trust factor" as an important tool for defining why your brand is different and building an appealing brand identity.
5. What's your story?
Brand stories are an important component of branding. This includes both your literal history and the story of the role you play in your customer's life. Your brand's story should ultimately make your customer a hero. Perhaps you're able to make them more effective at their jobs, so they receive tons of compliments from their boss.