Creating a Company Identity
Creating a Company Identity
When it comes to creating a thriving business, it is more than just a great product or service. Build a brand identity and craft an image for yourself in the marketplace. Developing a company’s identity is vital for many reasons, including attracting customers and getting them excited about your brand.
Engage with your Customers on Social Media
Social media is the foremost thing that most people consider when they think of developing and maintaining a public image or brand identity. Social media has evolved to be an essential part of the modern business landscape, and for a good reason. Social media offers businesses a great way to build relationships with current customers, attract new ones and forge a positive reputation. However, most companies don’t use social media this way—instead, they use it as a platform for self-promotion or product announcements. As Raphael Sternberg points out, the challenge is that people don’t like being sold to on Facebook or Twitter.
Get Inspiration from Other Companies
Look at the company’s logo, colors, and images on the website and social media. What does the company do well? For example, if it is starting a business that sells clothes, look at some of the favorite clothing brands to see what they do well. The way they use color or their logo design might be a great idea to start with. If so, try incorporating that into your business identity by using similar colors or fonts in your logos and designs.
Create a Brand Style Guide
A style guide is a document that establishes a brand’s identity, tone, and voice. It includes guidelines for all aspects of your business’s visual identity—from fonts and colors to photography and UI design—and ensures that every employee understands how to use those assets when creating content. A company that maintains its style guide can create cohesive marketing materials consistently. This makes it easier for employees to visualize what they’re working toward, so they’re more likely to produce good work at every stage of the process (before they start designing, while they’re designing after they’ve designed). These materials also give potential customers an idea of what kind of experience they can expect if they buy from your business.
Incorporate Design into your workflows
Raphael Sternberg believes that design isn’t just about how a product looks or feels. It’s a process that helps solve problems, communicate your brand, and think differently about how to do business. Designers are trained to think creatively and to look at things from different perspectives. They break down problems into smaller parts, analyze them and brainstorm solutions until they find the best one. This is precisely what your team members need to do to build your company identity. Use design thinking in any aspect of your business—from marketing campaigns and partnerships to employee onboarding programs and customer service email templates. The key is ensuring everyone on your team understands how design thinking works so they can apply it during their daily workflows without feeling overwhelmed by its complexity or intimidated by the terminology used by designers.