Branding isn’t just about logos, colors and fonts. Branding is everything. It’s the all-encompassing summation of your business’ image, values, goals and purpose. The goal of branding is to firmly establish your business within peoples minds.
No business new or established is immune from a brand identity crisis.
New competition, new marketing methods and massive amounts of noise and distractions can cause any brand to go into crisis. A brand identity crisis is a fairly common thing that startups deal with as they begin their companies and it happens in mid-sized brands when they move into the next stages of growth.
A brand identity crisis is fairly easy to recognize in others, but they’re often not so easy to recognize in our own business. If are doing your own marketing yourself, chances are you’ve used several different sources to get the different things your business needs. And each source probably provided different-looking products. Your business marketing materials must all be consistent in their appearance and messaging in order to get the best return from your marketing efforts. Each and every piece, from your website, social media platforms, brochures to your sales collateral should use clear, well-conceptualized branding to so everyone knows who you are and what you stand for, and to assures potential clients/customers that they’ve come to the right place.
If your communication is off and don’t have a memorable brand identity, or you change this at every touchpoint how can you be sure customers will find—or even remember
— your business again the next time they need it?
“The big problem with having a “brand identity crisis” is that you’re communicating the wrong thing. And as a result, it’s a relationship ender, every time you do.”
A strong, consistent brand identity says as much about a company’s ownership as it does about the business itself. When your clients/customers see your company’s branding, you want them to recognize the care and effort you’ve put into it. If the branding is all over the place what are your people thinking about you? If you’re not taking care to send a consistent message, then you’re creating confusion and risking the loss of a client/customer relationship. But if they see that you’ve taken your business seriously, and that you believe in your brand, they will believe in you!
A brand identity crisis is not the end of the world.
A brand identity crisis is not the end of the world. Far from it. It presents an opportunity to take a step back and refocus on what your company stands for, what matters to your audience and communicating just that.
If you think you are having an identity crisis, don’t panic. Think of it as a transition. Either go back to your original brand identity created by your brand strategy or if you don’t have a brand strategy then really consider investing in one. The task is to recover, earn back trust, Nevertheless, a brand audit followed by a refresh or re-branding may very well be in order at this time.
Paying attention is the first step. The second is actually doing something about it!