Your corporate identity is an important aspect of building your
business into a successful enterprise. Communicating the core values of
your business to your customers and prospects is crucial to your
success. You may want to ask yourself a few questions to determine if
you have a clear corporate identity? Some questions include:
Do people really understand what your company is about? Do I have a clear value proposition? Does my marketing collateral and website clearly define our vision. What is our mission statement? Is the company’s core values listed on our marketing material? Is all our marketing communication pieces consistent and convey a cohesive message?
If you answered “No” to any of these questions…then you should start by understanding the definition of corporate identity and learn the steps necessary to improve it.
What is a corporate identity?
The corporate identity of a company refers to the external personality that is projected by a specific company to the public. The corporate identity will help determine how others view the company as a whole and your public image. It includes branding and logos, marketing and advertising. These will all have a specific and consistent color scheme and design to assist in ensuring that the brand is recognizable and well known for years to come.
Some Don’ts
Don’t change your identity too frequently – remember your customers like and recognize your current identity….don’t start changing it every year and expect people to still like you. It’s confusing to customers if you continual change your company’s vision and mission.
Don’t think you can do it all in-house – Hire professionals to help you brand your company and improve your corporate identity. Remember….you are not a graphic designer and need to leave the creativity to the experts. Professional marketing agencies understand the process of branding and developing a new corporate identity. Once you communicate your vision to the agency…let them go and leave it up to the experts!
Don’t be too clever – Keep it simple and consistent. To be remembered…it’s important to keep it simple…and not too complicated. Don’t confuse people and make it more difficult then it is…..keep it simple stupid!
Some Do’s
Do communicate your corporate identity to all employees – Make sure your entire team understands it and can discuss your company’s vision and mission with customers. The entire company needs to eat and breathe your company’s identity.
Do develop a logo/tagline that is used everywhere…..Once you approve a new logo/tagline…make sure you use it everywhere from your letterhead, invoices, websites, brochures, advertisements, trade show booths, etc. Do not deviate from it!
Do fit the identity to the company – Make sure your corporate identity fits the personality of your company. Take your time and do it right the first time around. You have to feel comfortable with it and embrace it!
At the end of the day, your corporate identity tells a story about your company and makes a statement. By developing the right corporate identity the first time around, you will save yourself time and money in the future.
Do people really understand what your company is about? Do I have a clear value proposition? Does my marketing collateral and website clearly define our vision. What is our mission statement? Is the company’s core values listed on our marketing material? Is all our marketing communication pieces consistent and convey a cohesive message?
If you answered “No” to any of these questions…then you should start by understanding the definition of corporate identity and learn the steps necessary to improve it.
What is a corporate identity?
The corporate identity of a company refers to the external personality that is projected by a specific company to the public. The corporate identity will help determine how others view the company as a whole and your public image. It includes branding and logos, marketing and advertising. These will all have a specific and consistent color scheme and design to assist in ensuring that the brand is recognizable and well known for years to come.
Some Don’ts
Don’t change your identity too frequently – remember your customers like and recognize your current identity….don’t start changing it every year and expect people to still like you. It’s confusing to customers if you continual change your company’s vision and mission.
Don’t think you can do it all in-house – Hire professionals to help you brand your company and improve your corporate identity. Remember….you are not a graphic designer and need to leave the creativity to the experts. Professional marketing agencies understand the process of branding and developing a new corporate identity. Once you communicate your vision to the agency…let them go and leave it up to the experts!
Don’t be too clever – Keep it simple and consistent. To be remembered…it’s important to keep it simple…and not too complicated. Don’t confuse people and make it more difficult then it is…..keep it simple stupid!
Some Do’s
Do communicate your corporate identity to all employees – Make sure your entire team understands it and can discuss your company’s vision and mission with customers. The entire company needs to eat and breathe your company’s identity.
Do develop a logo/tagline that is used everywhere…..Once you approve a new logo/tagline…make sure you use it everywhere from your letterhead, invoices, websites, brochures, advertisements, trade show booths, etc. Do not deviate from it!
Do fit the identity to the company – Make sure your corporate identity fits the personality of your company. Take your time and do it right the first time around. You have to feel comfortable with it and embrace it!
At the end of the day, your corporate identity tells a story about your company and makes a statement. By developing the right corporate identity the first time around, you will save yourself time and money in the future.
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