What is Brand Identity? How does it influence the customers?

Every business has a unique identifier that sets them apart from other brands. From names to logos, colors, slogans, and even text fonts, these identifiers emphasize the identity of each brand. That said, these elements are just one aspect of brand identity. Beyond flashy logos and catchy slogans, an effective brand identity design should also consider how these elements influence customer perception – a concept called the psychology of branding.

While it’s crucial to create a strong brand identity in today’s competitive marketplace, it’s just as important that businesses understand the psychology behind brand perception. What is brand identity? How does brand perception influence customer decision-making? We’ll explore these questions in this post.

The Power of Brand Identity

Brand identity is a vast concept that incorporates distinct visual elements as well as brand messaging, values, and personality, all of which work together to create a unique brand image. This identity helps customers differentiate between brands and make more informed decisions.

A brand’s identity comprises various branding elements that serve as the mascot of a business. This identity emphasizes everything about a company, from how it expresses and markets itself to its core values and, most importantly, how customers perceive it.

Think of Coca-Cola’s Spencerian script font or Nike’s “Just Do It” catchphrase; the most successful brands integrate their essence into pretty standard visual elements to stand out in competitive marketplaces, evoke positive perceptions, and influence customers’ purchasing decisions.

Brand identity plays a crucial role in customer loyalty. Considering the fact that customers are most likely to build long-lasting relationships with brands they resonate with, businesses need to recognize how their brand identity impacts customer perception and behavior.

Brand Identity and Customer Perception

To understand how a brand influences customers, companies must first identify how customers view and interpret their identity, message, and values. Typically, a customer’s reaction to your brand identity depends on three factors: visual design, storytelling, and social influence.

Visual Design

Visual designs are the most recognizable part of a brand’s identity. As the name suggests, this refers to the development and use of visual elements to represent and communicate the essence of a brand. Visual designs incorporate elements like logos, color schemes, imagery, typography, and other design components.

The obvious impact of visual design relates to brand recall. A company’s logo can help customers recognize and differentiate them from others in the same category. Strong visual designs make a brand stand out and achieve brand recall with its target audience.

However, beyond recognition and recall, visual designs can also evoke specific emotions, and how companies utilize design components can significantly impact customer perception. Typically, colors, shapes, and images create a mood that resonates with customers on an emotional level. For instance, Apple’s sleek and minimalist design emphasizes the brand’s focus on user-friendly, premium products, while Nike’s “swoosh” logo conveys athleticism, energy, and motivation.

Storytelling

Storytelling is another crucial component of brand identity that is capable of influencing customer perception. Brands tell stories through various elements that collectively convey the values, mission, and personality of a company. These stories look to reinforce what a brand is about and what it promises to offer.

The most common form of storytelling is through taglines and slogans. A short but memorable tagline like Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan tells a story of motivation and pushing beyond limits. The tagline also reinforces the brand’s message, which has always been centered on empowerment and performance.

In other cases, brands have utilized marketing and advertising to tell compelling stories that resonate with customers. Hardly any brand achieves this like Coca-Cola. Over the years, Coca-Cola has launched several successful campaigns, including “Share A Coke,” “Taste the Feeling,” and more recently, “Open Happiness.” Each of these marketing campaigns features a unique tone and refers back to the company’s values of Sharing, Happiness, and Refreshment.

Ultimately, customers favor brands that have the same values that they do, and a brand’s identity can tell compelling stories that influence the customers’ perceptions. Over time, this perception positively influences buying habits.

Social Influence

This refers to the impact of social factors, like peer opinions, social networks, cultural trends, and influential personalities, on the perception of a brand. A strong brand identity aims to create trust and credibility among customers, and businesses can leverage these social influences to shape customer behavior and preferences in different ways.

For one, we tend to trust the opinions of those we know; as such, positive reviews and recommendations from people we know can significantly alter our perception of a brand. Brands like Amazon, Yelp, Airbnb, and Glossier are a few of the numerous companies that have built their identity on peer recommendations and reviews.

Other times, businesses seek influencer endorsements to enhance their brand’s credibility and appeal. This strategy also leverages the fanbase of celebrities to influence customer perceptions and choices. For instance, Louis Vuitton partnered with Rihanna for its menswear campaign, and Chanel featured Timothee Chalamet as the face of its men’s fragrance, which reinforces its luxury brand status. Similarly, sports brands often collaborate with athletes to reach a more sport-oriented audience, as seen in Under Armour’s partnership with Steph Curry.

Finally, companies tend to align with specific social causes and movements. By doing so, they attract customers who share those values and build a stronger emotional connection. A good example is Patagonia, a brand known for its commitment to environmental sustainability and loyal customer base that values ethical practices.

Ultimately, the essence of brand identity is customer engagement, highlighting how well it influences buying behavior and builds long-term relationships with customers. By prioritizing the psychology of brand identity, businesses are more likely to stand out in competitive marketplaces and drive growth.

A brand is something that’s built, and companies that understand the impact of brand identity on customer behavior are better positioned to connect with their target audience, create a more loyal base, and succeed in today’s dynamic business landscape.