Your company's corporate identity (CI) is one of the most important tools that it has; in all aspects of business. Managing that identity falls directly into the wheelhouse of the public relations department. But what exactly is a corporate identity and how do you make it stronger? We will explore both of those questions in this article and help you to better manage your company's corporate identity in the future.
Why is Corporate Identity Important?
The importance of a positive corporate identity cannot be overstated. Whatever your product or service, your customers have a huge number of options available to them. In order for your company to survive, you need to convince a certain segment of that customer population to buy your products or services. The larger the segment you can attract to your brand, the more successful your company will be and your corporate identity plays a huge part in this.
Just like when you come face-to-face with a person, first impressions are going to stick. This is the same when someone comes face-to-face with your brand for the first time. The impression that you make on them will determine their opinions in the future.
Your corporate identity also can inspire customer loyalty. If your corporate image can communicate your values, principles, culture and business goals effectively, then customers who have a philosophy that lines up with your own are more likely to be loyal to your brand over others.
In addition, your corporate identity also affects your relationship with other businesses, professional organizations and everyone that you interact with on a professional level. It also affects things like whether or not you can attract top talent to come to work for your company.
Your corporate identity is one of the most important tools that you have, and you definitely want to figure out how to manage it successfully. There are many opportunities that you’ll be exposed to with a strong corporate image, and many you could miss out on if you haven’t done your job correctly.
Identifying Your Corporate Identity
Your corporate identity is a measure of what sort of image you are projecting to your customers, your community and the world as a whole. It includes everything from your logo and printed material, to how people see your company. So your corporate identity or image is both the physical expression of your brand as well as the less tangible aspects.
But to get into your identity a little deeper, there are three things that make up your identity. The first is the capability that you have to create a value proposition for the customer. The second is the value proposition itself. What you offer your customers is a measure of your identity because the stronger your corporate identity, the more value you are giving to your proposition. But you also need to have the products and services to back everything up. Your product has to leverage your abilities and deliver on your value prop.
How to Improve Your Corporate Identity
So, now that you know what a corporate identity is, how do you improve yours? How do you make your corporate identity stronger? There are a few strategies that we’ll discuss to help you improve your corporate image.
- Be consistent with your image items. Use a single logo combined with consistent colors, styles and fonts. Whenever someone encounters your company, whether it is online or in the real world, you want to be instantly recognizable because of your branding.
- Be consistent with your voice and tone as well. Whenever someone receives communication from your company, you want your voice to be consistent. This includes both the message that you are putting across as well as the way that you are saying it.
- Use multimedia content whenever possible. You want to use visual aids as often as you can, because visual content has a much higher conversion rate. Using pictures and video along with your content will help strengthen your corporate identity and make a better experience for your customers.
- Speaking of content, make sure that you check yours for grammar, style and clarity. Rewrite content that isn’t sending the right message. In addition, make sure that you optimize your content for SEO and ensure that it is useful for the customer.
- Finally, make sure that you tailor your message to the audience that you are trying to reach. Each audience that you target is going to need a slightly different message and focus.
