Understanding Corporate Branding to Ensure Success

The digital age has really pushed for increased awareness and transparency. It is vital for any company, large or small, to be actively promoting their brand and not just their products.

Aside from the importance of corporate branding, we will also explore the benefits a company can reap from a strong and positive corporate brand. Of course, as time goes by, people will view brand and product as one. Whatever image the brand ignites in a customer’s mind will be what the customer expects of the product.

We will also try to understand how to develop a significant corporate brand. Many people confuse branding and logo. Branding is not just about having a logo, but a strong corporate brand will never succeed without a strong, consistent logo.

A lot of corporations with strong branding succeed by being consistent. You want to work out your identity before you showcase yourself and your products to the world. Without a strong, consistent brand, consumers will get confused about what service you bring to the market, and they won’t know what to expect from you. People may enjoy surprises, but no one likes to spend money on things they are unsure of. 

What is Corporate Branding Anyway?

Corporate Branding is giving your business an identity. A logo may visually represent it, but, more than that, it also comprises your vision, mission, your employees, products, consumers, and consumers’ perception of you. You then promote it repeatedly over time until you create a strong association with your brand.

A corporate brand is external and internal. Externally, you want to establish your value proposition, your relationship with your customers, and your position in the minds and hearts of your customers.

Internally, you want to have a strong mission and vision, something all your employees believe in. A strong company culture you live by. Something you’re not afraid to show to the world. You also want to be competent, that something extra that makes you better than your competition. 

Remember that building a brand requires interaction between your company and consumers. With this interaction, you want to establish expression, personality, and brand core. You want to be recognizable by people and have a distinct expression. You also need a personality – a quality identical with your corporation. 

At the heart of it all is the brand’s core. Something you promise, something you stand for, understood both by the people that work for you and the people you work for – your consuming public.

Branding Vs. Logo

Let’s discuss this further. Most people will look at a yellow letter ‘m’ and say it’s the McDonald’s brand. This is not correct. The Golden Arches, as it’s fondly called, is the McDonald’s logo. 

A logo is a visual representation of a brand. ‘The Golden Arches’ is just the logo. “McDonald’s” is just the restaurant chain’s name. But the McDonald’s brand is an entirely different entity.

A logo helps customers, anyone really, recognize the brand. If you see it on ads, on tv, or as a big sign by the road, you always know that it stands for McDonald’s, and that McDonald’s serves fast food.

McDonald’s brand promises to provide affordable and familiar meals that taste consistent and delivered quickly or served in a clean environment. This is what they strive for – that their fries will always be crispy, their coffee will always come in a convenient takeout cup, and their food will always be great tasting.

Facts That Make Branding Vital

McDonald’s is only one example of a giant company with a strong corporate brand. There are many others like it, successful because of their strong identity. 

A strong corporate brand will definitely be a benefit in terms of sale and appeal to the customers. But it’s so much more than just an external expression. It will also boost productivity and performance within the company. 

Nobody can succeed without hard work, determination, and commitment within the business itself. A strong company culture is just as important as an appealing corporate personality. There are endless benefits after you believe in implementing corporate branding.

This is the major reason companies work to create a brand – to get their business recognized. 

Recognition starts with being familiar with the logo and then associating the logo with the name. People will then learn about your products, about the company’s impact, beliefs, promise, and much more.

It’s a lot similar to meeting somebody new. At first, you recognize their face from maybe seeing them twice by the gas station or grocery store. Once you introduce yourself, you get to know their name.

Gets Businesses Recognized

Using these to entertain and educate your audience will reveal your technical know-how, ultimately breeding trust and credibility for you as the connoisseurs behind the product.

After chatting with them, you come to know their personality, beliefs, routine, and so much more. Interactions with them will allow you to form an opinion about them, which may be positive or negative. 

A corporate brand will help people recognize your business. But the work you put into promoting and marketing your brand will decide what opinions people will form when they see you.

Proven to Increase Value

A good example to use in this discussion is Apple. Apple has successfully made technology – a commodity that is already expensive, become worth a lot more. 

They’ve taken a phone and incorporated so much more into it it’s become highly valuable. Sure, you can communicate, take pictures, or browse the internet through any smartphone. But, with an iPhone, you can do all those things in a more convenient and posh environment. 

Apple has remained consistent in their branding and expresses a clear identity of who they are. They offer a phone, once a year, at an exclusive price range. They renew their phones every year, and nowadays they offer three options. The original, a marked up one, and something with slightly fewer features. 

The customers who can afford it inevitably then become the sticks to which people measure classes in the society. There are people who own an iPhone, and there are people who don’t. And most will perceive those who don’t one as people who can’t afford it.

Although, this is not always the case because there are phones that cost a lot more than iPhones. But nobody is going to check your receipt – they’re going to see your phone’s brand and draw their own conclusions. People often buy things according to their needs, but in this case, they are buying status. 

And then you have the people who own last year’s iPhones. Maybe it’s someone who hasn’t had the chance to buy the newest model. Or maybe it’s someone comfortable with their old phone. Either way, people will buy an iPhone, whatever model it is. And society will view them in a certain way for it.

And while all this is happening, Apple is sitting back and reaping the benefits.

Able to Generate New Customers

It’s obvious people are more than willing to follow a trend. A popular brand with an expected performance will generate new customers – quite easily, actually. People want to try new things, they want to join in on the trend.

But the challenge, in most cases, is how to set that kind of trend or be part of a trend. But you can’t do either of this without a powerful brand. So, at the base of any campaign lies a potent brand.

Let’s take a small food stand as an example. Let’s say you are selling hotdogs, burgers, and other sandwiches as a food stand with the name “Eat and Snack”. Right next to you is someone who sells hotdogs, just hotdogs. With the name “Uncle Sal’s Hotdog”.

This may surprise you, but people will be more interested in buying hot dogs at the stand next to you. Simply because you are not exuding a coherent message. You’re a snack stand and you’re selling all kinds of sandwiches. People get confused. Nobody’s buying because they’d rather not confuse themselves with your generic brand. 

On the other hand, let’s say your food stand’s name is “Buns ‘n Meat”. You sell different types of buns, and people can choose their own meat for their sandwich. This helps people understand your brand better. And the likelihood of you converting customers, previously buying Uncle Sal’s Hotdog, will be better.

Improves Workplace Environment

A powerful brand results from the effective interaction between internal and external factors. Therefore, the effects are also both external and internal. Internally, you need a strong mission, vision, and company culture.

When a person works with a powerful brand both recognized by the market and which provides a pleasant working environment, that person’s work quality will be considerably high. Employees will enjoy their work and be more productive. 

People often associate work enjoyment with being passionate about the work they do. But working for, or being a part of, an organization which aligns with your beliefs and values can also create a similar feeling of contentment and passion. 

A company should express their brand inwardly and outwardly to make an influential impact. A strong working culture built by the people working for you will make their own work feel a lot more enjoyable. This will directly affect your expression externally. In terms of product quality, customer service, and brand personality.

Creates Trust and Credibility

A lot of customers like things they are already familiar with. This has a lot to do with your brand core, the promise you make of the identity you promote. If you have established, for years and years, that your company sells products with a 1-year warranty. A warranty which you stand by and always serve. 

Nobody will be afraid to buy your product. If somebody buys a product, and it breaks within the first 8 months of usage. It will not discourage them or others from buying from you again and again. 

A simple 1-year warranty on a consistently long time can be better than a new product with a 5-year warranty, where nobody has had experience of using it. 

A strong brand exudes trust. People will be hesitant to spend their money on you. Because they You now what they’re getting and they like it. This might even help you steal customers away from competitors. 

But without a powerful brand, you can’t even keep your own (if you are part of a trend), let alone steal customers from competitors.

Developing a Strong Brand

There is no single right way to advertise or market a product. The same thing goes for corporate branding. Different companies approach it in different ways. And achieving success is through many paths. 

But at its very core are the same basic principles. Today, we are only going to understand a brand, before going off to promote it. It’s very important to do it right the first time. 

1. Understand Your Brand’s Identity 

Before jumping into the strategy itself, you must really understand your brand identity. You can understand your brand’s identity by looking at the products, company history, company profile and even employees’ feedback. Anything to help you get a clear picture of what you are dealing with.

Once you get the necessary information, it’s up to you to fill these in. 

Internal Elements

a. Mission and Vision

Something every company has, make sure both your mission and vision are apparent right from the beginning. It will help your branding process greatly. 

b. Company Culture

This is about how you treat your employees, how your employees treat each other, and the values you stand by within your company. 

c. Competencies

This is the primary purpose of your business, the expertise which you have chosen to sell and build your business upon. 

External Elements

a. Value Proposition

This is what you offer your customers and your stakeholders that make you stand out from the rest of your competition in the industry. 

b. Relationship with Customers and Stakeholders

This is how you interact with customers and stakeholders. Something you choose from the beginning. 

c. Company’s Position Within the Market and Society

The reputation and influence of your company in the market and also in the customer’s mind. 

The Interaction Between Internal & External

a. Brand Core

This is what you promise to your customers and stakeholders, something you value – the heart of your company. 

b. Expression

It’s how you present yourself. It may be with customers and stakeholders, and even social media presence. 

c. Personality

The characteristics of your company and the identity or image it embodies.

2. Involve Everyone in Discussions

It’s easy to do this with your internal team. You can send out a form or you can chat with everyone to get a more thorough feel and understanding of the brand from their perspective. But with customers and stakeholders, it might be a little harder. 

You can do it by sending out a feedback request so you can understand how they feel about your brand. Although, this is an old school method. In the digital age, many companies are doing this by engaging directly on social media.

You can start small by posting about your products, replying to comments or other discussion about your brand or product. You can also do a talk or seminar and many other activities to engage your audience. 

Look at your brand as a product all on its own. Talk about it with everyone. The more the better. The only thing better than more is consistency. You want to talk to everyone all the time. Because people loving your brand for one month, and thinking they’ll love it forever, is the worst mistake a company can make. 

3. Be True and Seek Opportunities

A company needs to be true to who they are. You can’t market your brand as something it isn’t. Say you’re a cheap fast-food chain. It will be hard to market your product as something healthy. People will see right through you.

The goal of corporate branding is not to appeal to everyone. But to put yourself out there and educate people about your brand. Because when people are aware of your brand and what you do, it will increase the chances of people choosing you when they need what you sell. 

After identifying who you are and what you stand for, it’s time to look for opportunities. Things you can do to improve your leads and sales, or maybe there’s a way to make people think differently of you. 

Here is how you can do it:

Be Concise and Straightforward

Less can sometimes be more. Don’t confuse people. Companies often do this with the help of a tagline or a slogan or a jingle to go with their advertisement. But you can also accomplish this by having a strong core. From there, you can expand the story to tell whatever you want. But you can’t get anywhere without a strong core. 

You also need to be straightforward. Sugarcoat nothing. Highlight the things you can deliver, but don’t shy away from mentioning the things that limit you. People will reward your transparency in the long run. 

Seek for Characteristics

Besides being simple, showcase your characteristics. Something that makes you stand out over all the rest. Standing out doesn’t always mean better. It’s just something identical to you. Something people will always remember about you.

For example, we can see plenty of coffee shops and ice cream parlors. But people know that there are some brands consumers prefer over all the others. They do this by standing out. It can be through the unique flavors they offer, their excellent customer service, prime location, reasonable price, product exclusivity, or even packaging. Anything. The most important thing is to identify what it is and then leverage it. Promote it. 

Stay Authentic and Timeless

Once you have your identity, it’s about carrying it out for the long haul. A brand promotion is not a race, more like a marathon. Maybe you need to tweak your brand every once in a while. But stay true to your brand core. And it’s all up to you to make sure your brand stands the test of time.

Examples of Strong Brands

We’ve discussed many examples throughout this article. But maybe you need to hear about major brand names and understand how they got to where they are today. 

Here are a few examples:

• Apple

I know we’ve discussed Apple in one of the earlier sections, but they are worth mentioning twice because their brand is extremely strong. Apple sells status and delivers it constantly every year. Go back up and read more about Apple’s branding strategy!

• Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola achieved success in arguably easy steps. They were consistent with their brand core, and they continue to showcase it alongside a very potent visual representation. Even though everyone is familiar with Coca-Cola’s logo, they don’t let it limit their creativity. 

They always strive to put out something outstanding in their ads, posters, campaigns, and even their packaging. Who said names are only for coffee shops? Coca-Cola also put names on the packaging of some of their product lines. Having an identity shouldn’t limit your creativity.

Coca-Cola also inspires connection by utilizing human emotion. The personality of the company puts out appeals to people. From the people, for the people. Another thing that sparked success.

• Nike

The Nike logo is a potent image. Anyone can recognize it from a mile away. It’s a proper visual representation of what the brand truly is. 

Another thing Nike has is their slogan. “Just Do It”. Concise and direct. People understand that the logo with the slogan is Nike. And the logo without the slogan means “Just Do It”, still Nike. A powerful message. A powerful brand. 

But what is the brand? How did Nike become such an influential brand?

Nike sells empowerment. Their brand core is empowerment. Regardless of your profession, you can do it if you just do it, even if you are not using their products. It inspires people to do things they’re hesitating to do. Nike reaffirmed their brand’s core by partnering with athletes who rose from the ground up. 

Adidas tried to create a similar campaign with “Impossible is nothing”. This had a lesser effect on the masses. Because, as we had said before, it’s not about the logo or the slogan, it’s about the brand. And if Adidas also tries to sell empowerment, it won’t work, no matter how it’s represented. Because then, they won’t stand out.

Stand Out. Focus On Your Brand

At the end of the day, a brand is just what your company truly is. You can never have a strong corporate brand if you don’t identify your company’s internal and external structures. So establish your business, your products, your identity, your brand. Be honest with yourself, with your employees, and your customers.

You can then try to find a distinct characteristic. Something that will make sure your image resonates with people. Maybe it’s easier to look elsewhere to find inspiration. But that’s not the way to build a strong corporate brand. It all depends on you as an entity and everything else that surrounds you.

Want to learn more about how to create a brand that fits you?
Check it out here

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Bhushan Lele

Bhushan spent the last 15+ years building businesses and learning what really matters to customers. At Custom Logo Cases, we help brands turn everyday tech accessories into high-quality, on-brand marketing tools.