5 Essential Parts of a Brand

Many people think that a small business brand is just a logo design, or even the business name itself. Your brand actually encompasses all of these aspects and more. Here are the five essential parts of a brand.

Logo Design

This may be the most important part of your brand because it creates the basis for all of the other elements. There is a good chance that your business name, tagline, colors, images, and promises will be shown in your logo design in a graphic visual form. A good logo designer knows that the main duty of your logo is to communicate this information and will make sure yours does so in a way that is unique to your business and visually attractive to your community. Also think about wether you need a tag line or not.

Make sure that your logo design represents your brand core essence. If the type of market segment you are in is a little off the beaten track or if you product/service is complex and the essence can not be shown in the logo, then you should distill the essence into one sentence or a few keywords and then try to find an abstract visual representation that can carry your brand forward.

Wording

People won’t be able to draw your logo for a neighbor who asks how they like your business, which is why wording be an integral part of your brand in addition to your logo. This can come in the form of a tagline, in your name, or in the language that you use in in-store and promotional materials. Consider Disneyland—it’s the happiest place on Earth. That isn’t just a tagline or a part of any given marketing campaign; it’s a description of the theme park that most people would agree with to a certain extent. This is a good example of how wording can become part of a brand.

This comes under messaging strategy where you will have to come up with an elevator pitch, a positional statement and a mission statement. These different messaging excerpts will help you communicate the essence of the brand to your target audience.

Visual Identity

This broad category – corporate identity logo design – includes the colors, images, and other visual elements used to represent your business. Some of these may be dictated by your business’s industry, but others are completely unique and entirely yours. The best person to help you decide what colors and other visual elements work best for your customers is your logo designer. These graphic artists tend to have a good sense of what different images and colors mean to different people.

Brand Promise

Your brand promise is basically your authentic guarantee of what customers can expect from you. This may be low prices, great service, or a certain type of product. As with all promises, it is important to follow up on this promise and to deliver what you say you will. Your promise can be communicated by words or images and serve to differentiate your business, which is the fifth part of your brand.

Your brand promise can relate directly to the product or service you provide. It could also bring forth your core values, your brand DNA and more.

Brand Differentiation

One of the key parts of your brand is its ability to set you apart from the competition. If you are offering the same services and wares as the business next to yours, why should customers choose you? This is the whole point of differentiation: it shows people why your business is different and thus what they will gain by choosing you over your competition. Differentiation can be based on a different shopping experience, an expanded or more specialized product line, better service, or social responsibility. Remember to look beyond your own neighborhood when deciding what sets you apart; you have competition on the internet and all over the world.