That’s the power of recommendation.<\/p>\n
Today, most of your intended audience are communicating with their friends and family through social media, a powerful tool business owners are using to build trust.<\/p>\n
It’s also a practical tool for companies to build a community of genuine supporters.<\/a><\/p>\n We’ve seen an increasing number of brick and mortar businesses move online, especially fast tracked by the events of the past year.<\/p>\n You can build trust online based on how you communicate, engage and serve.<\/p>\n This can be done through your websites, blog, social media, comments and much more.<\/p>\n Building trust is one of the one you can define your brand identity.<\/p>\n You need to be sincere, respectful, authentic, helpful, consistent, reliable, supportive, committed and well-intentioned, like a real friend.<\/p>\n We’ve often seen the terms “brand” and “logo” used interchangeably.<\/p>\n Although creating a logo<\/a> is the first step towards developing a strong brand identity, it is not the entirety of the brand’s identity.<\/p>\n A brand identity is made up of what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product, and what you want people to feel when they interact it. <\/span><\/p>\n Essentially, your brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers.<\/span><\/p>\n With millions of businesses in the UK trying to stand out from their competitors, having a strong brand identity<\/a> has become crucial for businesses to stand out from their competitors.<\/p>\n If you’re working towards developing your business’ brand identity, it’s important also understand how this helps to build trust with your clients.<\/a><\/p>\n Did you know that your brand identity can be created without you even trying?<\/p>\n Whether you like it or not, your actions define you and will paint the picture of what your brand actually is.<\/p>\n Defining your brand identity is a process which two characteristics:<\/p>\n Without intentionally and consistently building your brand, you might be doing more harm than good.<\/p>\n Not to fret, that’s why we’re here.<\/p>\n Below, we’ve put together 10 important steps to creating a brand identity that is trustworthy and honest.<\/p>\n Did you know that a simple way to convert visitors into paying customers is through your value proposition?<\/p>\n According to QuickSprout<\/a>, “a value proposition is a sentence that tells your visitors why they should buy from you and not your competitors.”<\/p>\n A good example of this is Uber’s value proposition:<\/p>\n \u201calways get the ride you want\u201d<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Your value proposition represents your purpose as a business. It communicates to your customers what you can do for them.<\/p>\n It should be well thought out, fully researched and very well understood by your intended audience.<\/p>\n If not, it could damage your relationship and their trust in you.<\/p>\n Despite the important role that value propositions play, research from QuickSprout shows that more than half of businesses \u2013 54% \u2013 do nothing to optimize their value propositions.<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n Take out some time to analyze where your firm fits into the lives of your intended customers<\/p>\n Determining your unique value proposition helps to build a strong base for your brand identity.<\/p>\n One of the biggest dangers a company can do is to ignore their biggest fans, the customer.<\/p>\n The client will tell you what is wrong, right, and needs improvement.<\/p>\n Additionally, innovation nowadays is so customer focused that you can gain an edge on your competitors if you just open your ears.<\/p>\n Understanding your customers<\/a> is key to building brand trust.<\/p>\n The more you know about your customers appreciate or don’t appreciate about your current business processes, the more targeted and effective your online presence can be.<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n To truly understand, you need to listen, listen and listen more.<\/p>\n Reviews are useful for social proof.<\/p>\n They help to remove most psychological barriers related to trust of a product or service.<\/p>\n Before someone purchases a product or service from your business, they might go online to verify that previous customers have had a positive experience working with you.<\/p>\n As psychologist and social proof writer Robert Cialdini puts it, \u201cwe view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it.\u201d<\/p>\n The more people eating at a restaurant, the better we assume it is.<\/p>\n The whole idea of social proof goes back to building authenticity and brand trust.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s a big deal. In fact, 60% of consumers<\/a> said user-generated content (UGC) is the most authentic form of content \u2013 3X more authentic than brand-created content.<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n There are plenty of ways brands can use social proof, including:<\/p>\n Collecting social proof can seem like an uphill battle.<\/p>\n Start small and in no time, you will have a lot of reviews to attest your good work.<\/p>\n The most efficient process of building a brand identity involves a complete brand audit.<\/p>\n A brand audit can be likened to an accounting audit.<\/p>\n In this stage, every element of your brand is reviewed critically.<\/p>\n The elements you will examine include your company culture<\/a> and your design elements.<\/p>\n This includes:<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n To review your brand audit, take the following steps<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.\u201d \u2013 Aristotle<\/p>\n Your business is not operating in a bubble but rather is functioning in a complex industry with many players.<\/p>\n Therefore, it is key that you conduct a thorough market research<\/a> to develop a guide for what works and what doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Here are some important questions to ask:<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n Words and visuals are used to express market offering.<\/p>\n As a business owner, you have to create a clear strategy on how to communicate this to the world.<\/p>\n When it comes brand messaging you have what works and doesn\u2019t work<\/a>.<\/p>\n What does your most loyal customer identify with<\/a>, when it comes to your brand?<\/p>\n You could realize that your attractive packaging is what first caught their attention.<\/p>\n In the case of Nike, they ran with their signature \u201cJust do it\u201d, slogan for years which resulted in easy identification of their brand regardless of the product they put out.<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n Quick recap:<\/p>\n Now is the time to focus on those creative elements of your brand ranging from your logo, UX web design, packaging, marketing content, and so on.<\/p>\n Using the information gathered you should focus on your areas of improvement.<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n Andy Rubin had this to say about one of the best companies in the world, \u201cIn projecting the future, I think Apple did a good job of figuring out when the technology was ready to be consumer grade.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to your brand, what do you want it to look like in 10 or 20 years from now?<\/p>\n How do you want your clients and employees to feel about your brand?<\/p>\n This helps in your internal decision making which will enable you to pick up on trends faster and pivot towards that more valuable proposition.<\/p>\n It is a question of whether you want to be the Nokia or Apple of your industry.<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n This is the most exciting part of creating a brand identity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since you have so many ideas and plans, they shouldn\u2019t go to waste.<\/p>\n They should be implemented as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Test, test, and test.<\/p>\n For instance, according to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, using a signature colour can increase brand recognition by 80%. This means out of the thousands of color palettes available, you have to stick to one.<\/p>\n However, you won\u2019t know which colour is suitable for your brand unless you put them in front of your customers.<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n Like your sales and expenses, you need to keep a close eye on your brand identity to know what you are doing wrong or right.<\/p>\n Not every decision you make will be the right one and having a Google Analytic tool or a Lucky Orange analytic tool will show you the before and after of your changes made.<\/p>\n Taking Action<\/strong><\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n The world is becoming more connected and automated.<\/p>\n This creates the opportunity to achieve massive scale but the competition has drastically increased also.<\/p>\n![\"web](\"https:\/\/sargeclan.com\/our-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/web-design-agency-lagos.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDefining Your Brand Identity <\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhy Is It Important To Define My Brand Identity?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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10 Steps To Creating A Brand Identity That Builds Trust<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. Have a Clear Value Proposition<\/h4>\n
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2. Understand Your Customers
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3. Leverage Reviews and Testimonials to Build Brand Trust
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Conduct a Brand Audit<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Study the Competition<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Develop Your Brand Messaging<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Enhance Your Brand\u2019s Creative Elements<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Be Future Oriented<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Test Your Brand Perception <\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Be Consistent <\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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