September in South Africa marks the beginning of spring. It also hosts a much-loved Heritage Day when we celebrate the culture and diversity that makes up our “rainbow nation.”
Knowing who you are and where you come from guides beliefs, values, behaviours and traditions. Similarly, companies also need such a blueprint – a corporate identity. There is no doubt that a consistent and genuine brand identity goes a long way in instilling trust and build loyalty among today’s well-informed and empowered consumers who care very much about the narratives behind the brands they support.
How to get it right
Soft elements
A corporate identity comprises physical elements – The “What” of an organization. These include the logo, colour palette and website perhaps. Getting your corporate identity right however, means focusing on the “who” of your organization.
How you treat your audience, your language, customer service, store layout and omnichannel presence, levels of professionalism, consistency in interactions along all touch-points, are all part of the “who” of the brand. These are the elements that truly display your ability to respond to the market and the ever-changing needs of your customers.
Corporate identity must be an honest reflection of who and what your brand is, or at least what it can feasibly aspire to be. There is no room for brand delusion. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What have you done to prove that you are who you say you are?
The challenges brought on by the pandemic over the last 2 years have presented companies with opportunities to live up to who they promise to be: During lock down, Mr D Food and Takealot both expanded their operations to include the delivery of essential goods while continually communicating with their customers about their efforts. Similarly, Discovery converted their new headquarters into a well-run vaccination site for both members and non-members. These companies understood clearly what was needed, what their customers had come to expect of them, what their capabilities were under the circumstances, and they acted accordingly guided by their brand identities. Such authenticity and commitment builds strong brand loyalty.
CI reflects in the product
Many organizations fail to build a corporate identity outside of a basic logo and other physical aspects and rather allow it to take its own course so to speak. This results in a brand identity that is out of control and inconsistent and fails to build brand strength and loyalty.
Companies focus more attention on what is deemed more pressing matters such as product, service, and operations. Afterall, building a CI takes ongoing effort and time – resources that are often scarce. The key factor however, is to consciously build a strong corporate identity with an understanding of your core values that you can then reflect in your product or service development and operations to drive a positive stakeholder experience and build your brand.
By building your corporate identity into both into your products or services, and into the channels and platforms across which you communicate, you can ensure a consistent experience that is memorable and that keeps your brand at the top-of-mind.
Communication faux pas
External expression of your CI is a delicate task that requires a clear appreciation of how your CI will be perceived by different audiences. When communications do not reflect socially conscious values, they are perceived as insensitive and are often subjected to public backlash.
This was the case for H & M in 2018 with their jungle themed hoodies that spurred international ant-racist scrutiny. In 2019, Woolies found themselves on the firing line with their gender biased Valentine’s Day campaign. Both of these examples highlight the cost of not leading with an up-to-date corporate identity. If your CI is conscious and current, and leads your communication, you will steer clear of corporate identity failure and damaging public outcry.
Corporate Identity and Employee Experience
While corporate identity is often thought of as being externally conveyed through vehicles of customer experience, it is important to remember that it is very much a driver of the internal landscape of an organization.
Your employees are on both the receiving and portraying ends of your corporate identity. If your CI denotes a positive employee experience, your employees will align with your brand’s personality and values. This will be reflected in how they represent the organization, how they drive customer experience, and what they say about the company through casual word-of-mouth.
CI Drives Brand, Employee and Customer Experience
Defining your corporate identity is a broad-view endeavour that requires companies to look within and externally with honesty about who it is and how it lives up to that identity. Your internal reality needs to align with the endlessly altering expectations of empowered and conscious consumers. It is also critical that your employees embrace your CI so that they drive a positive customer experience.
There is tremendous overlap between brand, customer, and employee experience. Interact RDT is a leading experience agency that can partner with you to align your corporate identity to your business goals and objectives.
Author: Yael Benjamin from Interact RDT
