A new brand identity won’t change customer behaviour
It’s true, a new brand identity cannot change customers behaviour.
Many business owners come to this conclusion and won’t explore the option further, assuming there’s no point in investing in how their business looks on the outside because it won’t have a direct effect on sales and engagement. But this is only half of the story.
The clothes your business is wearing
Whilst a new brand identity won’t change customer behaviour, it will help to change the image of the business.
Think of the logo and brand identity as being the clothes the business is wearing. The bit we can all see before we engage with it. We’ll subconsciously make a judgement based on what we see, long before we have any interaction.
The overall brand is the personality of the business, it represents the ethos, values, ideologies and stories the business has. It’s the bit we all hear and experience after the interaction. Working together, the brand and brand identity help us make an informed choice about whether we like and trust the business.
Thinking of things this way, enables us to see how closely the two elements are linked. The clothes the business is wearing (the brand identity) should reflect the underlying personality of the business (its brand).
Outgrowing a DIY approach
As a start up, a business owner may have designed their own logo, brand identity or website without giving it too much thought. They may have had limited budget at the time and since then, things may have changed.
Now they have a clearer view of their market, where they stand and who they serve. They realise that the competition is higher, the market demands much more and they need a point of differentiation. They now understand that their current brand identity will limit any future growth and they can now see the value of a brand audit and and investing in a full brand identity before they begin to scale.
This is one of the most common reasons we are approached to work with new clients. When the business’ current wardrobe doesn’t align with this new ‘grown up’ personality.
The long game...
The term investment is critical here.
Whilst a new brand identity won’t directly change customer behaviour in the short term, it will influence opinion of the business over time, building trust and developing brand loyalty in the long term.
It’s a long game, but the upfront investment may cost less than 1% of the potential revenue it brings in over the years.
That’s a pretty outstanding result!
Hidden value
So whilst it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking a new brand identity won’t increase revenue overnight, thinking over the longer term makes much more sense. What’s changed? How are you communicating your brand? Will future customers take you seriously if you don’t make the change? How does your business stack up in the marketplace?
Does your business need a new wardrobe?
So if you are looking to scale, investing in a new wardrobe for your business could be one of the most lucrative things you have ever done.
Can you afford not to?
