Now is not the time to be shy! If you haven’t already identified your brand’s personality, it’s time to throw back the curtains and show consumers who you are and all that you have to offer!
Your brand’s personality communicates the characteristics of your business with your consumers, revealing your attributes through your tone of voice, customer service and graphics. Humanization is the key to establishing a connection with customers who cannot have a relationship with you if they don’t know you. When you fail to express your personality, consumers fail to identify with you because they cannot define a moral, social or emotional kinship.
The success of your business is contingent upon the strength of your brand personality. Barriers are lifted when you clearly reveal who you are. Once consumers know they can relate to you, they will want to give you their business. Therefore, the more developed your brand personality, the greater the chance of establishing long-lasting, loyal customer relationships.
How well do you know yourself? Now is the time to highlight what sets you apart from your competition. Show consumers what your company stands for and the ways in which you are adding value to their lives by how you conduct business. Be transparent about the type of experience you offer consumers and be passionate about your beliefs and core principles. All customers have their own individual passions. Their perception of who you are on a surface level will inform their deeper perception of who your business is and all that it represents.
What human characteristics do you want consumers to associate with your brand? Pull out your notepad and favorite pen because it’s time to play with adjectives. How would you like your ideal customer to describe your brand? This is a great teamwork project as employees are often the most skilled at identifying brand personality. You will likely notice a common theme or repeated words as you brainstorm with your staff.
The goal is to settle on three to five adjectives you “own” when a consumer reflects on your brand and your traits will generally fall under one or more of five categories: sophistication, excitement, ruggedness, sincerity and competence. For example, “feminine” falls under the “sophistication” category while “skilled” or “experienced” would fall under “competence”. You can easily articulate your brand personality using this effective teamwork method. You can also create a strong value proposition by highlighting your qualities above general character traits. You want your ideal customer to stand back and say that your company is “the company who is _______.”
- Does your personality resonate with your ideal consumer audience? Every aspect of marketing begins with knowing your audience – who they are, what they like or don’t like, where they hang out, their age ranges, etc. You can’t build relationships with people you don’t know. If you want a friend, be a friend – take the first step in initiating relationships with your customers. Show them how you relate to them and become a full-time student of your ideal customer.
- Learn their goals and values.
- Learn about their sources of information.
- Learn about their demographics.
- Learn their fears and personal challenges.
- Learn why some of them would not want your product/service.
- Learn what they’d like to see changed in your process and by what means they could be won over.
Does your brand copy (messaging) accurately depict your personality? Your tone is a big deal. It needs to be consistent as it is the most obvious means to connect with your customers. Are you formal or conversational? Remember when your mother used your FULL name before grounding you for stealing a candy bar in elementary school? I bet you’d know that voice anywhere. The same should be true with your brand’s tone. It should be easily identifiable and customers should know it anywhere, distinguishing it from the voices of your competition. Your tone is manifested in every piece of information you share with your consumers and is telling of your brand personality. Your tone will either establish a connection with your audience or steer them to your competition.
Do your visuals accurately represent your personality? Your chosen logos, graphics, colors and web design all tie into your brand personality, enhancing all that you represent. While key elements such as graphic design quickly convey mood and elicit emotion, there are some other factors you need to consider in order to strengthen your brand identity.
- Nail the logo! Think of it as wallpaper because it will be on EVERYTHING and should adequately reflect your brand personality.
- Learn about color psychology. Color palette is a big deal in brand recognition and goes a long way in reflecting personality. For example, a daycare might be known for its bright, primary color palette. Meanwhile, a spa will select a more natural palette with neutral shades of greens, browns, greys or blues.
- Fonts speak louder than words. Light-hearted in nature, Comic Sans, for example, would be a poor choice for a divorce attorney and highly unlikely to draw the attention of the ideal client.
- Selecting images wisely. Be sure your graphics reflect your brand and address your target audience. Select effective imagery and use it to emotionally connect with your audience. Great visuals can play a crucial role in the purchasing process. Think about how you want your customers to feel when they look at graphics on your website or in your storefront. If you run a plus-size clothing store, don’t use elephants in your graphics. You want your customers to connect with your brand not revolt at the thought of your company. A picture is worth a thousand words. You can’t force consumers to purchase from you, but your choice of graphics can manipulate their emotions, enticing them to make a purchase.
- Choose a layout with a smooth, unified blend of logo, color, fonts and graphics.
Be consistent in your brand personality. Consistency is the key to building relationships with your ideal customers. Magic happens when your consumers hear your unchanging brand voice, see your same visual identity repeatedly and notice your company offering the same stellar customer service experiences over and over again. Consistency is the means by which your target audience will get to know, like, trust and ultimately CHOOSE you, identifying your business as “the company who __________”.
