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Graphic designers frequently have a prominent role to play in launching
or repositioning a company. When they create a look (or new look)
for a company's stationery, brochure, ads and Web site, this is often
called an "identity package." Don't let this convenient term mislead
you into believing that a company's identity consists of nothing more
than its logo and look. No, every company has an identity or image
in the minds of its customers comprised of at least nine other factors
besides the graphic look.
How your market perceives your company should be deliberate, calculated
and coherent rather than accidental and confused. Think about how
you'd like your company to be perceived along these dimensions. Then
investigate whether or not actual perceptions match your intent --
and adjust your marketing to reinforce the qualities you want your
customers to associate with you.
COMPONENTS OF COMPANY IDENTITY
1. Values. Do you stand for stability, like Prudential insurance?
Innovation, like 3M? Educational curiosity, like the Discovery Channel?
Social consciousness, like Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream? Child-friendliness,
like McDonald's? Rugged individualism, like Marlboro cigarettes? Personal
freedom, like Harley-Davidson motorcycles? Serendipity and tradition,
like the local hardware store whose owner knows where everything is
and has parts and tools dating back to the previous century?
Some companies make their mission statements available to customers
as a way to communicate their operating values. Others embody their
values in advertising symbols, slogans, signage and store design.
Still others rely on media coverage to get across their message about
values. Some convey what they stand for in their customer newsletter.
As with all the other components of company identity, standing for
something specific (not something vague like "quality") helps your
company distinguish itself from the competition.
2. Personality. A revealing exercise in putting your company's personality
into words is playing the old parlor game, with yourself and with
your customers: If the company were a vegetable, which one would it
be? If it were a cartoon character, would it be Bugs Bunny, Wonder
Woman, Road Runner or Dick Tracy? If it were someone in a high school
yearbook, would it be Most Likely to Succeed, the Homecoming Queen,
the Nerd or the Class Clown?
Although no personality can be popular with everybody, here are some
personality traits adopted by numerous companies:
- sincere and friendly
- off-beat, fun to be with or exciting
- adventurous or artistic
- careful and finicky
- glamorous and sophisticated
- the strong, silent type
- brash and even slightly irritating
- motherly and considerate
From the company's personality can flow ad campaigns, kinds of
special events to sponsor, company colors and typefaces, corporate
gift selection, even the talent chosen to record company voice mail
messages.
3. Behavior. Your company's image includes not only how you promote
yourselves but also how you act toward customers and the public, both
on a day-to-day basis and during extraordinary circumstances. Things
like how you answer the phone, how you greet shoppers, how cheerfully
you correct mistakes or accept returns, how aggressively you negotiate
contracts all become bound up in one composite image.
Larger companies sometimes engage "mystery shoppers" or "mystery patients"
(for hospitals), who interact with the company incognito and then
file a report on their experience. Many of the faults that turn up
in such reports can be easily corrected once identified, leading to
an improved image. You can also directly solicit feedback from clients
through a survey form. Sometimes the very act of asking for feedback
improves a firm's image, since it shows they care about customers'
experiences.
4. Price. How much you cost in comparison to competitors often becomes
part of your image. If you're tempted to keep price out of the equation
until someone expresses a desire to buy, think twice. Whether you
charge high, low or reasonable prices, integrating pricing deliberately
into your company image has several advantages.
When you're candid about pricing, you cut down on the number of "tire-kickers"
you need to deal with. You also rope in many of the shoppers who might
otherwise make incorrect assumptions. Some go away without asking
your prices because they figure they couldn't afford you. Some guess
that your prices are low and conclude that therefore you couldn't
be very good at what you do. In the latter case, proclaiming your
high prices increases business because clients willing to pay for
the best now know you fall into the category of elite firms they want
to patronize.
Above all, make sure your pricing fits with the other components of
your image. If you charge in the low range, your stationery and logo
shouldn't look classy and expensive. If you charge in the high range,
you should be giving out higher quality company gifts and promotional
items.
5. Range. Customers should understand the spectrum of products and
services that you sell. Surprisingly often, this isn't the case, though.
Companies sometimes start a painful reconsideration of their marketing
when they learn about customers buying things from their competitors
that they could have supplied. You can prevent this loss of business
by taking these steps:
- Verbally telling customers about the range of your products or services
when they first conclude business with you
- Giving out a printed brochure that underscores what you do
- Reinforcing that recital of your capabilities with a printed or
e-mail newsletter that highlights the range of what you do
If you handle only, say, commercial cleaning accounts and not residential,
or only, say, bookings of locally based and not nationally prominent
speakers, make sure your specialty becomes part of your company image.
If it's not part of your company name or company slogan, include your
focus in your ads, brochures, sales letters and other promotional
pieces.
6. Geographical roots. Where did your company come from? If you're
a locally owned family business competing with multinational giants,
make sure people know that. If you're selling nationally but rooted
in a picturesque corner of the country, you might be able to make
hay out of that. The state of Vermont determined that companies linked
to it were able to charge more for their products than companies headquartered
elsewhere, and it took steps to make sure outsiders don't try to horn
in on its brand equity.
Sometimes the region of origin becomes intertwined with the company
identity through the logo, the company colors and company name. Sometimes,
as with Haagen-Dasz ice cream, the regional association -- in this
case with Scandinavia -- is completely fabricated but works its magic
on consumers nonetheless.
7. Longevity. Moody and Regan, a printing company in Waltham, Massachusetts,
wisely and impressively uses as its tag line, "Established 1898."
Whenever you've been around much longer than competitors, you can
profitably incorporate that into your image. Celebrate business anniversaries
-- in the computer field even ten years might count as an commendable
milestone. In areas where banks are consolidating like crazy, ten
years with the same name and same ownership might give you a competitive
advantage with the public. On the other hand, when you're new and
competing with well-established firms, you can gainfully make your
"new on the block" status a positive part of your image.
8. Slogan. Which brand "tastes good like a cigarette should"? Which
car is "the ultimate driving machine"? What product are you not supposed
to "leave home without it"? Even local or specialized companies can
achieve this kind of awareness with their clientele.
Radio and TV may be especially useful in burning your slogan into the
minds of the public because musical accompaniment aids the memorability
of the slogan. Billboards can do the job well, too, as passersby can't
help noticing them. Remember, though, to keep the main message short
-- seven words or less -- when people are driving by a billboard at
highway speeds. T-shirts, hats and umbrellas often have space for a
company slogan as well as a logo.
Smart companies keep their slogans for years at a time, and even play
off them when times change. In 1999, American Express twisted its longtime
slogan, "Don't leave home without it," into "Don't leave homepages without
it," to get across its message that AmEx cardholders would not be responsible
for any unauthorized charges from shopping online.
9. Benefits. What do buyers get when they purchase from you? A classic
marketing principle reminds us that people don't really buy 3/4-inch
drills, they buy 3/4-inch holes. They don't buy an item or a service,
but the result produced by the item or the service.
If you're a financial planner, you really deliver not financial advice
but peace of mind and the ability to live well in the future or take
care of one's family. If you're a rental car agency, you really deliver
not a rental car but the ability to drive around freely when someone's
own car is being repaired or is far away back home.
Most companies provide intangible, emotional benefits (Volvo cars: safety;
Hallmark cards: friendship; Victoria's Secret: sensuality) as well as
tangible, practical ones (Burger King: inexpensive, satisfying meal;
Boston Pops: a fun night out; Kodak: photos with true-to-life colors).
A good solution for companies bothered by price shoppers and customers
seemingly without brand loyalty is to lean more heavily than before
on benefits differentiating them from competitors.
When both you and those who buy from you know clearly what these benefits
are, and when those benefits match the other dimensions listed above,
you undoubtedly have a comprehensive, effective company image. Congratulations!
Boston-based marketing and publicity consultant Marcia Yudkin helps
business owners around the world creatively spread the word about their
offerings. She's also a syndicated columnist through ParadigmTSA, a
public radio commentator and the author of nine books, including Six
Steps to Free Publicity and Persuading on Paper. In addition, Marcia
Yudkin delivers eye-opening, content-rich, motivating seminars on publicity
and marketing to business and professional groups nationwide.
Read about branding.
Read about logos.
Read about how to name a company.
Read about longevity.
Copyright 1999 Marcia Yudkin and ePromos. All rights reserved. |
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