What Is Your Brand Identity? It’s More Than Your Logo

We all want our businesses to stand out from the crowd.

But when you hear the words “brand identity”, what do you think of?

Your logo?

Your colours?

Your fonts?

Perhaps your tagline?

All those things are part of your brand identity…but your brand is so much more than the things people can see.

Your brand identity is the deliberate impression you create about your business. It helps people understand who you are, what you stand for, who you’re for and what they can expect from you.

And when it’s done well, it makes your business recognisable without you having to shout about it.

This is particularly important for small businesses. You might not have the advertising budget of a huge brand, but you can still create a business that people recognise, remember and want to buy from.

Start with who you are

Before you choose colours, fonts or even design a logo, there are some more important questions to answer.

• What does your business stand for?
• Why does it exist?
• Who do you want to attract?
• What do you want people to remember about you?

And perhaps most importantly:

What makes your business feel like YOUR business?

This is where your brand identity really begins.

You don’t need a grand corporate mission statement. In fact, for a small business, something simple and meaningful is often much more useful.

Think about what you want your business to do for your customers.

Perhaps you create colourful jewellery because you want people to feel confident and individual.

Maybe you make sustainable homeware because you want people to have beautiful things without compromising their values.

Or perhaps you create artwork because you want to bring a little joy and personality into people’s homes.

That purpose becomes part of your brand.

What do you want to be known for?

How would you answer this question?

“If someone recommended your business to a friend, what would you want them to say?”

Maybe:

“Her jewellery is so unusual — I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

“Everything she makes is beautifully finished.”

“I love how colourful and joyful her products are.”

“She really understands what her customers want.”

Those descriptions give you clues about your brand identity.

They tell you the qualities you want people to associate with your business.

And this connects directly with my previous post about ‘What people say about you when you’re not in the room.’ LINK

Your reputation is ultimately created by other people, but your brand identity is something you can deliberately shape.

You can’t completely control what people think about your business, but you can control what you put out there!

Who is your brand for?

Your brand identity also needs to make sense to the people you want to attract.

This doesn’t mean you have to change who you are to please your ideal customer.

Quite the opposite.

The strongest brands usually have a clear sense of who they are, which naturally attracts some people more than others.

Think about your ideal customer.

• What do they value?
• What sort of things do they love?
• What would make them look at your business and think: ‘Oh, I love this. This is SO me.’

Your brand should help create that reaction.

For example, a handmade jewellery business aimed at someone who loves minimalist, timeless pieces will probably look and sound very different from one aimed at someone who loves bold, colourful and quirky jewellery.

Neither is right or wrong.

They’re simply different brands.

Your values matter too

Your values are the principles that guide how you run your business.

They might include:

• Creativity
• Sustainability
• Quality
• Individuality
• Honesty
• Simplicity
• Inclusivity
• Personal service
• Supporting other small businesses

Don’t just choose words because they sound good.

Think about what they mean in your business.

If you say quality is important, what does that look like?

If you say personal service matters, what does your customer experience look like?

If you say sustainability is one of your values, how does that influence your materials, packaging or processes?

Your values become meaningful when people can see them in action.

Your brand identity is the whole picture

So, before you start playing around in Canva choosing colours and fonts, take a step back.

Think about:

• Who are you?
• What do you stand for?
• Who are you trying to attract?
• What makes you different?
• What do you want to be known for?
• How do you want people to feel when they come across your business?

These answers form the foundations of your brand identity.

And once you have those foundations, the fun part begins.

Because now you can start translating all of this into something people can see, hear and experience.

That’s where your name, logo, colours, fonts, imagery, tagline, tone of voice and brand personality come in.

And as it would be too much to add this into this week’s post, that’s what I’ll be looking at next week, so keep your eyes peeled!

In the meantime, here’s a little brand identity exercise for you…

Brand identity exercise

Grab a piece of paper and complete this sentence:

I want my business to be known for __________.

Then choose three words you’d like people to associate with your brand. As you all know my three words are ‘Marketing made simple’.  

Don’t overthink it.

Those three words could become the starting point for building a much stronger and more consistent brand identity.

Because your brand isn’t simply what you put on your packaging, it’s the story you’re telling about your business every time someone encounters it.

If you need help with your brand identity or branding in general, contact me and we can arrange a coaching session.

Feature image generated by AI.