Resources for Corporate Branding and Identity

Corporate branding and identity creation is the process by which a business distinguishes itself from competitors. It involves developing a unique corporate image through marketing, advertising and public relations. While companies once focused only on advertising, now many businesses recognize that they must present an image or “public face” that customers find appealing. Just as you try to present your best face when dealing with customers, your company's branding must create a positive, and lasting, first impression.

Without a corporate branding strategy, your company will haphazardly develop its reputation. Implementing a solid branding strategy ensures that your company will put forth the image that is most beneficial for your business. The right branding strategy will be congruent with your company’s mission and objectives. If you want to take control of your business’s reputation and identity, consider:

1. Understanding the basics of branding so you can develop an action plan you can actually put to work each day.

2. Working with company naming services or branding services to develop new angles and niches for your business.

3. Hiring a brand management company to monitor your branding success and to alert you to any problems that threaten your company reputation.

Learn the corporate branding and identity basics to understand your options

Many companies fail to take advantage of corporate branding solutions because branding and identity seem so nebulous and abstract that business owners aren't sure where to start. Branding is not abstract at all. It simply involves researching your current company image, developing a unique niche or need that your company can fill and then re-educating customers so they can see what your company can offer.

Hire corporate branding companies for professional branding results

Developing a great corporate identity, or branding yourself, is challenging, especially if the concept is new to you. Hiring branding professionals allows you to learn more about branding and to enjoy a well-developed and thorough branding plan. Many companies can even implement your plan for you, so you can focus on running your business while someone else takes care of building your company's reputation.

Find company identity management solutions to deal with potential problems

Even if you do everything right and develop a great brand name, how can you be sure that the brand is not destroyed by an unhappy customer or disgruntled employee? Brand management--sometimes called identity management or reputation management--is an umbrella term for services that monitor how your brand appears online or in print, which allow you to respond quickly when an attack on your company name takes place.

• If you have not developed corporate branding solutions or a branding plan for your business, don't think your business has avoided developing a corporate identity. Your company has a reputation, whether you know it or not. That reputation may be based on a few customers' interactions with your employees or encounters with your products. Branding allows you to take control of your company identification and broadcast it in your terms.