Everest Business Funding staff works directly with business owners to fully understand day-to-day operations and grasp brand concepts to find the most appropriate funding solutions for an organization, often asking questions like, “What are your business’s brand identity and brand image?”
To which an occasional understandably confused reply echoes, “Is there a difference between the two terms?”
According to Everest professionals, the essential difference between brand identity and brand image is how each term is perceived in relation to brand perspectives.
What is Brand Identity?
Brand identity is born when a company develops the elements they desire to use when defining a brand to generate a specifically targeted image in consumers’ minds. The brand owner or the company that brings the brand to existence through tangible and conceptual components is in control of the brand identity.
The generalized definition of brand identity is how a company or brand owner wants the brand to be perceived and answers the question, “Who are we, truly?” Communicating this desired representation to tie together the company’s brand message with the inclusion of brand personality and brand voice requires a critical and strategic thinking process. Forming the brand identity involves compiling a list of ingredients originating from the organization’s missions, values, vision, long-term goals, target audience relevance, and position in the competitive market.
Brand identity acts as a symbol for a brand owner’s reality and is an active goal and set standard established by the brand owner of where a business strives to be, putting in place a pledge a company makes to its consumers. The brand identity consists of many various constituents such as the brand name, logo, slogan or tagline, social media content, business cards, packaging, employee uniforms, web design, and more. These pieces include logo, design, and color intending to help customers quickly recognize a specific company’s brand and separate it from other brands.
What is Brand Image?
The perception of the brand image lies in the hands and minds of consumers and is an outside perspective looking in on a brand. The general concept defining brand image is how the market discerns a brand and the company the brand belongs to based on the receiver’s or the consumer’s concluding thoughts accumulated through ideas, opinions, impressions, feelings, and beliefs.
The manner in which brand image signifies consumer insight and illustrates the views of others leads it to only exist on the surface and hold a label described as superficial. One brand could be attached to multiple different consumer perceptions. A consumer’s perception of a brand can be influenced by and even limited to personal experiences, interactions, and levels of exposure. Customers’ buying and receiving process forces the subconscious, or conscious, to formulate a mental picture connected with whatever the consumer acquires, whether that be a service or product.
How Does Brand Identity Influence Brand Image?
A company that makes forming and sculpting its brand identity a focal point discovers that brand image will ultimately follow. In most cases, a positive brand image is the outcome of awareness and attractiveness, granting brand identity the ability to generate powerful influence on the composition of brand image. Successful brand identities that positively stand apart from competitors consistently align with its brand image.
About Everest Business Funding
Everest Business Funding is a small business owner’s trusted partner. They support entrepreneurs by providing them with working capital to expand their business and operations. The entire application, approval, and funding process is completed in record time. When you need cash for equipment, staff, renovations, inventory, marketing, or anything else, Everest Business Funding can help.