Questions to Ask When Determining Brand Personality
In the business world where competition is critcal, there are certain questions to ask when determining your brand personality. You need to know who you are as a business or a brand. You need to know what your brand means to people or more specifically, your target market. When it comes to brand personality, you need to establish what you want to be seen as in your niche. For example are you a BMW or a Ford, are you a McDonalds or a high-class restaurant? Do you want your business to be seen as a ‘rock star’ or a ‘dependable friend’? These decisions regarding your brand personality must be considered if you want to take your brand to the next level.
If you already have a clear understanding of what your brand personality is and where you want to take it you should be congratulated. Most small businesses owners struggle with determining their brand personality, and developing it for the future.
Here are some questions to ask when determining your brand personality:
How do I want my clients to see my brand?
Be aware that your branding should address the needs and desires of your target market. It doesn’t really matter what you want at the end of the day. What you should always consider is what your customers want or need.
How do my clients presently see me?
If you have no idea how your clients presently see you, come up with a focus group of 10 to 20 people to represent your target segment or your niche. These could be non-clients or clients, whatever is most appropriate to organise for your business. You should have a number of questions to ask them so you can clearly understand what your clients want from you as a brand.
Is there a gap between how I want my brand to be seen and how my clients presently see me?
If there is, what can you do to bridge the gap? Do you see a need for both ends to meet or should you just improve on your present image and change your target market?
As soon as you have gathered the answers to these questions, the next step is to strengthen your brand personality. The following tips will help you define your ultimate brand:
If you don’t already have a name for your business, what could you use to show your brand personality?
This will make it far easier to communicate your brand personality so people can start to form an understanding of who you are as a brand.
What human characteristics do I see in my brand?
It often helps to determine your brand’s gender, age and social class. The work of your brand and even its form of entertainment could also be defined. This may sound a little strange however many branding experts are now recommend this. It helps people to understand personality and relate to your brand if you think of it like a person.
What is the life story of my brand?
People relate with each other and understand each other through story telling. Therefore, it is best for you to come up with a concise biography for your cultivated brand. Try to make it personal and interesting for people to read and relate to. What is the background to your business? Where have you come from as a brand and where are you going?
From here you should develop material to clearly communicate your brand personality and share it with everyone within your business, particularly those in marketing and advertising roles. This will also give your branding a clear direction that will be the basis of your promotion and advertising. Share it with your graphic designer, this way he or she will have an understanding of who you are as a brand and how to communicate that visually, whether that be through logo design or your marketing material.
