What’s Your Identity?
The terms brand and identity are often used interchangeably which causes confusion when businesses are trying to create relationships with their customers.
Your brand is what people see - colors, logos, tagline, etc. Your identity is who you are, at the heart of your business.
The best way to be clear about your identity is to be clear about your core values. What are the values that your company stands for, operates under, advertises with, employs for?
Once you’ve established your core values, every decision you make becomes more clear. If it’s in line with your core values, your identity remains congruent and relatable.
Your audience or market wants and needs to know exactly who you are. Your core values will form and reinforce your identity, making it much easier for your audience to understand who you are and relate to you and, ultimately, buy from you and remain a loyal customer, even a raving fan.
The National Park Service has created an excellent resource for understanding core values and what they are and aren’t. If you don’t yet have your core values identified, or it’s time to reassess them, this is a great place to start.
Others will benefit if you’re willing to share one of your core values - leave it in a comment, thanks!