Discover ways JCREATIVE-DESIGN uses Brand Substance Pillars: Vision • Mission • Purpose • Values to help shape a cohesive brand system and the impact on website design and brand culture.
Website and Graphic Designers are commonly associated with developing and designing Brand Identities and Websites. However, JCREATIVE-DESIGN also leans into Brand Development and Strategy. The reality is Brand Development and Strategy play a significant role in the success of your business and its website. For that reason, JCREATIVE-DESIGN ensures that your brand is woven across all touch points with consistent, clear brand messaging.
JCREATIVE-DESIGN utilizes BRAND MARKET STRATEGY as a mechanism to build a cohesive brand system, starting with the development of your Internal Brand | Brand Substance and Brand Positioning. These components define the foundation of your business and provide structure for your management team and its decision-making, internally and externally, throughout every aspect of operations, production, service, sales and support.
This post covers the importance of defining and articulating Brand Substance. Building a solid framework for Brand Substance will provide clarity in communicating your brand consistently, create a positive perception for customers and stakeholders, and build trust by demonstrating brand values through actions, products, services and communication.
Leveraging your company's BRAND SUBSTANCE: Purpose, Vision, Mission and Values is an effective tactic by engaging and aligning with customers and targeting those customer segments.
BRAND SUBSTANCE Guides
decisions and culture
How a brand is perceived greatly impacts its success, whether it is a start-up, an established business, a product or a non-profit organization. BRAND SUBSTANCE provides a clear framework that helps guide a company's actions, decisions and culture. By encompassing your company's purpose, vision, mission and core values helps to structure your brand's essence. Consistent integration into brand messaging, as well as throughout your business operations + communication, website, social media and brand collateral builds trust and loyalty with customers and stakeholders.
PURPOSE: When you lead your company with Purpose, it guides your decision making and helps build customer loyalty by living out that purpose through visible actions. Purpose defines why your company exists beyond making a profit. It also articulates a broader significance of your company's work which inspires employees and stakeholders by connecting them to a higher cause.
VISION: Long term goal development or Vision is essential in that it can benefit and improve your brand over time. This "aspirational goal" is reflective of your unique brand values and where you see your brand going in the future. It can be indicative of how you want your brand to impact it's industry or customers.
This will attract ideal customers to your business who agree with or take an interest in your company vision serving as a bridge to your brand. It can also serve as a compelling image of what success looks like and guide strategic planning by motivating individuals and/or employees to work towards a common goal.
MISSION: Your brand's business, expertise, profession - what it does, where it operates, how it does things, what customers it caters to, what products and services it provides and the problems it solves. Mission, although fundamental and straightforward, requires strategic thought and can be particularly interesting when diving into differentiation.
VALUES: "The Blueprint for How Things Should Be Done." This phrase is a great analogy in terms of business values. Brand Values are the way your brand will reach its goals and the fundamental beliefs that impact it. Company values also act as a compass in guiding business decisions across the board: policies, products, services, marketing, communication, customer service.
An excellent example of company who interweaves Brand Substance Values into business culture and operations is Chick-fil-a. An expression of gratitude that employees were trained to say, "It was my pleasure." Also, the management decision of being closed on Sundays for their employees well being. A "simple" value of courtesy woven into the fabric of your business can be that golden rule that impacts your business within its industry and provides a connection with customers improving their experience!
Here a Chic-fil-a article by Inc.com on how their branding approach:
What things can your business do or policies that it can develop to instill managerial belief systems based on Company Values?
PILLARS OF BRAND SUBSTANCE
IMPORTANT REASONS TO DEFINE + ARTICULATE BRAND SUBSTANCE
Clarity and Direction: These pillars provide clarity about what the brand stands for and where it is headed. They articulate the long-term vision and mission, guiding the company's decisions and actions.
Consistency: Articulating these pillars helps maintain consistency in messaging and actions across various touch points. Consistency builds trust and credibility with customers, as they know what to expect from the brand.
Brand Promise + Trust: Brand Substance reinforces the brand promise and builds trust with customers. Consistently delivering products and services that align with the brand's values and meet customer expectations fosters trust and loyalty over time, strengthening the brand's reputation.
Customer Experience: Brand Substance shapes the overall customer experience associated with products and services. Brands with a customer-centric focus strive to create positive interactions and meaningful connections at every touchpoint, reflecting their commitment to customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Differentiation: Brand Substance pillars can be used to differentiate the brand from its competitors. They highlight what makes the brand unique and why customers should choose it over competitors. When effectively communicated, they create a distinct identity in the minds of existing and potential customers.
Product Development: Brand Substance guides product development by defining what the brand stands for and the value it aims to deliver to customers. Products are designed and developed with the brand's mission, purpose and values in mind, ensuring they align with the brand's identity and resonate with its target audience.
Brand Extension and Diversification: Brand substance informs decisions about brand extensions and diversification into new product categories or service offerings. Brands can leverage their core values and purpose to expand into related areas that complement their existing portfolio, maintaining consistency and coherence across their offerings..
Inspiration + Motivation: Clear brand substance pillars inspire and motivate both employees and customers. They provide a sense of purpose beyond just making profits, fostering a deeper connection and commitment to the brand.
Resilience and Adaptability: A strong foundation of brand substance pillars enables the brand to navigate challenges and changes effectively. It provides a framework for decision-making during times of uncertainty, ensuring that the brand stays true to its core identity
Sustainability and Social Responsibility: Brand Substance drives initiatives related to sustainability, social responsibility and ethical practices in product development and manufacturing. Brands that prioritize environmental stewardship, for example, and integrate these values into their products and services will resonate with like-minded socially conscious consumers.
Quality + Standards: Brand Substance sets the standards for product quality and consistency. Brands with a strong commitment to integrity and excellence ensure that their products meet or exceed customer expectations, reflecting the brand's values or trustworthiness and reliability.
How Brand Substance Influences Website Design
The fundamental impact and importance of Brand Substance ensures that the website design effectively represents the brand, engages visitors, and supports the brand's overall strategic objectives.
Visual Identity: The visual elements of a website are influenced directly by Brand Substance, including the colors, typography, imagery and overall design style. For example, if a brand's values emphasize simplicity and modernity, the website should follow that tone with clean lines, minimalist layouts and contemporary fonts.
Brand Messaging: The content and messaging on the website should communicate the brand's mission, vision and values clearly and effectively. This includes appropriate placement of mission statements and value propositions, which can also be woven into content and ads to convey those elements.
User Experience (UX): Brand Substance can influence the overall user experience of the website. Design decisions are often made with Brand Identity in mind which is influenced by Brand Substance.
Emotional Connection: A website's design should convey the brand essence and evoke the emotions and feelings associate with the brand's values and purpose. Whether it's through the use of imagery, language, or interactive elements, the website should strive to create a memorable and emotionally resonant experience for visitors.
Cohesive Identity: Brand Substance influences the brand identity and should be conveyed consistently across all brand touch points, including the website while reinforcing key brand messages.
Differentiation: Brand Substance helps differentiate the brand from competitors which plays a powerful role in marketing content of the website. This can include unique visual elements, innovative features, or compelling storytelling related to the brand. The website should highlight what sets the brand apart and why visitors should choose your website over alternatives.
Value Proposition Communication: Brand Subtance can be clearly communicated on the website, emphasizing how products, services and offerings fulfill customer needs and deliver unique benefits. The use of persuasive messaging and visuals highlighting value-based differentiation to enhance and improve engagement..
Long-Term Strategy: Brand Substance is an important guide for long-term strategic decisions about the website's evolution and growth. As the brand evolves and expands the website should adapt to reflect these changes while staying true to the brand core identity and values.
JCREATIVE-DESIGN can facilitate your brand refinement step-by-step. Branding is included for both Website Packages: Premier and Enterprise. Schedule a Free Consultation to discuss your website and how JCREATIVE-DESIGN blends web design with strategy through effective Branding + Website Design.
SUMMARY
Incorporating Brand Substance into branding and website design ensures that your brand properly reflects your company vision, mission, purpose and values. Proper alignment of these pillars throughout your company's decision making, as well as internal and external communication will build a solid brand foundation that will differentiate your company's unique products, talents and services in the marketplace.
The next step of BRAND SUBSTANCE: Brand Positioning.
NEXT STEP FOR "DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND": BRAND POSITIONING
Defining Your BRAND SUBSTANCE is the first step in developing the way you want your products, services and business perceived by those who experience it. JCREATIVE-DESIGN | BRAND MEETS STRATEGY blog explores developing BRAND POSITIONING - how differentiation can be used to gain the attention of specific customer personas in your marketplace and stand out from the competition.
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