As someone drawn to entrepreneurship, I’ve started several businesses through my life -some successful, some not too successful-. But what made the difference between my successful and not successful endeavors? Understanding the difference and relationship between brand, brand identity, and branding. Once I was able to recognize this, transmitting my message to my end customer became easier, and my customer count increased.

Let’s get straight into it!

Brand is your promise to the customer and how you execute on this promise. In other words, brand is the meaning and emotions that the public attach to your business, product, and/or service. Think about it this way, what people are saying about your business when you’re not around, that is your brand.

Brand identity is what we think of when we hear of the term “brand”, it is the design of your brand. With your brand identity you appeal to the senses of customers because it is something tangible, this is what draws them to your business. Elements that can be part of your brand identity are: logos, color palette, and fonts. In order for your brand identity to have full impact on your ideal customers, it is very important that you keep your brand identity consistent.

Branding is the combination and management of the two definitions above. Branding encompasses the emotional and tangible aspects of your business, and how the public perceives them. Through branding, businesses create recognition and increase loyalty.

Learning how these three components work separately -and together- makes it easier for you to understand your business as a whole, which in turns makes your message to the public clear. A clear message will be rewarded with more customers and most importantly loyal customers.

I’ve created a worksheet to help you create your branding guide here.