Corporate identity in creating a favorable company image

When you start a company or a corporation, the corporation is given a name, a personality that becomes its identity. Corporations and companies are often humanized in different ways to create a connection with the target audience of the products so that people can start buying the products from the company.

This unique identity is usually seen through the brand image and corporate identity of the mentioned corporation. The unique corporate identity of the company is what differentiates it from its competitors. In the world of branding, what exactly is the corporate identity, and how can the company use it in its favor?

What is a corporate identity?
The corporate identity of a company is how it presents itself to its user base and its audiences. These audiences could be internal and external audiences. The corporate identity comes through in the way that the company behaves, portrays itself, and advertises itself. Generally, in all its interactions, the corporate identity of the company comes through. The corporate identity is the way in which the company is recognized by the audience. The corporate identity of a company is not just for the consumers and users but for the stakeholders, partners, and employees too.

The corporate identity projection extends to the audience members like customers, media, and other people like leads who are not yet active users.

Elements of corporate identity
For a strong corporate identity, the company has to focus on different elements and characteristics of the company. There are three main elements of creating a robust corporate identity that will help a company in creating a brand image and a positive extension of itself in the consumers' minds.

Corporate communication
Communication is an important element for any person or company. How the company communicates with its internal and external audience makes all the difference to how the company is perceived. The corporate communication channels that the company has should be used to create a strong, interesting image that is aligned with its brand values.

Communication should happen in all channels in such a way that there is a uniform image of the brand in the mind of the internal and external audiences. Often, the communication with the internal audience is different from the communication the company has with its external audience.

While there should be some level of difference, there should be meeting points between the company's communication with its stakeholders and the way it communicates with its external audience. You cannot create a strong and authentic brand image if there are two completely different channels and impressions of communication.

65 percent of consumers say that the way a company's CEO and employees portray themselves influences their purchase decisions. Therefore, companies cannot ignore the way they speak inside their workflow. These days, the external audience has a lot of channels to communicate with the company and form an opinion of it. The company has to focus on internal communication, media relations, and the paid communication that goes out to the external audience. The company also has to focus on spreading positive messages through investors and other channels.

Corporate design
Just like corporate communication, corporate design also plays a huge role in the process of conceiving a strong brand image. The corporate design creates the visual identity of the company for the investors, the customers, and other stakeholders. The visual identity is very crucial for the brand created and the image projected. People take in visual information better than other modes of information.

The company should have a good design team that can create visual elements like logo and product packaging that leaves a strong impression on the minds of the people who come in contact with it. When creating the visual identity, the company team has to pay attention to the theme color, the images used, the fonts, and the typography.

The shapes and lines of the design also make a difference. You might think that color and theme are very simple things that do not need a lot of attention. But choosing the right color and a unique theme color signature can improve your brand identity by 80 percent. Logos, colors, and themes contribute a lot to the creation of a strong brand image. The website and internal design of the company can help you create an online visual identity.

Corporate behavior 
The way the company behaves with its stakeholders and audience creates and reinforces the corporate identity. In an era of humanizing corporate entities, their behavior towards different people, investors, users, and their base is how they are perceived. A corporate entity is faced with different situations to which it has to react and take decisions accordingly. The way the corporate entity takes social responsibility, its customer service, and its efforts at maintaining social media communication all make up its behavior.

The behavior the company displays also creates a part of its brand persona and image. When doing the exercises to determine corporate behavior, make sure you are able to identify the touchpoints and see the changes that can be made. There will be a lot of room for improvement on the customer service front and the way the company interacts with its stakeholders. If you have good corporate communication and behavior for your company, then make efforts to maintain it consistently.

Why is corporate identity-building important?
Corporate identity is a bit different from brand identity. While brand identity is more aligned with the external audience, corporate identity is toward the internal and external audiences. While corporate identity should be relatable, it should also be strong and higher than what you would expect of a personal brand.

A strong corporate identity differentiates your company from other companies in the market and also ensures that your company is remembered by its users. Companies with strong corporate identities enjoy better reputations and also command more relevance in the market niche.

There are many examples of corporate identity, and most of these are today giants of their own market. If you wish to create a market presence that extends beyond the brand and product lines, creating a uniform, unique corporate identity for the corporation is important, along with following the latest marketing trends that change every year. When you have a strong corporate identity backing you, you will be successful with any brand you launch under its umbrella.