When a fashion-forward shopper looks for an eye-catching evening clutch for their next soirée, one by Rebecca Minkoff might come to mind. An adventurer looking for a reliable yet stylish bag for an upcoming hiking excursion might immediately picture a Herschel backpack. And someone looking to turn their living space into a haven of comfort and style might envision an Ashley Furniture collection.
When a buyer instinctively identifies your business as the solution to their needs, it’s a sign you’ve built a strong, consistent brand image. This usually stems from carefully positioning your business amid a sea of competitors. Here’s why a strong brand image matters and how to foster one for your business.
What is brand image?
Brand image is the collective impression consumers have about your company or product. Personal interactions with your business, advertising, social media posts, and word-of-mouth chatter all shape this perception.
Your brand’s reputation can range from highly positive (think associations with sustainable practices, luxury appeal, or unmatched quality) to decidedly negative (for example, if customers view your products as out of touch, overpriced, or poor quality).
Brand image vs. brand identity
The two terms sound similar but differ in a few key ways:
Brand image
Brand image refers to how customers and the general public perceive your company or product. It’s the outside perspective that develops over time based on consumers’ interpretations of your messaging and their experiences with your brand.
Brand identity
Brand identity is how your company intends for customers and the public to perceive it. It encompasses the internal view and values that guide your brand’s presentation to the world, as well as your visual identity, messaging intentions, and tone of voice. You might reflect these characteristics in your brand’s mission statement.
Ideally, your brand image aligns with your brand identity. For example, a skincare brand might cultivate a brand identity around natural, science-backed formulations, which successfully translates into a brand image that reflects trust in their effective, gentle products.
Why is a positive brand image important?
- Justify higher price points
- Attract and retain loyal customers
- Benefit from the halo effect
- Recruit top-tier talent
- Build reputational resilience
A tarnished image can ensure potential customers never enter your store or click Add to Cart online. Cultivating a positive brand image, on the other hand, can build brand equity, attracting new and repeat business.
Here’s what you can achieve with a stellar brand image:
Justify higher price points
Brands with a solid reputation can command more for their products without driving customers away. When customers trust your product’s quality, they’re willing to pay more. This pricing isn’t just about padding profits—it can enable your brand to invest in better materials and uphold the high standards that established its reputation.
Attract and retain loyal customers
A strong brand image is like a magnet, attracting new customers through a reputation that precedes you. It can also help you retain existing customers.
Brand loyalty reduces customer churn by encouraging repeat business and decreasing the likelihood of customers switching to competitors. For instance, customer loyalty might mean a home cook starts with one of your frying pans and ends up with a kitchen full of your gear, from spatulas to stockpots.
Benefit from the halo effect
When customers fall in love with one aspect of your business, it can spill over to other offerings. That’s the halo effect in action. This goodwill makes it easier to branch out beyond your flagship product or classic line. You might start out selling plants, but thanks to the halo effect, customers also become interested in your pots and planters.
Recruit top-tier talent
It could seem like you’re competing against thousands of job postings online for top talent, but that might not always be true. Potential employees often seek out companies whose values and products resonate with them on a personal level. A positive brand image can inspire potential candidates to apply.
This could mean spending less time and fewer resources on outbound recruiting and increasing inbound interest from candidates who are already aligned with your brand ethos.
Build reputational resilience
A positive brand image is a reservoir of goodwill you can draw upon in times of need. Businesses inevitably stumble. A strong brand image in the eyes of customers can counterbalance a viral negative review on TikTok or internal strife at your company. Your ability to address issues with your brand image directly may ultimately be what customers remember.
Tips for improving your brand image
- Develop a distinct and consistent brand identity
- Boost the quality of your products
- Build brand awareness with strategic marketing
- Improve your online and offline buying experience
- Survey customers about brand perception
Brand image building requires effort. Here’s how to make progress:
Develop a distinct and consistent brand identity
Your brand identity informs your brand image, ultimately helping your business stand out and make a memorable impression. It should, therefore, inform your brand personality, such as your decisions around voice and tone, color palette, logo, and visual style—from the models donning your attire to the fonts you use in your email newsletters. To shape a positive brand image, make these elements consistent across every brand surface, whether you’re a brick-and-mortar store with physical displays or an ecommerce site with branded pop-up forms.
Colourpop, a cosmetics company, has built a vibrant brand personality around fun, bright, colorful products that resonate with its young, trend-savvy audience. The brand’s playful approach extends to the marketing language across its website and social media presence. For instance, a call to action (CTA) button on the brand’s website reads “GET CHEEKY.”
Boost the quality of your products
Poor brand image can result from poor product quality. Brand image is not just about marketing and perception; real-life interactions with your products also influence how customers see you and your products. Your brand ethos (or brand principles) must align with actual customer experiences; a disconnect between the two can damage your brand’s reputation.
If your customer reviews consistently point out a specific issue—like fragile packaging or inconsistent sizing—act on this feedback. Addressing these concerns and pulling defective or subpar products from shelves may be costly in the short term, but it pays dividends in the long run.
Build brand awareness with strategic marketing
It’s easy to equate brand awareness with blanket exposure, but strategic marketing requires a more delicate approach. To heighten your brand image, focus on targeted efforts that connect with your ideal audience where they are. You might put most of your ad dollars toward advertising on Pinterest to attract DIY enthusiasts for your line of home improvement tools and accessories, or partner with a popular online influencer in your niche for a digital campaign.
Ateliers Auguste, a Paris-based leather goods brand, frequently uses influencer marketing to put its bags in front of buyers. It teamed up with YouTube luxury reviewer Maria Draganova, who has more than 180,000 subscribers, to feature its Gabriel Gold Edition bag, securing Ateliers Auguste a spot in front of an audience already keen on luxury bag reviews.
Improve your online and offline buying experience
Your brand image is closely tied to the customer experience during a purchase. A thoughtful approach to your online and offline buying experiences can create a long-lasting, positive impression that keeps customers coming back.
Here’s how to improve your online buying experience:
- Simplify your checkout process. Reduce the number of steps to purchase something on both desktop and mobile devices. Consider adding a guest checkout option or one-click checkout.
- Provide all the necessary information. Offer detailed product descriptions, high-quality, multi-angle images, and authentic customer reviews to help customers make a purchase decision.
- Nurture the post-purchase relationship. Send follow-up emails with product-specific tips or care guides. For kitchen cookware, you might share dinner recipes; for clothing, offer styling suggestions for special occasions and casual hangouts.
Here are a few ways to improve your in-person shopping experience:
- Equip your staff with product knowledge. Ensure your team can provide expert advice and recommendations in the store, making the visit to your storefront worthwhile.
- Create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Pay attention to the store layout, lighting, and music to create a memorable atmosphere that serves as another brand touchpoint.
- Consider an omnichannel approach. Allow customers to easily transition between online and in-store experiences. For example, offer curbside pickup for online orders, or provide in-store tablets where shoppers can browse your entire online catalog.
Survey customers about brand perception
One way to improve your brand image and command higher prices is to collect brand perception data. Gain insights into your brand image by conducting customer surveys, social media sentiment analysis, and studies. This can help you understand the words and feelings consumers associate with your brand so you can build a better business-customer relationship and set price points that maximize your return on investment (ROI).
For example, if you learn that consumers associate your brand with luxury and frequently buy your products as gifts for others, you might begin charging premium prices and offering optional gift wrapping with every purchase.
Belstaff: An example of an effective brand image
Not many companies have reached 100 years in business, but the British apparel brand Belstaff has been operating since 1924. Embracing its rich heritage, the company has cultivated a long-lasting brand image while adapting to its modern customers’ needs. Under the guidance of chief brand officer Jodie Harrison, Belstaff reintroduces archival pieces alongside new products, maintaining a connection to its history while still appealing to contemporary consumers.
At one point, leadership felt the brand was intertwined too deeply with celebrity culture, with the clothing popular on film sets and fashionable movie stars. So they moved the brand away from celebrity endorsements, shifting the focus to real people and their connections to Belstaff products. For instance, the brand’s 2022 “Old Is Good” campaign highlighted the apparel’s timeless style and longevity and tapped into the value consumers place on sustainability.
“It was quite a simple idea in that it really focused on why age is a beautiful thing, and age should be celebrated in this era of celebrating new and young,” Jodie says in an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “Being able to buy a coat, wear it for 50 years, and then pass it on to your son, it’s actually a really lovely part of what makes Belstaff special.” By balancing its heritage with innovation, Belstaff has positioned itself as a brand synonymous with quality and enduring style.
Brand image FAQ
How do you measure the success of your company’s brand image?
You can measure your brand image’s success by conducting customer surveys, analyzing social media sentiments, and testing whether consumers are willing to pay premium pricing for your products.
What is a strong brand image?
A strong brand image is when your target audience consistently views your company and products positively and in alignment with your intended brand identity and values.
Why is brand image important?
A strong brand image allows your business to justify premium pricing, attract and retain customers, expand your product line, recruit better talent, and build reputational resilience.
