20 questions to ask clients when creating or redesigning their corporate brand identity

Conducting research about the client you are creating or redesigning a corporate brand identity is important for an adequate result. Before everything else, understand your client. Then it is important to know why the client wants a new identity and how it will be used. Last but not least it is gold to know your client’s reasons and their motivation — deep within.

Below you can find a set of questions that I found fitting to ask your client before releasing your inspiration into something creative:

Find out about the organization/business/services/product

1. How would you describe your organization/business and how do you feel about what you offer?
   This is a “30 seconds elevator pitch question”, about what the organization/business is about and how the client feels about the work that they are doing.
2. How does your work make the customer’s world a better place?
   It’s all about the customer in the end. Your client should give you a brief idea, what problems they are solving for their target group.
3. What do you like or dislike about the corporate brand identity of your 3 main competitors locally or intentionally?
   Knowing the competitors is very valuable information, to get a better feel for the market and what already works for the target groups in the respective area.
4. What do you do better or different than your competitors?
   It is key to know the USP (unique selling proposition) of a business. It is that shiny part of an apple, when the sunlight is reflecting from it.
5. What is your business’s story?
   People love stories. The story of your client is what should also be ultimately told to the subconscious of the customer through the sprouting brand identity.
6. How would you describe your business with 5 adjectives?

Find out about the reasons and objectives behind the new identity, how and where it should be used after creation

1. Where should your new identity be exposed?
   The identity itself will in a form or another be displayed on a digital or printable medium, which will either be the product itself, the packaging, swag items, self-driving cars, flyers, etc.
2. What has to be changed considering your new brand identity?
   It’s important to know and let the customer think about the “consequences” of a new brand identity and which elements of the customers presence or presentation would require change.
3. Who are your close friends or people you would appreciate their opinion on your new brand identity? Make them your exclusive “decision makers”.
   It is not good to have all customer’s acquaintances, give their two cents about the new brand identity your are designing and influence or confuse your client. Limit therefore the “decision makes” who have a say.
4. When would you like to push through with your new brand identity?
   Knowing the time for change is good for you and your customer. Your customer can accustom to the idea of a new brand identity and you have a schedule you can work with. It’s also good to have a feeling about how attached your customer feels to the old identity. Also tell the customer that we are half-way through the questionnaire.

Find out about your client’s customers and how they are

1. How would you describe your ideal customer?
2. How would you describe the message you want your customers to receive verbally and graphically?
3. Do you have any special preferences, anchor points or guidelines for your new brand identity, which are necessary to you and your customers?
   Less is better. The customer should be surprised by your work, like a child is surprised of a Christmas gift.
4. How would you describe your ideal customer with 5 adjectives?
5. Have you carried out any market research considering your customers — what tendencies appear considering your customers?
   If there is any available market research, use that to your benefit. Don’t start chasing another rabbit.

Find out about the identity itself and what it should express

1. What are the reasons for a new brand identity and why are you seeking a new one at this particular moment?
2. Think about any 3 examples for a poor or week brand identity? Explain why you think these are poor brand identities and what you don’t like about them.
3. Think about any 3 examples for a good or desirable brand identity? Explain why you think these are desirable identities and what you really like about them.
4. In 5 short phrases and/or adjectives, how would you describe your brand’s desired look and feel and emotions it should trigger?
5. In one phrase or adjective, how would you describe your strongest belief or yet what is the most important thing to you personally?
   This last one is quite religious, it will however explain a lot about the ground-up psychological and spiritual motivations of a person.

Inspired by

Bangalore-based award winning advertising agency AdamCreation – a Bangalore-based award winning advertising agency.
https://www.adamscreation.com/

Here is the original post:
https://www.adamscreation.com/blog/creating-a-corporate-brand-identity-make-sure-to-answer-these-20-questions-first/

I find the questions good, however not complete and the wording was not suited for my clients, also the anecdotes are mine. So sorry @aleksandraz for giving you the wrong impression. I did acknowledge the creator before, but I also did my part.