Those who are chosen have a consistent 'identity.' How to refine your business impression.

Hello, this is Iguchi.

As a sole proprietor, I explore web marketing and sales promotion methods that can be practiced even with a small budget, testing hypotheses and verifying them every day.

In this note, I focus on marketing terms that you might have heard of but are often used in a vague way. Based on my own research and real-life experience, I have summarized them in the simplest language possible.

I hope that even those who are not comfortable with technical jargon will find this helpful and think, 'I see, that's what that means.'

By the way, have you ever heard of 'Corporate Identity (CI)'?

Just hearing the name makes it sound like some 'big corporate jargon,' and you might feel a bit intimidated.

I didn't get it at all at first either.

But as I reviewed my content, design, and daily interactions, I suddenly realized something.

'Isn't this incredibly important for sole proprietors and freelancers?'

Your SNS icon has a casual vibe, but your posts are too stiff.
You sell yourself on 'friendliness,' but your emails are formal and cold.
Only your website is strangely stylish, and it doesn't match your personality...

When things are scattered like this, customers get confused, wondering, 'What kind of person is this?' and it doesn't lead to trust.

Actually, this 'inconsistency' is the key point that CI teaches us.

In this article, I will gently explain Corporate Identity (CI) using concrete examples while avoiding difficult technical terms.

By the time you finish reading, you should be able to easily understand, 'Oh, that's why CI is important!' and find hints you can apply to your own business.

So, let's take a look together!

First of all, what is 'Corporate Identity (CI)'?

First, I looked up the meaning of the term.
Generally, it is explained as follows.

Hmm... that's still a bit stiff.

It is said that it is important to unify three major elements: Philosophy (Mind), Behavior, and Visuals.

It looks difficult because of the many technical terms, but in my own words, it basically boils down to this:

'Unifying your business so that both the content and the appearance are not inconsistent when you say, "This is the kind of business we are!"'

To put it more simply, it is 'unifying your identity.'

If you compare it to a person, is their 'character setting' consistent?

This was very easy to understand when compared to a human.

Imagine this.
Suppose you have a friend, Person A, who is a 'healing character who loves nature.'

• Philosophy (Thinking): Always saying, 'I want to cherish the global environment.'

• Visuals (Appearance): Wears clothes made of natural materials and carries items with gentle colors.

• Behavior (Conduct): Participates in trash-picking volunteer work on weekends and speaks in a gentle manner.

If it's this Person A, you can easily understand, 'Oh, that's the kind of person they are,' and you can trust them, right?

This is the state where 'CI (Corporate Identity) is well-organized.'

But what if Person A were like this?

• Philosophy: Saying 'Cherish nature!'

• Visuals: Wearing a spiky leather jacket and skull accessories (a rock-and-roll look).

• Actions: Littering on the street and being arrogant toward shop staff.

...Wait a minute, don't you want to point out that what they're saying and what they're doing are completely different?

You end up feeling distrustful, wondering, 'What does this person actually want to do?'

CI (Corporate Identity) is about eliminating this mismatch between 'what you say,' 'what you do,' and 'how you look' in a company or business, and creating consistency.

How should freelancers use it?

So, let's think about this using the example of us sole proprietors and freelancers.
Actually, CI isn't just about 'making a logo.'

For example, let's say you are a freelanceWeb designer.

Let's assume your concept is 'Friendly design that is easy for beginners to understand' (this is your philosophy).

And yet...

• Website design: Using black and red, it looks too sharp and cool (visual mismatch).

• SNS icon: A selfie wearing sunglasses that looks a bit unapproachable (visual mismatch).

• Email correspondence: Full of technical jargon, creating a formal atmosphere that makes it hard to ask questions (behavioral mismatch).

With this, even if you are selling 'friendliness,' customers will feel anxious, thinking, 'Is it really easy to consult with them? They seem scary...', and they will hesitate to hire you.

If you incorporate the CI approach here, it changes like this.

1. Reconfirm philosophy: Decide that 'friendliness is the greatest value.'

2. Unify visuals: Change your website and business cards to warm colors and rounded fonts. Make your SNS icon a smiling photo or a gentle illustration.

3. Unify actions: Standardize your email phrasing to use soft language like 'Please feel free to ask me anything anytime.'

By aligning everything around the axis of 'friendliness' like this, customers will intuitively find it easier to choose you, thinking, 'Oh, I can trust this person!'

This is the effect of CI for sole proprietors and freelancers.

Summary: Let's start by 'refining' things

At first, I thought, 'Isn't this just for big companies?' but after looking into it, I realized that for individuals, the person's own character directly leads to business trust, so the CI approach is incredibly important.

You don't have to make a fancy logo right away.

First, check if your 'business card,' 'SNS icon,' and 'blog atmosphere' are inconsistent.

Just reviewing those is the first step toward solid CI activity.

I'm going to check right away if my website colors match my business card colors.

Why don't you also take a moment to check if your 'authenticity' is scattered?

Thank you for reading until the end.

I hope this article leads to a small realization like 'Oh, so that's what it meant!' or provides a hint for your ideas.

Following me would be a great encouragement.
I will follow back as well ^^