What is a Brand Strategy? Free Guide Included
Building a strong brand is vital for a business’s long-term success. A well-defined brand strategy will build you a strong brand. A strong brand not only helps businesses stand out but helps returning customers remain loyal to your brand, while influencing new customers to give your brand a try. After all, first impressions are important, especially when it comes to your brand, and experts say we have but a few seconds to make a good first impression.
But what exactly is a brand strategy? And how can businesses go about developing one? We at Brand Cloud are here to help. While our main focus is helping you manage your brand, the first step to good a great brand is a great strategy. Therefore, we are here to break down brand strategies and we even include a free guide to building your own.
What is a Brand Strategy?
Put simply, a brand strategy is like a roadmap for your brand. It will define how your brand is positioned in the market, as well as how it communicates with your audience. It includes everything from how the brand looks (logo, color scheme, fonts used), to its identity, to its preferred marketing channels. Essentially, a brand strategy is the foundation your brand is built upon, and having a strong one will ensure your brand has continued longevity.
A solid brand strategy helps establish a clear and cohesive brand identity, making it easier for consumers to recognize and connect with the brand. Additionally, a well-defined brand strategy builds trust, as it communicates consistency and reliability to consumers.
Developing a Brand Strategy: An 8-Step Guide
Now that we’ve laid the groundwork, let’s dive into the process of developing a brand strategy. Here’s an easy to understand step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Define Your Brand Identity:
The first step in developing a brand strategy is to define your brand identity. This involves many parts, such as:
A Mission Statement
Your mission statement should succinctly articulate the purpose and values of your brand. It should explain the what, why, and how your brand does what it does. At the same time, keeping the message simple and concise. For example, Etsy’s mission statement is “To keep human connection at the heart of commerce.” This statement shows the what (commerce), the why (keep human connection), and the how is the statement as a whole. Etsy is a brand that is focused on handmade and human-made products. Their brand as a whole, steers away from automation and this shows in their mission statement. For more examples of good mission statements check out Forbes list here.
A Vision Statement
While they may seem similar, a mission statement is what your company is doing now, a vision statement is where your brand aspires to go in the future. Your vision statement should outline the future you envision for your brand and the impact you aspire to make. The types of vision statements are as varied as there are types of companies, for examples of some quality brand vision statements, check out this list here.
Brand Values
Finally, it is equally important to identify the core principles and beliefs that your brand stands for, to make sure they resonate with your target audience. Is your brand focused on sustainability? Customer collaboration? Product quality? Whatever your brand values are, make sure they are authentic and resonate with your target audience.
Today’s consumers aren’t satisfied with just buzzwords or empty marketing attempts. For example, if you want to attract an audience that is focused on sustainability, make sure you are truly committed to making sustainable change. Greenwashing may have worked in the past for companies, but customers are more alert to this kind of marketing tactic, and it could backfire on your brand. As stated before, you want your brand to truly resonate with your target audience.
Which leads us to our next step:
Step 2: Understand Your Target Audience:
To effectively communicate with your target audience, you need to understand who they are and what motivates them. This involves looking into your product itself. What does it bring to customers? What service does it provide, or what problem does it solve? After determining this, you can focus on the kind of people who want this solution or service. Who are the people (buyer personas) interested in your brand? This can range from age, job, education, and hobbies, to where they consume their media.
An easy way to get a good look at your target audience is by following these characteristics:
By gaining a deeper understanding of your target audience, you can tailor your brand strategy to resonate with their preferences and personal goals.
Step 3: Competitive Analysis:
One of the worst things your brand can be is forgettable. In a crowded marketplace, it’s even more important to differentiate your brand from competitors. Conducting a competitive analysis allows you to identify your competitors and analyze their brand positioning, messaging, strengths, and weaknesses. But what should you include in a competitive analysis? To truly understand your competitors, we recommend using the 7 Ps:
Products
What is your competitor selling? Is their product different from yours? How?
Pricing
How different are the costs between you and your competitor? Is it in a pricing model whereas yours is fixed? Do they have more options than your brand? Do they offer discounts or other value?
People
Who is your competitor targeting? They may be slightly different than your target audience, why? What is their current reputation with their audience? What needs are your competitors satisfying that you are not?
Promotion
What marketing channels is your competitor using? How does their website compare to yours? What does their social media look like in comparison? Do they reach out to their audience on different platforms? Do they use different posting methods?
Polarity
What makes your product different? Why is your brand superior to your competitors?
Power
What strengths does your brand have? Are you faster at delivering your product than your competitors? Is your product more secure? Do you offer a sustainable option for a product that no other competitor does?
Pitfalls
What are your brand’s weaknesses? Is your pricing too high compared to your competitor? Is your user experience on your site lacking? Do you not have a strong social media presence?
By understanding what sets your brand apart from competitors, you can leverage these aspects to your advantage and carve out a better position in the market.
Step 4: Brand Positioning:
Brand positioning refers to how you want your brand to be perceived in the minds of your target audience. For example, at a restaurant would a typical customer ask for an RC Cola or a Coke? When someone gets a papercut do they ask for a bandage or Band-Aid? These brands have strong brand positioning in the market. For some of them, the brands are so strong, they become generic terms in and of themselves.
Carving out your brand ‘s positioning involves defining your brand’s unique value and identifying key brand attributes and benefits that differentiate your brand from competitors. This can seem similar to our past steps, and in a way it is. Figuring out your brand position means taking into account your brand’s messaging, vision, and audience first.
Ultimately, your goal is to develop a positioning statement that succinctly communicates your brand’s value proposition and target market, setting the stage for all branding efforts.
Step 5: Brand Messaging:
In a world where the average consumer sees around 10,000 advertisements a day. And as such, most people have found a way to tune most of them out. Therefore, crafting a compelling brand story is an excellent way to connect with your target audience.
Your brand story should communicate your brand’s values, mission, and unique selling points. Additionally, your brand story should tonal guidelines, to ensure consistency across your brand. You want your audience to know it’s your brand the second they see it. This includes creating taglines and slogans that encapsulate your brand’s essence and value.
Step 6: Brand Identity:
Now for the fun part, what does your brand look like? Visual elements play a crucial role in brand identity, as they are often the first point of contact between your brand and consumers. Designing visual elements such as logos, color palettes, typography, and imagery helps reinforce your brand identity. As stated before, you want your audience to know it’s your brand the very second they see it. It’s important to ensure consistency in visual branding across all touchpoints, including your website, social media profiles, marketing materials, and packaging, to create a cohesive brand experience.
Step 7: Marketing and Communication Channels:
Choosing the right marketing and communication channels is vital for reaching your target audience. Whether it’s through social media, content marketing, email marketing, or paper advertising, it’s crucial to select the right channels. If you only market through email marketing, but the majority of your audience gets their information from social media, you are effectively invisible to your audience. This calls back to target audience research, as it is important to know where they spend their time. You also want to ensure that your brand’s communication channel matches your brand identity and values as well.
Step 8: Measurement and Optimization:
Finally, no strategy is going to be effective without proper measuring and optimization. Continually checking in on your brand strategy will ensure it is doing its best to boost your brand. After all, your brand strategy is like your brand ‘s foundation, you want to make sure it’s not built on sand.
To measure the effectiveness of your brand strategy, it is important to gather insights and feedback from your target audience. Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) allows you to track the success of your branding efforts, whether it’s brand awareness, brand perception, customer engagement, or sales performance. By regularly doing this, you can identify areas for improvement and refine your brand strategy to ensure that it remains relevant and resonates with your audience in an ever-evolving marketplace.
In conclusion, crafting a strong brand strategy is essential for businesses looking to establish a distinctive identity, build trust and credibility, and connect with their target audience effectively. This simple 8-step guide can help build that foundation. Remember that building a strong brand takes time and consistent effort, so if you want expert help in managing your brand, reach out to us at Brand Cloud. Our experts in brand development will be sure to continuously evaluate and refine your brand strategy to ensure that it lifts your brand to new heights.