A brand strategy is the Plan Of Attack a business sets for itself to achieve its brand goal. That is, how they want others to view and feel about them. It’s the big-picture vision of how a company gets from A to B.
A well-defined brand strategy is essential for any business whether you’re just starting out or have been up and running for years. It helps focus your vision, define who you are, and clarify how you will achieve your branding goals. We have covered the “how” of branding (marketing, visual identity and website design) in previous posts, and will likely revisit them later.
But for now, let’s take a step back. What even is a brand?
Although they are related, your brand is not your name, your logo, your website, or your marketing activities like your social media or email campaigns. All these things are tools you use to express your brand qualities and articulate your message.
We think one of the best ways to define a brand comes from Jeff Bezos:
“A brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
A brand is how your customers and your customer think, and, more importantly, feel about you. A strong brand helps your business stand out from the competition. Because let’s face it: the ubiquity of digital tools and the massive range of choice your customers have makes the competition fierce.
A strong brand that connects with customers and potential customers is that intangible quality that urges them to choose you instead of your competitor.
What should a killer brand strategy contain?
1. Purpose
Set your intention. Every brand strategy should have a clear vision that defines and articulates the big-picture purpose of the brand. It should outline where you want your brand to be once your brand strategy has been executed. While an increase in sales or customers might be one of your major business motivations, try to focus on what qualities you want your brand to have. Focus on feelings, emotions, and the links your brand has with the world. An excellent place to start is by writing a mission statement that articulates what associations you want your brand to evoke.
2. Experience
In this section, detail the experience you want your customers to have with your brand. Imagine your ideal customer and walk through their journey step by step.
3. Milestones
A great brand strategy includes a road map with timed objectives and milestones to achieve along the way. Apart from breaking down the strategy into bite-sized pieces, a clear and timely road map will let all the members of your team understand the strategy and their role in it. Plus, timed milestones are a great way to remind everyone to check in on the success of the overall strategy as it’s being executed.
4. Consistency
All the elements of your brand should work together – website design, social media, marketing tools, and visual identity. Each one should communicate a cohesive brand personality through a consistent voice, tone, colour palette, and more. The consistency section should clearly lay out all these elements in detail. Think of it like a style guide that encompasses every element of your brand.
5. Beliefs and values
This is possibly the most important aspect of your brand. Your business’s beliefs and values are what you want your audience to connect with.
The team at Advantage Agency are experts in helping businesses of all sizes stand out from the crowd. Figuring out how to best articulate your unique brand is one of the first steps we take. Get in touch today to find out how we can help you clarify your brand personality and express it through beautiful website design and a tailored marketing strategy.
