what Is Brand Strategy?

Introduction

What is Brand Strategy?

At its core, it’s the foundation that defines your brand’s purpose, values, messaging, and personality. It’s the roadmap that guides you in creating a consistent and cohesive brand experience for customers.

A brand strategy is applied to many areas including but not limited to: Brand Values, Brand Voice, Positioning, Visual Identity, Consistency, Content Creation and Advertising.

A brand voice gives your company an identity on social media and in other communications, including emails and newsletters.

It’s how you talk to customers, and it reflects the personality of your business.

A strong brand voice should be simple and easy to understand, so people recognize it as soon as they see or hear it.

There are two main types of voicing to start: formal or informal. A formal tone may be best for large corporations looking for an uber professional image or B2B companies aiming at older customers who prefer more mature messaging styles over youthful ones (think “old man” apple commercials versus “millennials + gen x”). I don’t do “old man” style because that’s inauthentic to me. I am neither old nor am I a man. But it’s chill if you do. What performs best depends on what you’re selling, and who you’re selling it to.

Which brings us to ….brand positioning.

Brand positioning can be used as an overarching statement that defines who you are and what you stand for as a brand, but it can also be used as a tool to help you understand where you fit in the marketplace.

Unfortunately, most business fail their first year because they misjudge where they fit in the market. And it’s so very costly. Like, it might cause them to lose their business costly.

Brand positioning helps you define who you are and what you stand for as a brand.

Creating a mission statement gives both your brand and your employees a reason to dig deeper. It defines who you are and what your company stands for, as well as why someone would choose your product over another one. A brand strategy looks at all aspects of the business from marketing campaigns down through operational practices such as customer service so everything aligns properly with each other according to what values need to be withheld throughout all touch points. This can be readily seen in value statements, rally cries, and unfair advantage statements.

And don’t forget about consistency, whether between departments or even within departments!

This comes down to brand experience. You want to make the experience someone gets when interacting with you brand down to a science. It’s where SMART goals come in–it has to be measurable. And repeatable.

If one department has a distinct voice and another doesn’t, they’ll give off different vibes–and that can be confusing for consumers who want one version, but not the other. Let’s say your customer is trying to figure out who to do business with. Many business owners make the mistake of changing who they are, and alienating who is actually right for them. The SMART-er strategy is to not change who you are or morph. You offer your authentic offer, then attract. I.E. You don’t chase, you attract. 😉

If one department has a positioning statement for a product that differs from the positioning statement for the overall brand or company, consumers will pick up that there’s no throughline –no reason for being sold such different products other than a quick buck–and that makes people feel like leads–not people. And people don’t like being treated like they aren’t people. This can be really offputting and may lead someone away from making purchases from your brand altogether!

Conclusion

Brand strategy is important for startups as well as established businesses. A robust brand strategy can differentiate you from your competitors, cultivate a dedicated and supportive customer base, and give your brand differentiation in the market. By essentially pre-planning for your brand, you can guarantee that you’re presenting yourself in the best possible light while also mitigating risks.

The key to unlocking your business’s full potential lies in creating a strong brand strategy. That’s what sets you apart– staying true to the rebel spirit in you!

But … if I had to boil it down to just one sentence, it’s this:

Brand strategy is the key to both finding your people, and serving them well.