In today’s digital marketplace, building a strong brand strategy is necessary for you to develop a deep connection with your audience and stand out from the crowd! Many people mistakenly think that a brand strategy is limited to a sleek logo design, a color palette, or a catchy tagline. But, in reality, your brand strategy should be the blueprint that shapes your company’s visual identity, mission and purpose, customer experience, and more!
In this blog, we’ll dive into what a brand strategy is, its components, and tips for building a strong brand strategy. Keep reading to learn more!
What is a Brand Strategy?
According to Hubspot, a brand strategy is “part of a business plan that outlines how the company will build favorability within the market. The goal of a brand strategy is to become more memorable in the eyes of a consumer so that they decide to patronize your business over the competition.”
Essentially, a brand strategy is a roadmap of how your company will carve a unique space in the market and secure customer loyalty. It’s not only about being recognized but also about being remembered and chosen over your competitors.
A strong brand strategy includes and affects all aspects of a business by connecting with consumers’ needs and emotions, as well as the competitive landscape. This includes the intangible things, such as your purpose and mission, brand voice and personality, and brand story and messaging.
To understand how to build a strong brand strategy, we’ve broken it down into 5 key steps.
5 Steps to Build a Strong Brand Strategy
1. Craft Your Brand’s Core Purpose
Understanding your brand’s core purpose is the very first step you need to take to build a strong brand strategy. Remember, your brand should go beyond just products or services; it’s about the emotional resonance with your audience. People like to buy from businesses whose purpose and values align with their own.
Key Questions to Uncover Your Brand Purpose:
- What sets my brand apart from the competition?
- What is the reason for my brand’s existence?
- Why should people care about my brand?
Answering these 3 questions will help you to form the foundation of your brand.
2. Understand Your Competitors
One common mistake that companies make is imitating what other successful brands are doing. When building a strong brand strategy, your goal as a brand is not to imitate but to stand out amongst your competitors!
Conducting a comprehensive competitive analysis can help you seize opportunities to distinguish your brand and help you be aware of what these big brands do well, or where they fall short.
To conduct successful competitor research you will need to:
- Assess competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. One of the best ways to do this is by conducting a SWOT analysis.
- Identify gaps in the market.
- Create a unique value proposition.
3. Pinpoint Your Target Audience
A strong brand is inherently about having a clear focus and purpose. If you don’t know who your target audience is, you could waste a lot of time and money. Therefore, identify and understand who your target audience is!
Identify the individuals whose values and lifestyles align with your brand’s purpose and goals. You will become more confident in business decisions when you keep your audience at the forefront of your brand.
How To Identify Your Ideal Customer:
To identify your ideal customer, it is best practice to create a user persona. User or customer personas help you map out exactly who your ideal customer is! A user persona should include demographic and psychographic profiling.
Next, align your brand values with customer expectations so you can properly tailor your strategy to their needs and wants.
4. Develop a Brand Message and Story
When building a strong brand strategy, make sure to tell your brand’s story! A brand story has the powerful ability to connect people with the human aspect of your brand. Stories also can build familiarity and trust, and elicit emotion, and people are more likely to remember interesting stories.
A compelling brand story often begins with the ‘why’—the driving force behind your brand’s creation! It should encompass the challenges, the triumphs, and the unique reasons that set your brand apart from the rest.
When a brand story is rich in detail and emotion, it becomes memorable. This memorability is what elevates a brand from being merely seen or heard to being truly experienced and recalled, time and time again!
5. Create a strong visual identity
Finally, after you’ve established your purpose, conducted some research, and developed your story, it is time to create an outstanding visual identity. The strongest brands are consistent.
Whether a consumer is looking at your social media profiles, website, product packaging, business proposals, etc., each touchpoint should be easily recognizable and consistent with the rest of your brand. Your visual identity includes anything from a logo, typography, tagline, and color palette to the overall look and feel of your digital and print presence. This cohesive look should be captivating and should align with your brand’s personality.
End Note
Building a strong brand strategy does not have to be difficult! At Corkboard Concepts, we will assist you every step of the way, merging creativity with strategy to enhance your brand’s value. Are you ready to build your brand to achieve a stronger brand presence? Let’s get started today!