The Importance Of A Brand Strategy For Your Business Success

06 Dec 2023 by Cloé Luv Merraro · Forbes

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What is a brand strategy?

A brand strategy is a complete guide, a comprehensive road map that helps outline the details of your business. It includes your brand's mission, values, vision, target market and needs. A brand strategy is communicated to your team members to help tailor and direct their efforts toward a united goal.

And it's also something intangible that consumers of your business can viscerally be impacted by.

It's how the world perceives you. And I always say perception is reality.

Mapping out a brand strategy requires work. It can't be done in one night. It requires consistent effort and constant tweaks. You keep making changes to it as you learn and your business grows.

It can set you apart from your competitors, help build brand recall and leave a lasting impact on your customers or clients.

A brand strategy helps define your investment and business goals and tailor your marketing efforts. It makes your brand appear more cohesive and consistent across platforms. You're putting out one clear, authentic voice. You are not leading your customers or clients astray. You are clear to them. You are enveloping them into your message through clear communication.

When the customers know exactly what they are getting through a well-planned brand strategy, it builds loyalty, improves customer satisfaction and consequently increases revenue. If people can relate to you, they will swipe right.

Learning to position yourself in the market through a carefully curated brand strategy can help ensure lasting success.

With a brand strategy, you need to answer four main questions:

• Who are you?

• What do you do?

• Why do you do it?

• Who do you do it for?

Once these parameters are defined, you can decide what people think, feel and do regarding your business. You'll be able to better control how your brand looks, talks and shows up.

The Importance Of A Brand Strategy

In what ways does a brand strategy help your business succeed?

Standing Out

Coming up with an ingenious idea or business setup is rare. Whatever you offer likely already has thousands of competitors, so it takes work to appeal to the audience and get them to buy what you offer. This is where your brand strategy comes in. It helps you stand out from your market peers, sets you apart from competitors and helps you find your spot in the market.

Identity

It helps define who you are. When you introduce yourself, you don't just tell your name; you also tell what you do and where you work/study. This helps add layers to your personality and helps people associate a unique image with your name. Similarly, a brand strategy helps curate an identity for you. An identity includes your name, logo, branding, typography, mission statement, colors, imagery and more. Whenever you see a tick logo, you know it's Nike. Whenever you see an H, you know it's Hermès. Your identity comes forth from a brand strategy.

Crafting Customer Experience

Do you know how we have craft beer now? And artisanal coffees? And unique blends of wines? These are all there to curate a unique experience for the customer, to provide them with something no one else in the market can. How do you decide how what you're offering differs from what others are offering? With a brand strategy, you can craft a truly unique customer experience. It builds trust and loyalty with the customer. It gives a clear and concise message. It keeps you relevant. In today's world, staying relevant is needed. It's all about the top trends and trending topics. So what is relevant and hip to your customers? A great customer experience can be achieved with clear and consistent imaging and communication across all platforms.

Longevity And Growth

You always see the bigger picture when you are in touch with your business values and mission. You can make essential decisions knowing what your business needs. A strong brand strategy can help increase sales and ensure your brand stands the test of time.

Next Steps To Crafting A Brand Strategy

So how do you make a brand strategy?

You define your purpose, target audience and unique selling point. Then you do a market analysis to determine competitors and test the waters for your pricing points. Next comes the visual identity, messaging and voice. Form a brand guidelines manual, and let it dictate your storytelling through marketing strategies.

But the job doesn't end here. It's best to stay in touch with your analytics or key performance indicators (KPIs) to see if your communication resonates with your audience. Then keep adapting and evolving. Regularly refine your strategy to stay relevant and competitive.

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