Maybe you’ve been in business a while, you’ve got a logo and some brand colours you love, but you often struggle with what to say to your audience, you’ve no idea how to stand out in a saturated market and you’re not getting the consistent sales you were hoping for.
Or perhaps you’re just starting out in your business and you know you’re supposed to build a brand, but you don’t really know where to begin.
Do either of these sound familiar?
If so, it’s time to get strategic with your branding, and create a brand roadmap to help you get clear on your irresistible offers, grow your business and increase your profit.
Sound good? Let’s dive in.
What is a Brand Strategy?
Your strategy defines your long and short term goals, what you stand for, how you show up for your clients, the problems that you solve for them and how you will communicate that to them.
It serves as a roadmap, enabling you to focus on a clear vision with a plan to help you reach your business goals. It gives you confidence and clarity in your decision making every day.
How? Well, look at it this way, if you were heading out on a road trip in your car, you’d feel a whole lot more confident following a map or using your GPS. Sure you might find your destination on your own, but chances are you would take a lot of wrong turns on the way and it would take you a whole lot longer to get there.
A brand strategy is just like that GPS, it will help you reach your business goals a whole lot faster, and without so many wrong turns.
As your brand evolves so will this strategy, it’s not a one time thing. Just like the road trip analogy, once you reach your destination, you’re going to want to know how to move on to the next one. As your business grows and evolves, so will your strategy.
So, where to begin?
The heart of your brand and your goals
Get to the heart of your brand, why do you do what you do, what results do you want to achieve for your clients and why are you so passionate about that?
Most people base their messaging on the what, or the how, but knowing the why will help give you inspiration and connect with your audience.
What do you value? Everyone has values, and these are also a powerful tool in creating that connection with your ideal clients. Like attracts like, your values will attract an audience who are aligned with your brand. They will serve as a compass that guides you and your employees in taking decisions and in how you behave.
What are your big picture goals? This will go hand in hand with your why but you should also consider your personal goals here. We build our businesses to support our lifestyle, not the other way around.
If you’re thinking you want to “make more money”, that’s not going to cut it. Your goals are the deeper meaning behind your business. These aren’t for anyone else, these are for you. They are to keep you motivated when you loose momentum or you aren’t sure which way to go next. They are your North Star.
Market research
Take a look at some of your main competitors, specifically, at their strengths and weaknesses. Knowing what they are offering and how they are doing can help you differentiate yourself. You may discover a gap in the market that none of them are currently filling.
It´s also important to look at your audience persona. We aren’t really interested so much in the demographics here, but the psychographics. What are their pain points, what keeps them up at night and most importantly, what value can you provide for them?
Brand positioning
Positioning is simply the position your brand holds in your audience’s mind.
Using what we’ve learnt so far, we can start to articulate what differentiates you from your competitors, why would your ideal client choose you over someone else? When your audience think of your brand, what springs to mind, what emotions do they associate with you?
This will help you articulate why you are the clear choice.
Brand Archetype
This is the personality behind your brand, the main characteristics, for example The North Face would fit the Explorer, also known as the Adventurer, whilst Disney are clearly an example of the Magician.
Knowing your archetype can help you build a more human persona for your brand, and can strengthen your brand story.
Our brand archtypes are the Creator, and the Sage, which you can see in the example below.
Brand Messaging Pillars
These are driven by the core values of you and your business, and also overlap with what’s important to your ideal client. They are the key to consistent messaging across all touch points and creating a meaningful connection with your audience.
These will serve as topics for all of your communication, from long format blog posts and podcasts to shorter format social media posts. Knowing these will save you so much time in the future when you need to create content.
Visual identity
This is where we start to bring it all together, to show your brands personality through colours, imagery, fonts and so on. Each element should be chosen to communicate your values and convey the emotions you want your audience to feel.
Priorities and direction
Going back to the first step, what are the most important goals on your way to achieving your big picture goals. What should be prioritised first to start growing your audience and delivering the elevated brand experience you want to offer?
Ready for clarity and direction in growing your brand and your business?
Free Strategy Coaching Call
We know your time is valuable, so if you give us 30 minutes of it we’ll make sure it’s not wasted.
We’ll go through your “why” – why you started your business and who you’re competing with. We’ll go over your goals and look at what could be holding you back from achieving them, both in terms of mindset and professional challenges. By the end of the call you’ll be clearer on what’s really keeping you stuck and how we can help unstick you!
