What is a brand strategy? and how to create one (2023)

What is a brand strategy? and how to create one

A brand strategy is a type ofmarketing strategywhich focuses on how a company will present its brand to consumers and position itself in the marketplace. An effective brand strategy has the potential to establish your business with confidence, engage your target market, and effectively articulate how your business differentiates itself from competitors.

In this article, you'll learn more about what a brand strategy is, explore your brand fundamentals, and begin the process of creating a brand strategy. insights you need for an effective brand strategy.

What is a brand strategy?

A brand strategy is a framework that determines how companies present themselves to customers and stand out from competitors. Your company's brand is more than its name, logo, fonts, and colors. Think of your brand as the sum of your company's appearance, personality, philosophy, values, and customer experiences.

Consistent, value-driven branding efforts instill confidence in consumers, who increasingly buy from brands that deliver quality and contribute to a better world, according to reports from Lucidpress and Edleman [1,2]. With a clear brand strategy, you can:

• build your business

• Reach your ideal clients ortarget market

• Mercadoyour products more effectively

Increasebrandawareness in the market

3 Key Steps to Leverage Your Brand Foundation

Complete the steps below to establish a strong brand foundation and develop a strategy to introduce your brand to the world.

Create elements of the business plan.

A business plan is a formal document that outlines the goals of a business and the strategies it will follow to achieve those goals. Think of it as a roadmap that you can use in conjunction with a branding strategy to build a thriving business. Follow the instructions below to write a basic business plan, or refer to your existing business plan and explore ideas that will be key to your brand.

• What is your company's mission statement?

• What value does the company offer to its target customer?

• How would you describe your business model: the products and services you offer and their price?

• As you explore these details, what possibilities do you see for identifying a tone, mood, or set of concepts that you could use to define your eventual brand?

See more information:Business plan: what it is + how to write one

Refine your buyer personas.

It is important to know who your business serves, so you can brand and deliver an experience that resonates with them. A full market analysis can provide a complete picture of a specific market, but for this branding exercise, consider the following:

• What are the values ​​and beliefs of your target customers?

• What other brands do they admire, buy and remain loyal to?

• What are your typical objections when considering whether or not to buy a product?

  (Video) What Is Brand Strategy And How To Do It (Step 1)

• How do they discover new products?

• How do your typical shopping habits reflect your personalities, pain points, values, beliefs, goals, and needs?

Explore brand archetypes.

In your brand research, you might come across the idea of ​​brand archetypes, which marketers and companies developed from psychologist Carl Jung's concept of archetypes to describe the human psyche. Examples of brand archetypes include:

• The creator, to refer to brands that encourage self-expression, innovation, and problem-solving creativity

• The outlaw, to refer to brands that break with the status quo and inspire revolutionary attitudes

• the wise man, to refer to brands that position themselves as thought leaders and experts in their industry

Exploring brand archetypes and identifying one or more that align with your business goals can be a great way to spark new ideas for your brand potential. To obtain this knowledge, take an online brand archetype quiz, like the ones you offermaster brandolucidpress.

How to build a brand strategy

It's time to use the brand foundation exercises to build a strategy. Each of the following components of your branding strategy will require you to be creative and systematic, appeals to the emotions and reason of the clients, and think deeply about your business goals.

1. Define the mission of your brand.

Your brand mission statement should communicate the purpose and philosophy behind the customer experiences you are creating. Use the instructions below to help define your brand's mission.

• What inspires you to develop this brand for your business?

• What impact do you want your brand to generate?

• What experiences do you want to provide customers, including emotions, sensations, new thoughts, and possibilities?

• What practical role do you want your brand to play in the lives of customers? What results can your brand generate?

2. Define your brand vision.

Your brand vision statement is a long-term, forward-looking goal of what your brand will become, the presence it will have in the world, and what it will achieve. To describe your brand vision, think about what could be possible for your brand. Write as if there are no barriers or limitations that prevent you from making this possible.

Use these three examples as models for how you might formulate your vision statement:

• Provide all children with access to education.

• To create a more connected world

• To become a leading provider of fun experiences

3. Identify your brand values.

With your brand's mission and vision clearly outlined, your next step is to identify the values. What does your brand represent? What is the fundamental belief system behind each aspect of the brand? Answering these questions will determine how your brand does in the marketplace and the customers it will attract.

To complete this part of your branding strategy, name and define the values ​​you share with your ideal customers. Here are some examples:

• empathy and compassion

• passion and enthusiasm

• tenacity and resistance

• reliability and integrity

4. Determine the positioning of your brand.

Careful brand positioning can help you distinguish your brand from others in your industry and capture the attention of your target audience.

• What makes your brand and your products and services unique in your industry?

• What are the specific differentiators and how do they compare to competitors' offerings?

• How will consumers who fit your buyer persona perceive and respond to these differentiators?

• What will they believe about your brand and your products and services?

Use the answers to the questions above to develop a brand positioning statement: [audience] will choose [product] to experience [benefits and results] because [audience beliefs].

5. Develop the voice of your brand.

Your brand voice will determine how you use language to communicate your mission, values, and personality to the world. Brand voice will keep your messaging consistent, from paid ads and organic social media content to emails, product descriptions and customer service portals. This will also help you foster customer relationships and gain their trust.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• What do you want your brand to be known for?

• What adjectives would you like customers to use to describe your brand?

• How would you describe the personality of your brand?

• If your brand were a person, what tone, words and phrases would it use? How would they meet?

6. Design your brand identity.

Bring together everything you've gathered so far to create your brand identity. The identity will include all the sensory experiences associated with your brand, such as the visual design of the logo, fonts and colors; the taste, feel or smell of its physical products; voices, music and images that appear in the videos; and the brand name and slogan.

Subtle choices in font style, size, layout, color tones, scents, sounds, and other design elements can influence how the world perceives your brand. Brainstorm how different design elements can do the following:

• Represent your brand's mission, vision and values

• Match your brand voice

• Evoke the emotions you want customers to experience

  (Video) How To Create A Brand Strategy [Proven 14-Step Framework]

As you create the look and feel of your brand, it's a good idea to work closely with members of your creative team, includinggraphic designersand product designers, to finalize your brand identity.

7. Create your brand guidelines.

One of the most important tools for your business will be your brand guidelines – the ultimate guidelines, benchmarks, and standards that determine how you present your brand and everything you stand for to the world. Without clear guidelines, a brand can quickly fall apart, diluting your message and undermining your business efforts.

According to LucidPress' 2021 Brand Consistency Report, 68% of respondents said brand consistency contributed to 10% or more of their revenue growth [1].

In addition to listing the physical aspects of your brand identity, brand guidelines may specify some of the following practices:

• The instances in which you will use your logo, as well as the minimum and maximum sizes it must be.

• Message guide, including keywords, phrases, tone and voice, as well as the language to avoid

• editorial guidelines

• Website and Social Media Design Options

• Paid ad display options

You may find it useful to compile the brand guidelines into a single document, slide deck, or brochure and distribute it to everyone in your company. That way, your marketers, sales, product developers, and creative team can ensure you deliver a cohesive brand experience across all customer touch points.

See more information:Brand Marketing: what it is + how to create your brand marketing strategy

Create your brand strategy with Coursera

Taking an online course is a great way to gain branding experience and unlock the potential of your business.

its googleAnd meanwhile, you'll learn how to manage digital marketing campaigns, attract and engage customers, and measure performance through analytics.Branding: The Creative Journey SpecializationYou will begin your career as a brand specialist by mastering brand strategies, branded content generation, image creation, and customer experience.