Developing a brand strategy
Developing a detailed brand strategy is an important part of creating a successful business. Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, you need to think about who your target audience is, what they need, how you deliver and how best to communicate that message. The better you can define your brand, the easier it will be to differentiate yourself from competitors and win over new customers. Here’s our guide on how to develop a successful brand strategy.
Define your brand.
Before you can determine how to convey and communicate your brand to your customers, you must first ask yourself some fundamental questions about your company. These are the intangible qualities that define how you’re unique from competitors in your industry. They’re what will make people care about your business enough to buy from it.
Ask yourself:
- What is our reason for being? Why was the company created, and what is the driving force and purpose that keeps it going and keeps people coming to work every day? What do we want our legacy to be?
- What are our values as an organization—the beliefs and principles we bring to our work and our interactions with customers?
- What is our personality as a brand? Playful? Serious? Quirky? Traditional? Brand personality is part of the value you deliver to your audience and should resonate with their needs and preferences.
It’s important to remember that there’s no one correct way to define your brand. ways. You should use this exercise as an opportunity to reflect on how your personal values align or differ from those of other brands in the same industry and then decide which aspects of your company and its offerings are most important for consumers, stakeholders, and employees alike.
Establish your value proposition.
A value proposition is a promise of the big-picture value you will deliver to your customers. For example, if you’re selling pet products online, your value proposition could be: “Our pet food is the only brand made from 100% organic ingredients to keep your pet healthier.” Or, if you’re selling online coding courses to beginners: “I’ll teach you how to code like a professional developer.”
A good way to set up an effective value proposition is by answering these three questions:
- What product or service do we offer?
- How are we different from other companies offering similar services/products?
- How will we deliver on our promises? What is it about our methods / quality standards / approach / team, etc. that ensures we can follow through?
Outline the benefits of your product or service.
When defining their brand, many companies go off track by focusing on listing the specific features of their brand. But more important is defining and understand the benefits of those features, and your offerings as a whole.
Benefits are what people get out of using something—both the tangible benefits, (e.g. like better data analysis, smoother skin, or faster package delivery) and the intangible ones, like feeling confident, happy or powerful. Benefits can be unique to your business—in fact, at least some of them should—but they can also be similar to those your competitors promise.
You can communicate these benefits in many ways: through advertising, marketing materials such as press releases, interviews with journalists and social media posts; in conversations with prospective customers and within sales pitches to current customers; even on packaging itself if appropriate for your industry.
Show clear and obvious differentiation from your competitors.
As you develop your brand, remember that you need to demonstrate clear and obvious differentiation between you and your competitors. If you’re the more expensive choice, you need to demonstrate the added value that comes with paying more. If prices are on par with your competitors, you need to make it clear why you can meet their needs more effectively for the same amount and deliver a better overall experience.
Build an emotional connection with your audience.
Your brand is more than just a logo and a tagline. It’s crucial to consider all of the ways your customers interact with your brand, from reading the copy on your website to communicating with employees or customer service reps to receiving a package with your goods in the mail. Every touchpoint in the experience should reflect the personality, values, and promises you’ve established.
It’s through these touchpoints that you will, over time, build an emotional connection with your audience—the most important part of developing a brand. An emotional connection allows for trust, loyalty, and advocacy. The key is consistently communicating your brand values, messaging, and identity at every touchpoint.
Remember also that customers want to feel special. They want to be treated as individuals, not just another customer in line for service. They want to know that you appreciate them and their business and value your relationship. They also need to know that you care about what is important to them and are interested in them as a person.
Think about both the short- and long-term vision for your brand.
Once you have a clearly defined brand, it’s time to start thinking about the short and long-term vision for that brand. First, think about the initial steps you need to take to communicate your brand to your prospects and customers. What deliverables and tactics will you use? What aspects of your operations and communications need to change?
Then, think longer-term. What will your brand look like in five years’ time? Will your messaging, personality, or look and feel evolve as you grow, or add new products or services? Does your brand identity have the flexibility to accommodate those changes?
Developing a brand is a critical step in any business. A strong brand strategy will ensure that your customers are able to clearly identify what sets you apart from competitors while providing them with a reason why they should choose you over others. At SCG, we can help you define and develop your brand, and then bring it to life across all of your digital marketing and communications, setting you up for success.
