Here is a reality check for all the brands and their founders out there: if you think ‘we make good products, people will buy it,’ will get you customers, you’re about as prepared for today’s market as a flip phone at a tech conference. Time to level up.
You want the attention of your customer and actually grow more of them, you need to start looking beyond your product and your logo, you need to start seeing your brand as a whole, a magnetic force that will pull your audience in.
And that is what a complete brand strategy does, not work on one single aspect but works as a whole to influence the audience and improve the perception of your brand.
But how do you build that brand strategy? Keep reading and you’ll find out.
Welcome to Four Pillars Media Agency Blog Page, we are a Surat-based Digital Marketing Agency specializing in branding and brand marketing strategy. Our portfolio includes brands like B’Creamy, 24 Carats Mithai Magic, PR Jewels, and IVY Growth Associates. Look them up!
What is the Importance of Brand Strategy in Today’s Competitive Market?
The reason you ask, the reason brand strategy is important, is because you don’t want your customer to look at your brand go like, ‘Huh, you look just like the other one I scrolled past right now.’ Trust us, that is not a good feeling.
So, before understanding the ‘how-to’ of brand development, let’s understand the ‘why’.
- Get a competitive edge by representing your values and brand voice.
- Create cohesive marketing strategies.
- Build a consistent brand image for long-term benefits.
- Boost brand awareness and recognition.
- Gain customers’ trust.
- Attract talent to create the best team.
How to Build a Brand Strategy?
It is limiting to think that branding doesn’t apply to people or established businesses. You can use a branding strategy for anything to connect with your target audience and make it stand out.
So, let’s get started with the step-by-step guide on how to build your brand strategy.
1. Understand your brand’s purpose
This is the critical step, if this is not clear, then the bedrock your brand stands on is shaky.
Simon Sinek’s The Golden Circle helps leaders understand how to market their products and gain customer loyalty. As per this, a company should be focused on why they are doing business or creating the product/service, and then focus on the how and what they will do with that business. It is a way to differentiate yourself from the competition and boost your sales.
Think of it this way:
You are selling shoes. Cool. But so is Nike. Why should customers choose you? They may choose you because you focus on specific shoe-related problems, or you are making a donation for each pair you sell.
This ‘why’ is your purpose. Purpose helps you lay the ground of your brand identity. Your brand strategy should highlight this purpose to stand out in the industry and attract customers.
2. Define your brand’s vision, mission, and values
Now that you have a clear purpose, put it into words people can relate to and you and your team can always come back to. It helps you stay focused.
Vision is the long-term goal, while the mission is an action-based statement to achieve the said goal. Both of these are especially crucial for corporate and product branding.
Values are the principles you follow to operate your business and create all the strategies. 62% of customers say that brand value influences their buying decision (source). It is vital in all brand strategy types, especially personal branding, to connect with customers.
3. Create your brand’s verbal identity
Brand isn’t just what you show them, but also what you tell them. The words that you use in ads, websites, product descriptions. It’s how you communicate with your audience on every platform or when they visit your company. The following are a few verbal components you need to create a consistent brand strategy.
- Brand voice & tone should portray how you communicate. It could be professional, witty, casual, or something else.
- Brand messaging should define you, your offerings, and your purpose.
- Brand taglines & slogans should reinforce your brand’s values and purpose. Make them catchy for the customers to remember. Your tagline and slogan can boost brand awareness and recognition. Remember how ‘2 Minute Mein Khushiyan’ still reminds us of the same noodle brand 13 years after the
slogan was launched.
4. Create your brand’s visual identity
Now to the visuals, they are the closest sense to your customers’ brain, so nail your visuals. Learn to tell a story through visuals and no words. Choose visual elements like colours, shapes, typography, and a logo to help you with brand awareness. These visual elements become the core of your brand identity.
5. Create a brand style guide
For harmonious brand management across various media, you’ll need a brand style guide. This guide will document all your branding elements, like the values, tone, messaging, colour palette, communication guide, and more. This will help your team create consistent quality content that aligns with your company. This consistency helps you gain customers’ trust in the long run.
6. Build your brand architecture
Your brand strategy may change based on whether you have a branded house model like Google or Tata, or a house of brands model like Unilever or Procter & Gamble (P&G). For the Branded House model, you can leverage the same brand strategy for consistency and leverage the positive impressions of one product to promote others. You can use the same brand strategy or create a unique one for each product under the House of Brands model.
If you have multiple businesses, you must create a brand architecture to create an effective brand strategy.
7. Track brand strategy’s performance
Tracking the performance of a brand strategy is crucial. You need to see what is working and what is not. Track a strategy’s performance with some KPIs like brand awareness, customer reviews, brand loyalty, and more.
Creating, managing, and measuring the brand strategy is a time-consuming process. But worry not, we are here to help you create an effective strategy with our years of experience! Contact us to know what more we can do for you!
Conclusion
Brand strategy is important for a business to stand out from the competition. Be consistent with marketing plans, boost brand awareness, and gain customer trust. You can create a brand strategy by focusing on your purpose, values, voice & tone, visual elements, and a style guide for consistency. Four Pillars Media Agency is a trusted media agency known for expert branding. We can help you create and
market your brand strategy to boost your presence and conversions. Contact us for a consultation call!
FAQs
1. What is brand strategy?
A brand strategy is a long-term plan for brand positioning, creating a marketing strategy, and building a customer connection. It helps you reinforce your brand identity.
2. What are the types of brand strategy?
Corporate, personal, and product branding are a few types, depending on the purpose of creating a brand strategy.
3. What are the benefits of creating a brand strategy?
By creating a brand strategy, you can:
- Create a loyal customer base
- Differentiate yourself from the customers