How To Create A Brand Strategy

We know what it’s like when you are an existing business owner or starting up a new business.

You know, and keep hearing about, all the things you need to have or add to your business plan. One of those things is a brand strategy. Are you one of the many who are not even sure what ‘brand’ means let alone know how to create a brand strategy?

Don’t worry.

You are not alone and Approved Business is here to help with this simple guide to branding and how to create your brand strategy.

What is a Brand Strategy?

To answer this question we must first ask what is a brand?

Rather annoyingly, the answer is somewhat intangible. This is because your business brand is all of the things that make you and your business identifiable to your customers and potential customers. So, a business brand will incorporate different things according to each business. It might include a logo or symbol, particular colours, a particular item, animal or person, a slogan, or even a way of talking. It can even be a particular feeling that your business provokes. It is the first thing that pops into someone’s head when they think about your business. It is your company culture and identity.

It is all of the above.

A brand strategy then is a plan to make sure that the brand reflects what you want and need it to. It is a plan to ensure that all of the things that make up a brand are appealing to the right audience and that it is building rapport with your target audience so that they choose you over your competitors.

Where to Start with a Brand Strategy

Branding Strategy Starts at Home

Ensure that your business has the following:

• A vision.
• Core values.
• A mission statement.
• A purpose.

These things form the basis of your branding strategy.

Understanding Demographics and Psychographics to Create a Buyer Persona

It might sound like jargon but it comes down to this: who are you serving?

Who is your target demographic? Who are they; their age, their location, their social and family status, where do they work, and what style of language do they use?

What about psychographics: what do they like, what do they need, what are their wants, their wishes and their problems; what are their pain points?

Answer all of these questions and the fictional person you come up with is your buyer persona.

Check Out the Competition

Who are your competitors and most importantly what makes you different from them?

• Perhaps your target audience is different.
• Maybe your core values make you stand out from the crowd.
• Are you cheaper? Can you save your customers money?
• Are you faster? Can you save your customers time?
• Are you better? And if so in what way? Are you environmentally friendly for example?
• Do you save your customers a headache? How?

Establish Your Brand Guidelines

Using the previous steps you can now use that research and understanding to develop your brand guidelines. These need to be followed consistently across the board in all communications with your potential and existing customers. This includes your website, social media, promotional material, brochures, newsletters, blogs, emails, invoices, shopfronts and vehicles if you have them.

Brand guidelines should include the following:

• Brand aesthetics
  • Logo
  • Colour palette.
  • Imaging, pictures, videos, fonts and graphics.

• Brand Voice
  • Name
  • Tagline
  • Language style.
  • Personality (based on core values)
  • Messaging (based on psychographics)

How Can Can Help

Approved Business can assist you in a variety of ways when you are creating your brand strategy. From insights into your website visitors to help you research and build a buyer persona profile to support website design and video production.

Get in touch with us to see how we can make creating a memorable brand that speaks to your buyers easier.