Anyone with a business knows the importance of branding. Branding is your business’s identity and the “personality of your business.” Your brand strategy, however, is the part of your business plan that outlines how your company will grow your reach and win favorability with your target buyers. Your brand identity might be the exterior of the car, but your branding strategy is the engine that drives it across the finish line. A successful brand strategy contains several important pieces that help companies establish their identity and reach their target buyers.
What is the Difference Between Your Brand Strategy and Your Brand?
Your brand is everything that makes up the emotional connection your buyers have with your product. Yes, a logo and visual elements make up a brand, but the way you message and the way you connect with your customer base also creates your brand as a whole. Your brand strategy, however, is the big picture plan your business has set in place to create long-term market share and give your brand a competitive edge. Essentially, your brand identity is the “who” of your business – and the brand strategy is the “how.”
What Should a Great Brand Strategy Consist Of?
Your brand strategy should have several aspects of it to ensure your branding efforts are worthwhile. After all, you could have the best logo in the world, but what good is it if no one ever sees it, or if you don’t get it in front of the right audience?
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Purpose
Yes, of course the purpose of your business is to continue to increase your profits, but what separates your business from competitors? Do you give back to charitable causes? Do you offer a generous and easy to navigate return policy? Is your customer satisfaction guarantee unmatched? Whatever makes your business stand apart from others who hold market share, utilize this as the purpose of your brand strategy and allow it to guide the rest of the way you position your messaging.
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Consistency
Keeping your brand consistent on all marketing channels and platforms is essential for any successful brand strategy. Make sure your messaging is familiar no matter where you are displaying it – your tone, colors, and type of advertising should always be recognizable to consumers. Creating a brand your target customers can easily recognize will help them subconsciously feel more connected to your brand, sometimes even before they make their first purchase.
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Emotion
While there are many factors that influence a consumer’s decision to buy, feeling emotionally connected to a brand is one of the leading reasons consumers make a purchase. Utilizing your brand strategy to appeal to the emotions of your target buyers will allow you to make sure your messaging resonates with your buyers, and also ensures they continue to be loyal customers. Consider the emotional value your brand holds with your client base. Certain companies choose to utilize a nostalgic and emotional approach in their marketing, especially during holiday seasons. For example, supermarket chain Publix chooses to appeal to customer’s emotional connection with the brand as it applies to their holiday meals, and creates their commercial narrative around that. When you can harness the emotional value your product holds with your target audience, you can develop a strategic way to utilize it.
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Competitive Awareness
Being aware of your competition and other market share holders is a key aspect of any successful brand strategy. By studying what your competitors are doing, you can analyze where your brand has an opportunity to fill a gap the market may be missing. Perhaps your brand strategy focuses on advertising how you are different from your competitors. Being aware of your competitors is also important in determining where you place your advertising. If your competitors are gaining success through direct mail, that would be a good indication your target audience responds to that type of marketing. On the other hand, if you notice your competitors utilize direct mail but seem to be growing less rapidly than in the past, perhaps exploring a digital marketing strategy would be more beneficial.
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Flexibility
Just as trends change, so do buyers preferences and expectations. Any good brand strategy should have a clear direction for the business, but should also allow room for messaging pivots. Brand adaptability is synonymous with successful brands. Companies who are able to adapt to changing trends and cultural shifts are the ones who last. Flexible branding can be anything from adapting your logo to modernize it, to completely restructuring your target demographic. A great recent example of a brand having a flexible and adaptable strategy is Stanley. The thermos company has been in business for over 110 years, and had previously been the go-to cup for blue collar workers and outdoor enthusiasts because of its durability and ability to keep beverages hot or cold for long periods of time, regardless of external temperatures. Recently, Stanley saw a niche need for trendy, practical, portable drinkware among young women. By re-strategizing their advertising positioning and realizing they had the ability to make an incredible profit by targeting women, Stanley utilized a flexible brand strategy and smart marketing to not only keep up with cultural trends, but grow their profitability.
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Buyer Awareness
Keeping a constant eye on your buyers may be even more important than keeping an eye on your competition. Maintaining your finger on the pulse of what your target demographic is interested in, what they value, what adjacent products they are buying and how they are buying it is the heart of any brand strategy. Once you’ve narrowed down on who your target buyer is, part of your strategy should include constantly studying them and noting any changes in their usual habits or opportunities to continue to captivate new customers and keep your current ones loyal.
Brand strategy is any business’s plan to ensure they stay relevant, successful, and own a large portion of market share; all of which add up to success. If you’ve got a brand you need to take to market with an ironclad strategy, contact Kymera today. We can’t wait to bring your brand to life.
