It’s probably not your first time hearing “brand strategy.” It’s not just marketing jargon to make business owners and marketers sound smart. A business’ Brand Strategy is the very roadmap that will take your business from where it is right now to occupying a sweet spot in the hearts of your customers.

This blog post will show you what brand strategy is and how to create yours using steps that you can implement right away.

Ready? Let’s go!

What Is Brand Strategy?

Brand strategy is a long-term plan that outlines how you plan to work your brand’s way into the hearts of your customers and stand out among your competitors.

That said, brand strategy is much more than a product, brand name, logo, or website. These contribute to your brand strategy, undoubtedly, but that’s not all there is. Your brand strategy also focuses on the intangible aspects of your business.

By having an effective brand strategy, building brand loyalty, brand recognition, and brand equity for your business becomes a walk in the park.

Practical Steps to Creating an Effective Brand Strategy

You need an effective brand strategy to keep your brand relevant for decades. And it takes the proper steps to build one. So, we’ll show you these steps in this section:

1. Define Your Brand’s Objectives

   

   Defining your brand’s objectives is simply identifying your “why”. Your brand’s objectives should go beyond just making money. It involves asking questions like: Why did you start your business? What problems does your brand solve, and how does it improve your customers’ lives?

   While you may sell the same product or service as your competition, your brand objectives are specific to your brand, and defining them is the first step to creating a successful brand strategy.

   When defining your brand objectives, you want to focus on your brand's vision or the bigger picture. This is the best way to demonstrate your commitment to providing your customers with value, and it differentiates you from the competition.

2. Identify Your Ideal Customers

   

   Who are your ideal customers? Who will benefit from your product the most? Are they willing to pay for it? These are the questions to ask yourself at this point.

   Your customers are the primary stakeholders of your brand, and without them, you won’t have a business. That’s why identifying your ideal customers is an essential part of developing an effective brand strategy.

   The data you collect on your customers will give you information about how they are likely to feel about your brand. With this, you can tailor your brand strategy in the best way that will make your products appeal to them.

3. Identify Your Top Competitors

   

   You may be wondering what your competitors have to do with your brand strategy. They can serve as a huge source of insights for your brand.

   Your competitors - who have been in the market before you- already serve your potential customers. So, they must be doing something right to have them buying their products and services.

   You want to know how your competitors are doing this. With the insights you glean, you’ll be able to learn the best way to communicate with your ideal customers and what they expect from your brand. With this information, you’ll be well on your way to building a brand strategy that works.

4. Decide How You’ll Communicate With Your Audience

   

   In creating a brand strategy, you need to decide on the right tone of voice to communicate with your target audience. Don’t forget that this will carry through all your interactions with them across all channels.

   So, you want to be sure that your tone mirrors your brand’s values and helps your audience connect with your message.

5. Evoke the Right Emotion

   

   Customers are more perceptive than rational. So they make choices based on how they feel. This is why people pay for expensive memberships to have a sense of belonging to a community.

   People long for relationships, and they feel the same way towards brands. By evoking the appropriate emotion from your customers, it’ll be easy to build lasting relationships. These emotions could be the need for affection, love, belonging, confidence, etc., and they are determined by the benefits of your products to your customers.

6. Prioritize Customer Loyalty

   

   Customer loyalty is the secret to a lasting brand, and this is why you should include a plan for customer loyalty in your brand strategy.

   Your brand strategy should include ways to reward customers who love you. This way, you can sustain a positive relationship with your existing customer and encourage them to be your brand ambassadors.

   Prioritizing customer loyalty in your brand strategy doesn’t just keep your existing customers from jumping ship but also shows potential customers what they can expect by shopping from your brand.

7. Involve Your Employees

   

   Your employees are your customers’ first human contact with your brand. For example, if your customer had a complaint, they would call in and connect with a customer service employee.

   If your brand strategy promotes affection, it would be contradictory if your employee was rude to a customer.

   This is why you need to involve your employees in developing your brand strategy. Ensure that you hold your employees to the values you stand for so that they can help you build the positive reputation you are hoping to build.

8. Stay Flexible

   

   For your brand to remain relevant, your brand strategy must be flexible. Flexibility helps you instantly recognize what doesn’t work anymore and tweak them or adopt entirely new adjustments.

   Adjusting your brand strategy may involve changing your product packaging, product names, logo, etc. Whatever it is, it has to be a strategic change that will help you connect with your customers better and continuously differentiate your brand from the competition.

Conclusion

Effective branding is all about highlighting what makes your brand unique. Your brand strategy is a long-term plan, so it’s worth the effort to craft it using the steps outlined above.

A simpler way to go about it is to enlist our help. At Colored Coat Creative, we love seeing businesses succeed and are ready to help you build a brand that can stand the test of time and stand out from the competition.

Ready to talk? Contact us today! We can’t wait to speak with you!

Summary for Social Media

Want to know how to create an effective brand strategy? The following steps will help:

1. Define your brand’s objectives

2. Identify your ideal customers

3. Identify your top competitors

4. Decide how you’ll communicate with your audience

5. Evoke the right emotions

6. Prioritize customer loyalty

7. Involve your employees

8. Stay flexible