Brand strategy is a strategic plan or road map for how your brand will achieve its goals.

There are many ways to put together a brand strategy for clients or your own business. I’ll go over what works for me & offer a template at the end.

But first, what is a brand strategy?

Here’s Marty Neumeier’s definition from his book, The Brand Gap.

“A plan for the systematic development of a brand in order to meet business objectives.”

I define it as,

Conducting research on the business & industry, creating a tangible, long-term (or short-term) plan on how to reach targeted goals.

Everyone defines it differently, but the main purpose is to plan out how you’re going to create that connection with your target audience.

So why is it important?

Would you start any new adventure without a plan? What if something unexpected happens? Are you prepared? How do you even know where you’re going?

Strategy is there to help set you up for success before you start your adventure.

It helps lead business decisions, gets your products or services in front of the right eyes, & ultimately builds trust.

Brand Story

The brand story is an essential part of the strategy session. This is where you set yourself apart & explain how you solve your audience's problems.

Talk about how you got started. Explain who the brand is & why they do what they do.

Emphasis on the why. Why should anyone care?

For a very simple example, you don’t sell custom coffee mugs. You provide a daily dose of inspiration at the bottom of each one-of-a-kind, hand-made coffee mug.

Get personal, nobody likes a soul-less brand. Get descriptive, nobody likes a generic brand.

Business Basics

This could be included with your brand story, but I think it deserves its own spot. The business basics are exactly what it sounds like.

Here are some questions you can ask.

What is the mission of the brand?
What is the vision for the brand?
What do you want your audience to see in your brand?
What is the voice & tone of the brand? Describe the key messages & how you want to present your brand.
What’s the personality of the brand?
What are your commitments as a brand?
What is your promise to customers?

Consumer Analysis

Also known as your target audience, buyer persona, etc. Basically, we want to know who you’re selling to & why they need you.

Go in-depth on the target audience here.

This includes demographics (age, education, background…), psychographics (personality, values, lifestyle…), the buyer journey, their problems & your solutions.

After you know your audience, describe your ideal client or customer & come up with solutions to reach & connect with them.

Here’s a great article from HubSpot on How to Create Detailed Buyer Personas for Your Business.

Competitive Analysis + SWOT

Research your competitors & figure out what they’re up to.

What they do well that you could use for inspiration & what are they doing not so well that you can do differently.

Figure out what makes your brand stands out.

What do you do differently that sets you apart from the competition? Identify the gaps in the industry & explain how you fill them.

A SWOT analysis is a quick rundown of your business's strengths (what do you do well), weaknesses (where can you improve), opportunities (what trends can you take advantage of) & threats (what is giving your competitors success over you).

If you don’t think you have any weaknesses, you do & you should be benefiting from it or pivoting to make things work. Take some time to work through this.

Positioning

How are you positioning the brand to be there for consumers when they need your products or services?

How do you take up space, not only in the industry but in the minds of your audience?

Forget about the product features & focus on the perception or how your audience feels about your brand.

This is something that as a business, we can’t always control.

Our audience is the one that determines how they feel about a brand, but with strategy, we can help position the perception & provide solutions at the right time.

Messaging

How do you plan to show up verbally as well as visually?

Similar to positioning, every messaging plan should come from your audience’s point of view.

Think about how you can create that emotional bond with them. How do you get them to trust you?

Think of their pain points, goals, and limitations & create your messaging around that.

& always think back to your brand story & tone of voice.

Marketing Strategy

A thorough analysis of the industry & how you plan to market.

Marketing focuses less on the emotional needs, & more on the physical needs & product features.

Take all the information you’ve learned about the brand, industry & consumers & make a plan to market.

What social media platforms are you using? What unique opportunities can you take advantage of? What is your differentiation strategy?

Marketing strategy doesn’t have to be included in the brand strategy (after all we’re designers, not marketers), but with all the information you’ve collected, you can create a solid marketing plan to help reach goals.

Design Solutions

After taking in all that information, it’s time to provide some design solutions that bring the strategy to life!

Provide mockups & showcase the brand in real-life scenarios.

Showcase how their social media would work & give examples of messaging.

Explain why you chose certain colors, fonts, & other elements & how they align with the brand strategy. It’s also helpful to explain what not to do as a brand.

Ultimately, brand strategy is what sets you apart.

It is an essential part of setting your business up for success. Without a strategic plan, you’re basically just hoping for the best.

Big corporations have entire teams to conduct market research & develop strategies to position themselves successfully in the industry.

How can you do the same?

As a small business owner, you don’t have the time or resources to hire a team or do the necessary work yourself. But you can hire a brand designer.

I’ve also put together a Canva template to help get started. It’s not a blank template either, it’s a guide (based on this blog) to help set you or your clients up for success.

Thanks for reading!

I hope you found this helpful & feel free to share if you did!

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What is Brand Strategy & Why is it Beneficial for Small Businesses?