What is a Brand Strategy?
Branding identifies your business. Your customers recognise your business. A strong brand is reflected in everything you do in the business from your customer service, business cards, marketing materials, and advertising.
- Your brand should reflect your business qualities, strengths and personality.
- Creating a solid brand involves in-depth market research to determine why customers will be attracted to your business, how customers will remember your business and trust that your products or services will suit their needs.
- Branding is vital in the early stages of starting a business — launching a company with a strong brand will provide you with a greater chance of success.
- The type of brand you choose will appeal to different customers, so you need to complete your market research.
-
Brands are designed to support and promote an idea associated with your products or services.
Types of Branding:
Attitude brands -based on "feelings". Products promoted as making people feel energised, such as energy drinks or
sportswear
Symbolic Brands -Often used relating to services such as banks or telephone companies trading on the emotional
aspects of their service
Functional Brands – Promote why someone should purchase this brand or service, such as being unique or performing
better than its competition.
Individual Brands – Undertaken for larger companies such as soft drink companies like Coca Cola that
own Coke and Fanta are fighting for market share.
Having a Brand Strategy means investing in your business for the long term. Evolving beyond the "sole trader" mindset.
How to Brand Like a Pro with Canva
Amanda Lowry & Katrina Puranik outline the specifics on how to build your brand and how to build the creatives with Canva!
6 Steps towards
Business Growth
How to Build a Brand
Building a successful brand commences from a brand strategy. Building a solid foundation and engaging the branding process. It is a way for you to create clarity and focus on what your business will achieve and how your brand will connect with your market.
A Brand strategy is to build brand awareness through a marketing strategy. Promote your brand through advertising and marketing can help customers recognise your business. Be consistent in using your brand so that customers quickly identify your business in your advertising and marketing material. Constant use of your brand also helps customers remember your business and grow your customer loyalty and advocacy.
Consider refreshing or rebranding if you begin to lose sales. Revisit your business plan and complete a SWOT analysis. Review your competitors and how their business has changed. Review your business and your marketing strategy.
ESTABLISH YOUR IDENTITY . Establish your purpose of the brand, what is your vision? this is your beliefs of your business. Articulate what you want to achieve with your brand, this will become your mission statement. What are the values of your business? How will your business "behave", interact with its stakeholders?
FIND YOUR VOICE . What tone of voice will your brand have? This determines the language, the colour choices, imagery you will use and so much more.
BRAND STRUCTURE & AUDIENCE. What services and products are involved and how they will work together for your target audience.
BRAND CULTURE . This is your brand's personality. Ask yourself - what does your brand reflect about your business? This how people perceive your business, and influences the culture surrounding your brand.
POSITION YOUR BRAND . What levvel is your brand playing on? What brands do you want to see your brand next to? Think about brand quality, brand experience and the type of client you want to engage.
DESIGN YOUR BRAND . Last but not least. This is your logo, website layouts, brand interaction on various platforms, e.g. Social Media, software platforms etc. The appearance of your brand and its content. Online and offline.
What makes a strong brand?
Build trust in your brand
A strong brand attracts new customers as well as retaining existing ones. It would be best if you created a brand for advertising and marketing material. You should do your market research, competitor analysis and consider the size of the market and your potential customers. A brand can give your business direction.
Your Brand is YOUR Story.
It shows your vision and mission statement. Your branding relates from the tone and voice of your business through to the marketing materials.
Why do you need a brand strategy?
A Brand strategy is to build brand awareness through a marketing strategy. Promote your brand through advertising and marketing can help customers recognise your business. Be consistent in using your brand so that customers quickly identify your business in your advertising and marketing material. Constant use of your brand also helps customers remember your business and grow your customer loyalty and advocacy.
Consider refreshing or rebranding if you begin to lose sales. Revisit your business plan and complete a SWOT analysis. Review your competitors and how their business has changed. Review your business and your marketing strategy.
Brands that speak volumes
- Business name - Impressions, what does it encompass?
- Customer service style - Are there systems in place? Availability, Level of Care.
- Business cards - Weight, Style, Uniqueness
- Website Appearance - Content & User Experience
- Premises, Use of Space, Decor, Virtual
- Pricing Structures & Flexibility or Not
- Marketing materials and advertising styles and content