New clients who come to our agency, requesting that we create a visual identity for them or assist in choosing a name for their future brand, often ask this question. The answer to it is not easily given in a single sentence.
This is not because it can’t be condensed into one sentence (because it can’t), but because the answer is extensive and complex. That’s why it takes a bit more time and text to explain why brand strategy is important.
But before we delve into that, it’s important to clarify some terms to avoid any confusion. Often, the terms brand and brand strategy are used imprecisely. Many people toss around these terms in meetings without a clear understanding of their essence. As a result, there’s a lack of communication in the business world.
Let’s change that together and bring clear and precise meaning to these brand-related concepts.
What’s the difference between brand strategy and your brand as a whole?
Let’s start by defining what a brand is. Your brand is something intangible yet incredibly powerful. You can think of it as the feeling that arises in a customer’s mind when they think of your brand. That feeling can be strong, weak, positive, or negative.
But here’s how we see the definition of a brand: Your brand is the emotional connection that customers have with your business. Your company’s name, logo, visual identity, marketing, advertising, and—possibly most importantly—the experiences that customers associate with you.
If your brand is strong and consistent, it can bring certain benefits to your business: it will influence customer loyalty, and they will naturally recommend your products or services to others. Furthermore, a strong brand sets you apart from the competition. Ultimately, your brand allows you to dictate premium prices for your products or services.
By now, you’ve realized that your brand resides in the minds of your customers. Does this mean that your most valuable business resource is something you can’t control? Not entirely true because you can indirectly influence your brand. Now, you’re probably wondering, how do I do that?
This is where brand strategy comes into play. It provides answers to all the important questions you ask yourself about your brand. So, we define it as follows: a brand strategy is a plan to actively influence how customers perceive your brand. It explains the direction your company is headed, what it aims to achieve, and provides a map and compass for navigating that path. And most importantly, it clearly defines what should and should not be done within the strategy.
Why is brand strategy important?
If you want to build a strong brand, your business needs a brand strategy. With such a strategy, you can create a recognizable brand in the market. It defines your business and focuses on long-term goals. Additionally, it sets parameters to help you gauge whether your business is heading in the right direction. Without a brand strategy, how will you know if your business is on the right track?
Real Benefits of Brand Strategy
Now, let’s truly explain the tangible benefits you’ll experience when you have a brand strategy. Perhaps, until now, it hasn’t been clear because there haven’t been concrete examples, but this is where you get the tangible benefits of a brand strategy.
- Helps you articulate key brand values and communicate them more effectively to others. When you know that people don’t buy your product for its own sake but for the value they gain from using it, you understand why these values are important. What your brand stands for and supports will be much easier to communicate to everyone once you’ve grasped it clearly.
- Creates a sense of responsibility. When your brand has a well-defined strategy, everyone you work with has a responsibility to work towards the goals outlined in that strategy. Even if, at times, you deviate from the path, the strategy is there to guide you on how to get back on track and reposition where you were.
- Achieves surgically precise marketing results for the brand. With clearly defined marketing activities and a focus on target groups and ideal customers, campaigns will be successful, and results will come much faster. Instead of wasting hundreds of euros on campaigns that bring mediocre or poor results, a brand strategy will make everything work much better, and the results will show quickly.
- Increases the company’s value. This particularly applies to startups. Regardless of whether you plan to find investors or sell your company, a brand strategy is important. It will show investors and buyers that you’ve thought about and planned the brand’s future, growth, development, and profit increase. This will help you justify the price or the amount of funds you’re seeking from investors.
- Helps you identify weaknesses in the customer brand experience. If the experience customers have when buying your product or service isn’t consistently high quality, it will be difficult to gain their trust and build a brand-loyal relationship. When you have a brand strategy, the highest level of quality is defined within it, and it’s implied that customers will have the same experience every time, without exception.
Does your company have a brand strategy?
Now is the time to sit down and consider how important it is for your company to define all the details of a brand strategy. Then, it’s time to envision what your brand could achieve with a brand strategy.
If you’re still pondering this and have many questions that need answers before you decide to give your brand a strategic approach, it’s time to reach out to us and get answers to all those questions.
Our branding experts will provide you with all the answers and specify the best approach for your brand’s development, helping you avoid the most common mistakes in brand-building. Your brand deserves the best team working on its development, so write to us today.
