Why you should work on your branding strategy before anything else

You want to stand out from competitors and build a strong presence within your industry but don't know where to start. That's why it's important to focus on your brand strategy before anything else.

What is a branding strategy?

A branding strategy is more than just getting ahead of the market, it is a long-term plan to achieve a series of goals. So no, it isn’t only the sum of your logo, color palette, or website. All these elements are important but a good branding strategy includes way more elements than that, such as brand equity, awareness, values, and sentiment.

At the heart of every branding strategy are the intents to create a competitive advantage by making your company more valuable to customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

How to create a successful branding strategy?

1 - Define Your Brand's DNA

Your brand needs a voice that is unique and authentic. The more you can clarify who you are, the better your messaging will be and the more likely you'll be to stand out from the crowd. It will guide all decisions, drive company behavior, and be expressed in everything you do.

• To help you define your brand’s DNA you can answer these questions:

• What is your brand story?

• What values are integral to your business?

• How do you want others to see your brand?

• What is your unique value proposition?

• How is your business different from your competitors?

Need inspiration? Many companies have mission and vision statements that are very well crafted, with beautiful words that inspire. If you need inspiration for your own, check out the brands you admire and see how they frame their mission and vision statements.

2- Identify And Target Your Ideal Client

Your ideal target customer is your best customer. They are the ones who are most likely to respond to your marketing efforts and help grow your business.

Important Components of a Buyer Persona:

Location

Age

Gender

Education level

Incomes

Consider their habits.

Identify their goals and their fears.

Identify how they make their buying decisions

The best way to create your Ideal Client Profile is through simple surveys or interviews. Think about those customers that accurately fit the description you initially created of your Ideal Customer and interview as many of them as realistically possible.

When you know who your ideal customer is, you can market to them in a way that feels real and relatable.

3 - Create an Emotive Appeal

4 - Be Consistent

5 - Employee involvement

6 - Competitive Awareness

Time to work on your brand guide!

Now that you defined who you are we can start working on the visuals.