By Tenns Reid | Featured Contributor

Having a brand strategy is crucial to your branding being effective, resulting in having a successful business. If you look at brands like Apple and McDonald’s, they have very clear strategies for their brands, which is why they are so successful. They know exactly who they want to target, how they want to do it, and why they want to do it. When they employ their marketing techniques, they work because they gear them in a way that resonates with their target markets, garners interest, and creates a sense of urgency to purchase their products.

Without a brand strategy, these brands wouldn’t be able to do this or rather their marketing techniques would not work. This is one of the main reasons its so important that you have a strategy for your brand. Today, I’m giving you inside scoop and rundown on some additional reasons on why brand strategy is so important; what it is, how to come up with yours, and the steps to take once you have one.

What Is a Brand Strategy?

In layman’s term, your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering your brand messaging to. Its essential to know these key areas in detail, because it has everything to do with how you market and advertise your business.  Your business’ success is heavily contingent on knowing who you’re communicating to, how, and in what ways you do. Done incorrectly, you can find yourself wasting a lot of time and energy, and not making the income you desire to make from your business.

A brand with a strong strategy equates to having increased brand equity, which means that people (your potential or target market) perceive your products and services value higher than that of your competitors or similar brands. If you have one goal with your business, this should be it!

When your brand has high equity, you can charge a premium for your products or services, and your target market won’t think twice about, i.e. Apple and Coca-Cola. In order for your brand to be perceived this way, it must be consistent and have strategic branding – where you are, where you want to be, and what the market is doing.

Why It’s So Important?

Brand strategy is important because it positions you to know the needs, habits and desires of your target market.  This way the promise that your brand makes to them is actually one that they appreciate and resonate with. Your target market should know exactly what your brand offers, what they can expect from it, and how your products or services differentiate you from that of your competitors.

Most importantly, you want your brand to be perceived as one that is not only different, but better than that of your competitors. People are more likely to spend the extra money on the brands they perceive to be better, because they want a higher quality product that they feel will perform better or be more reliable.

How to Come Up With Yours

Coming up with your brand strategy starts with defining your brand. The key compontents of defining your brand are:

1. Your Story, which you need tell in a unique voice through different mediums repeatedly.

2. Your Target Market, knowing what’s important to them and how they perceive your brand in relation to that. When you know these things, you can create a brand that both attracts and retains clients and customers.

3. Your Messaging, which is how you will communicate your story to your target market. Knowing how to best reach and deliver your message is vital to effectively reaching your target market. – Do they respond best to television, print, or social media marketing? Where are they? What tools do they use most frequently? Are they mobile and on-the-go or homebodies who enjoy time in?

4. Your Competitors, knowing who they are, what they offer, and analyzing their weaknesses. You can better brand your business with a different value proposition and really show your target market the benefit of your brand over that of competitors.

5. Your Intentions, in that your brand and its culture is perceived as authentic. Clients and customers must know that you are going to come through on the promise of your brand, meet their expectations, and most importantly, do so in an ethical way that doesn’t compromise their health, data, or investment.

To assess and become more well versed on the key components of defining your brand, you need to be able to answer the following questions about your brand:

• What is your business’ mission?
• What are the benefits and features of what you offer?
• What perception do your customers and prospects have of your business?
• What qualities do you want your business to be associated with?

What To Do Next?

So now that you know what a brand strategy is, why it’s so important that you have one, and how to come up with yours, there are some critical steps to take to position your brand.

• Create a visual brand identity, i.e. logo and design elements that represent your brand.
• Develop a tagline. It should be concise, meaningful, and memorable. Your tagline should capture the essence of your brand and denote your core values.
• Integrate your brand. Items like your collateral branding (business cards, brochures, stationery, etc.), communication methods (phone, email, etc.), and dress code or uniforms need to be consistent with and reflective of your brand’s tone and voice.

If you need help building a strategy for your brand, please check out my Branding services for more information or email me directly here. I’m also available for coaching and consulting, which includes brand audits and one-on-one help! You can learn more about those services here.

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Tenns Reid is the voice and one-woman-show behind the branding, design, and coaching boutique, Bliss & Faith.

She helps fellow busy and creative female solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who are passionate about blogging and business bring their brands to life! Her goal is to provide a resource to help them reach their goals, embrace their passions, and strive for success. She is committed to educating, informing,  and sharing with those who want to achieve their dreams.

Tenns holds a degree in Business Management with an emphasis in HR and a minor in Sociology.  She has worked in many industries to include Retail, Restaurant, HR, & the Military, which has given her a wealth of knowledge and experience. In being a Brand Stylist, Business Coach, Designer, and Blogger, she is able to combine both the creative and artistic side of her  brain, with the technical and analytical side.  Tenns loves learning, researching, and solving problems and is so happy to be able do a job every day the marries so much of who she is, while being able to help others and make a difference in their lives.

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Tenns Reid