Are You Ready To Tell Your Brand Story?

One of the most integral steps in the marketing plan process is developing a brand strategy. It’s often the thing that causes most businesses the biggest challenge but it is the most vital step in creating your company identity. Your brand story will be repeatedly communicated, in multiple ways with frequency and consistency through the life of you business. Starting off with a well thought out brand strategy will allow your business to move in a focused meaningful direction with all of your marketing in the years to come.

A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies in today’s competitive marketplace. It’s important to spend time investing in research, defining and building your brand; after all your brand, is the source of your commitment and promise to your customer. It is the foundational element that later defines all of your market and advertising communications.

If you fail to establish your brand, you run the risk of sending mixed and inconsistent messages to your potential customers, which can cost you existing as well as future clientele. The main goal of a solid brand strategy is to connect your product or service with your target clientele. In order to do that, both need to be properly and succinctly defined.

The first step is to define who you are. What does your business do? What are your values as an organization? Where are you currently positioned in your market and where do you want to be positioned? These and dozens of other questions need to be properly answered and fully understood.

Start with the stakeholders of your company. Ask questions an get their take on the important positioning questions.

Identify your goals for the company or organization. Knowing where do you want to be in the marketplace is crucial as the identity you portray to the public and both must be in harmony with the ethics, goals and viewpoints of the principals and management team of your business.

Define the brand audience. The next step in this process is to clearly define your audience and identify the objectives that the brand needs to achieve and build a plan that will help you succeed in meeting those objectives.

Establish your position in the marketplace. What is your value proposition, how are you better than your competition. What is it you do/can offer that others don't?

Good Branding, creating great brand stories, is not about getting your target audience to pick you over the competition, but rather, it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only possible solution to their problem. The story your brand tells should make crystal clear every time it is told.