How To Create A Brand Strategy (With Template)

Good branding is an important facet for business success – without it, your business will not reach its full potential and you will be quickly surpassed by your competitors. To be successful in the marketplace, business owners must have a brand strategy in place to increase their brand positioning.

We have provided a breakdown of brand strategies, complete with our Brand Strategy Template.

What Is A Brand Strategy?

Your brand is your business’ personality that leaves people with a lasting emotional impression about your business. Your brand is less about what you sell, but more so why you sell it and the promise you make to customers. For example, your business could be working towards social good, or you could promise excellent quality and service, every time.

To build a branding strategy, you will develop a range of core brand assets such as a logo, colour scheme, typography, tone, and voice to convey your purpose and promise to your customers. Having a consistent range of brand assets makes your business recognizable and works towards establishing trust and connection with people.

 

Why Are Branding Strategies Important?

Having a branding strategy means that all your interactions with your customers and the public are consistent. Without a branding strategy your marketing is either inconsistent or contradictory, which makes it hard for people to be able to routinely identify your brand and form a connection with you.

If people are easily able to identify you and form a connection with you, they are far more likely to buy from you and be a repeat customer. Not only does this win you repeat business, but it also creates brand equity, in which you are able to charge higher prices because people perceive that your brand is trustworthy.

How To Develop Your Branding Strategy

To build a branding strategy, you will develop a range of core brand assets such as a logo, colour scheme, typography, tone, and voice to convey your purpose and promise to your customers. Having a consistent range of brand assets makes your business recognizable and works towards establishing trust and connection with people.

 

Determine What You Want Your Brand To Be

First and foremost – before you start looking at colour schemes and logo ideas, determine what you want your brand to be. Ask yourself what your business’ purpose is and what you want to promise them. This process ensures that every brand asset you choose is deliberate and is a good representation of who you want your brand to be.

 

Give Your Brand A Voice

An area of branding that is often overlooked is the tone and voice. It is very important to think about how your customers would like to be spoken to, rather than sticking with a professional default. Depending on what your business is, you may find that going for a more casual, conversational approach is far more effective at establishing a connection with customers.

 

Tell A Story

Often there is a reason why you started your business, so tell your story! Having a story to tell makes your business seem more personable and can form an emotional connection with your audience. By telling the story of why you started your business, you can show the passion you have for your business and your business’ purpose.

 

Give Your Assets An Emotional Appeal

Every design choice you make can elicit an emotional response from your customers, so consider what you want your customers to feel when developing your brand assets. For example, something as simple as choosing your brand colours can have an emotional impact on your customers. Blue can produce feelings of trust and loyalty, whereas black may symbolize luxury, and red can symbolize action – or danger.

The same can be said for font choices, Times New Roman may give off a professional albeit outdated feel, whereas fonts like Calibri or Montserrat might feel more modern, and scripts might feel elegant and feminine.

We have created a comprehensive brand strategy template that will guide you through the process of identifying what you want your brand to be, and how you will convey that through a brand strategy.

You can download our Brand Strategy Template here.