In today’s fiercely competitive business landscape, building a strong brand has become more critical than ever before. With countless companies vying for attention in crowded markets, a well-crafted brand strategy serves as a compass, guiding businesses towards differentiation, growth, and long-term success.
However, amidst the excitement and eagerness to establish a unique brand, it’s all too easy to stumble upon pitfalls that can hinder progress and impede the realisation of your brand’s full potential. Here are a few crucial dos and don’ts that the Faith team have compiled which you need to know before you start establishing a brand strategy.
The Dos:
First thing’s first—you have to clearly define your brand’s purpose and values. This is a must! Your purpose should articulate why your brand exists and what it aims to achieve, and your values should reflect the principles that guide your brand’s actions and decisions.
By having a clear outline of your brand’s purpose and values, you can draw on this for every part of your brand strategy, to make sure it resonates with your target audience and differentiates you from your competitors.
Simon Sinek’s Tedtalk on the ‘why’ is still relevant 13 years later and worth a watch! He cites the example of Apple, which, in his opinion, is technically no different from its competitors. But Apple communicates from the “Why.” Apple’s “Why” is to challenge the status quo and empower the individual. And their challenging the status quo is a pattern repeating in all they say and do, which is the reason why people perceive Apple as authentic.
When we start with “Why”, we go from the inside out of the circle. “Why” is the reason to buy and the “Whats” merely represent the tangible products as a proof of that belief. “Whats” are the reasons we can point to rationalize why we so much like a company over another. Next, you need to know who your brand is targeted at. Trying to appeal to everyone is a recipe for failure. Instead, invest your efforts in understanding your target audience by conducting thorough research to identify their needs, preferences, and behaviours, and build your brand to cater to them.
Don’t forget to conduct research on your competitors, too—by understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling propositions, you can identify gaps in the market that your brand can fill. Leverage tools like surveys, focus groups, and social media analytics to gather valuable insights and inform your brand strategy.
Once you know where you want to go with your brand strategy, it’s time to invest in your brand’s visual identity. Pay attention to crucial elements such as your logo, colour palette, typography, and overall design aesthetic.
You want to have a memorable look and consistent visual elements in order to establish the face of your business. This branding needs to be communicated consistently across all channels, including social media, advertising, website content, and customer service interactions, building brand recognition and trust with your audience.
The Don’ts:
When it comes to establishing a brand strategy, even the most well-intentioned businesses can stumble upon common mistakes that hinder their growth and potential for success.
One of the biggest pitfalls businesses fall into is failing to measure and improve the performance of your brand after launch. Without any gauge of how well your business is doing, collapse of your brand can creep up on you. Don’t fail to set clear goals and objectives, and gather useful data to track and evaluate your progress and results. Failing to measure and improve can result in wasted resources, missed insights, and poor decisions.
Finally—and this is especially important if your business is undergoing a rebrand—don’t avoid change! You could miss out on major opportunities by ignoring new technologies or business avenues because you’re stuck on old ideas. Old isn’t always gold—be open-minded and aware of the emerging trends in your industry in order to avoid your brand becoming dated, and test and launch new products and services that add value and differentiation to your brand.
Bonus: don’t ignore the guidance and insights of industry professionals!
Seeking advice from industry professionals can provide valuable guidance to elevate your brand strategy. Don’t make the mistake of relying solely on your own instincts; instead, find professionals who can offer fresh perspectives and show you exactly what you may be missing in your well-laid plans. Get in touch to discover how the team here at Faith can help you with your brand strategy today.
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