How to create a brand strategy that makes your business bulletproof

What makes a brand?

That’s a question we’ve covered many times as a brand strategy agency.

After all, there are plenty of companies out there who know they need a brand to connect with their audience, drive profits and maintain an effective reputation. Unfortunately, only a handful of those people understand what true branding all is about.

A brand is an idea. It’s the way your customers feel when they think about your company or see your name on a billboard. ‘Branding’ on the other hand, is a strategic pattern used to develop that all-important perception. A well-defined and carefully executed brand strategy bridges the gap between your business and the people you most want to reach.

Your brand isn’t your logo, your product, your website, or even your painstakingly chosen company name. It’s the combined aspects of your company’s identity that make it so recognisable.

While many of the elements of a brand strategy can seem intangible, the good news is that there is a way to simplify the process. All you need to do is get to know your brand essentials.

Today, we’ll be brushing up your skills in the art and science of brand strategy, with a complete introduction to your must-have branding essentials.

What makes a brand bulletproof? Branding essentials

Since a brand is, in basic terms, how your customers perceive you, it’s essential to make an excellent first impression.

A robust brand strategy is the easiest way to give your team the guidance they need to make a positive connection with your target audience. Here, we’re going to cover all the major brand essentials included in a standard brand strategy. However, before we get started, make sure that you have the following foundation elements in place:

1. Your user personas

The last thing you want to do is put hours of time and effort into creating a brand that doesn’t resonate with your customers. Before you start building anything, make sure that you create a selection of in-depth user personas to guide your decisions. Do your homework and find out everything you can about the people most likely to buy your products and services. Where do they live? How old are they? Which other companies do they like?

2. Your vision statement

Where is your company going? When you’ve finished developing a great brand, what do you want people to see in your future? A vision statement clearly communications your company’s objectives and provides you with a crucial compass for future branding decisions. Get your whole team together to discuss the vision that’s right for you, and remember to keep your target audience in mind.

3. Your brand story

Just as important as where you’re going, is where you’ve been. It’s important to have a background story that your customers can get behind. Ask yourself where the idea for your product or service came from. How does it help your customers? What can you offer that no-one else can? Ideally, it may help to write an elevator pitch for your brand that summarises the most valuable components of your business.

Now that those starting points are out of the way let’s take a closer look at the most critical branding essentials for any brand strategy.

Piecing it all together: Don’t underestimate brand strategy

As a brand strategy agency in London, we encounter a selection of other branding essentials alongside the ones we’ve mentioned above. However, this guide should give you a fundamental insight into some of the most critical elements that go together to make an incredible brand.

Use your brand essentials correctly, and you’ll develop a strategy that helps you to sell more of your products or service, outshine your competition, and even earn the long-term loyalty of your target audience.

Your brand strategy is your guiding light in building a sustainable business. It helps you set expectations with your customers and meet them too.

Just remember that all of the brand essentials we’ve mentioned above have one very crucial thing in common – they thrive on consistency. Your brand should be a clear and compelling beacon to everyone who comes into contact with it. That means that you need to maintain the same strategy and create a cohesive experience all the way from your logo, to your brand messaging and more.