Brand Strategy in Marketing

Capturing the customer's attention gets more and more difficult as every single industry out there seems to be overloaded with products and services. Each product surely has its distinct features, though what is especially important is the right way to deliver the key message: Why us? 
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A brand strategy is a carefully crafted pattern that defines a company's unique identity, values, and messaging to create a distinct and memorable impression in the minds of its target audience. Overall, creating a brand marketing strategy is a turning point for a company that seeks to shape its communication and differentiate itself from the competition. It plays a role of an undisputed guide that aligns marketing with the brand’s vision and values. 
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A comprehensive brand strategy is a significant part of the company’s future success and revenue growth. It will help you put your flag in the ground for potential customers to see it and associate with you and you only. Quality brand marketing strategy cultivates trust, and this may be one of your key advantages when you try to retain clients in the future. 
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This article will help you figure out all ins and outs of a successful brand strategy. Based on a fine mix of old-school marketing and today’s trends, we’ll provide you with tips on how to develop your next brand strategy. Finally, we’ll analyze how it intersects with other marketing tools you may already be using. Let’s make your brand more powerful, and hence, Bolder!

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Why Do You Need One?
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A well-defined brand strategy brings to the table several significant advantages.

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Increased customer loyalty

By creating a strong emotional connection with your target audience, a robust brand strategy can build relationships that last and encourage the positive perception of your brand.

Effective differentiation

As we mentioned, all of today’s markets are saturated as ever, so standing out from the competition is vital. A strong brand strategy makes it clear to everyone that your brand is special by highlighting your unique selling points, core beliefs and establishing a clear value proposition.

Better marketing ROI

A cohesive brand marketing strategy ensures that your marketing efforts are consistent. What this means for you as a business owner is a more efficient use of resources and a higher return on investment.
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Understanding Brand Strategy
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Before diving deeper into the sophisticated world of brand strategy building, let's establish a clear definition. A brand strategy is one of the core marketing strategies you will ever develop for your business, that includes and goes in line with the very essence of your company. It serves as a roadmap for consistently communicating the company's unique brand value proposition to its target audience through highlighting its mission, vision, and brand values. This helps to shape perceptions and create lasting impressions.

The Role of Brand Strategy and Purpose in Marketing
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A strong brand marketing strategy plays a vital role in marketing efforts by providing a coherent framework for every aspect of a company's communication with its customers. It connects all the necessary dots between your own goals and the experience of those who these goals are aimed at. By focusing on the underlying purpose of the brand, a brand strategy enables your business to create a meaningful connection with the audience and drive long-term customer loyalty.
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Here are some ways in which brand strategy contributes to marketing success:
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1. Consistency

A unified global brand strategy ensures that all marketing messages are consistent across various platforms and channels, reinforcing the brand identity and cultivating a sense of familiarity among consumers.
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2. Targeting

Another key point a brand marketing strategy should reveal is the customer image. In order to adjust your offerings you’ve got to know who you’re helping with your products or services. The one who knows all the pain points of their potential customers gains a fair share of their attention and hence revenue.
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3. Differentiation

A strong brand strategy elevates your company by highlighting unique selling points and positioning it as the best solution for the customers’ desires.
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4. Credibility

You want your brand to demonstrate the expertise of the team that stands behind it, guarantee quality, and make the customers sure that all their needs are well taken care of. 
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A Market Example of a Successful Brand Marketing Strategy
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There’s hardly any case study or brand story in the whole history of marketing more well-known as Apple. Yet we’re confident enough to just stick to the classics in this article. The brand strategy of Apple has it all, it revolves around the idea of innovation, design, and simplicity, which are consistently conveyed through its product offerings and marketing communications. The brand values are well-established and evident up to this day.

User-friendly, yet still at the cutting front of technology, visually appealing, yet restrained enough to evoke feelings of exclusiveness. The company's minimalist design aesthetic, emphasis on innovation, and cohesive messaging have enabled it to create a strong emotional connection with its customers.

Up to this day, the Apple logo represents value and recognition. The brand strategy that has lasted decades and decades proves to us that staying consistent with a brand’s mission statement and core brand values not only builds trust but also the very value of a brand, product aside.

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Key Components of a Comprehensive Brand Strategy

Let us briefly introduce the essential elements of a clear brand strategy.

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Brand Purpose

The brand purpose is the very reason why your company exists, beyond just making a profit. This idea is the grassroots of any marketing step taken by the company. Your brand purpose should resonate with your target audience, inspire your employees, and play the role of the foundation of your brand strategy.
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Brand Positioning

Brand positioning is the process of defining your company's unique place in the market, relative to your competitors. Once again, it’s all about who customers choose - you or the competition. A true brand is of no value without this crucially important highlight of the product’s unique features. Effective brand positioning is crucial for differentiation and creating a clear value proposition.
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Brand Vision and Values

Some aficionados say that business strategy itself is another form of art. As we know, behind every masterpiece stands a visionary responsible for every stroke of the painting, every note in the chart, and, in this case, every action the company takes. Aligning your brand strategies with your brand vision and brand values ensures consistency and authenticity in your marketing efforts.
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Tone of Voice

The tone of voice refers to how your brand effectively communicates with its audience through written and spoken content. It should reflect your brand personality, which is the unique combination of characteristics that make your brand relatable and distinct. Make it easy for them to believe you, and they will. The tone of voice is yet another proof of the simple fact that consistency is king, not only in regard to creating a brand strategy, but marketing in general. 
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Visual Identity

Visual identity encompasses all the visual elements that represent your brand, including logo, colour palette, typography, and imagery. A strong visual identity is essential for creating a memorable brand experience and ensuring that your brand is easily recognizable in the crowd. Stay true to your visual identity across all touchpoints, both online and offline. This will reinforce your brand image and encourage a sense of familiarity among your audience.

Now that we are well aware of what components make for a great brand strategy, let’s proceed to the phase of its development.

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Developing a Brand Strategy

Below are four key steps to follow when developing a brand strategy.
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Define the target audience

Conducting market research and creating buyer personas can help you gain insights into your target audience and effectively communicate with them.

Carry out competitor analysis

The more intelligence you get on what’s going on on the market today the better. Staying up-to-date with the trends can help you identify some gaps or niches and transform them into growth opportunities. Conduct a thorough competitor analysis by examining their branding, marketing efforts, and customer perception. This intel will be helpful in terms of brand refinement. 

Set objectives

Setting clear objectives for your brand strategy is essential in determining the direction and focus of your marketing efforts. Use the SMART approach. The objectives should not just be in line with your business goals, set them to be Specific, Measurable, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Examples of brand strategy objectives might include increasing brand awareness, improving brand perception, or driving customer loyalty, all with regard to your company’s resources.

Create brand guidelines

Brand guidelines refer to the elaborated way you use your key brand components mentioned earlier in the article. Creating comprehensive brand guidelines ensures that your brand identity is consistently and accurately represented across all marketing channels and touchpoints. It helps maintain a cohesive brand experience for your audience and strengthens the overall impact of your brand strategy.

Your long-term marketing success heavily depends on the brand strategy, so make sure you put enough effort and dedication into its development. 

Brand Strategy and The 4 P's of Marketing

The 4 P's of marketing will never go out of style. Such elements as Product, Place, Price, and Promotion play a critical role when we talk about effective brand strategies. Let's explore how a brand's strategy is reflected in each of the 4 P's.
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Product

Your product should match and represent your brand's core values, goals, and positioning. To do this, your branding strategy should be applied throughout the development, design, and features of the product. It is important to create products that represent your brand's identity in order for you to properly connect emotionally with your target customers and generate loyalty.

Place

Place refers to the distribution channels and locations where your products or services are available to customers. A strong brand strategy should guide your decisions about where to sell your products, taking into account your target audience's preferences and habits. Having your products accessible in strategic locations online and offline can strengthen your brand equity and reputation and make it easier for customers to have a consistent experience with your brand.

Price

The pricing of your product or service should be based on your brand strategy, which can be affected by factors like the target market, brand positioning, and the worth customers assign to your offering. Analyzing these key components will help you decide on an optimal price for maximum customer satisfaction. Aligning your pricing with your brand strategy helps to establish the right perception of your brand in the market and attract your ideal customers.

Promotion

Promotion encompasses all the communication and marketing activities you undertake to create awareness and generate demand for your products or services. Your brand strategy should be the foundation of your promotional efforts, guiding the choice of marketing channels, messaging, and creative execution of marketing campaigns. It's essential to stay consistent with your branding strategy when promoting your business. This helps create a cohesive experience that communicates the right message to your customers.

Integrating your brand strategy into the 4 P's of marketing ensures that every aspect of your marketing efforts is on track. This approach helps to create a memorable brand experience for your audience.

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Tips and Best Practices for Creating an Effective Brand Strategy

While we’re absolutely sure everybody who’s working hard to develop a brand strategy puts their best efforts and commitment, here are some tips that will help you create an even more effective brand strategy.

Conduct regular brand audits

Regularly assessing your brand's performance and impact is crucial to ensure that your brand strategy remains relevant and effective. Conduct brand audits to evaluate your brand's strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Regular audits can help you determine any inconsistencies in the way your brand is presented to the public so that you can make appropriate corrections that will remain in tune with what your target customers prefer and expect.

Involve employees in the brand strategy process

Your employees play a vital role in representing your brand and delivering on its promise. Involving them in the brand strategy process ensures that they understand and embrace your brand's core values, vision, and messaging. A unified brand experience for customers is achievable when everyone buys in to your message. When this is achieved, it creates a strong internal culture that supports the long-term success of your brand.

Stay consistent with the brand message across all channels

Maintaining consistency in your brand messaging across all marketing channels and touchpoints is essential for building a strong and recognizable brand identity. Make your brand's tone of voice, visual elements, and overall messaging pursue the same goal. That also applies to omnichannel strategies, you don’t want your brand positioning statement to get scattered across different worlds. 

Use visuals and storytelling to enhance the brand message

Visuals and storytelling are powerful tools for enhancing your brand message and creating a memorable brand experience. Leverage compelling visuals, such as images, videos, and infographics, to convey your brand's personality and values. Additionally, use storytelling to share your brand's journey, showcase customer success stories, or illustrate the impact of your products or services. By engaging your audience through visuals and storytelling, you can forge a deeper emotional connection and reinforce the key elements of your brand strategy.

The Role of Agency Assistance in Brand Strategy Development

A quality brand strategy can make all the difference in your business's success. A poorly designed one may potentially cost millions in the long run. Even if you are just starting as a company and don’t have a dedicated brand marketing department to do the necessary work, outsourcing the complex task of brand strategy development to an agency may be an optimal solution. Most agencies have dozens of relevant cases behind their back, so you can stay sure that their work will be efficient and relevant to the market trends.

How Can Bolder Help?

Working with a marketing agency like Bolder offers several advantages. Bolder's solutions are designed to be long-lasting rather than based on short-term trends and are created with a deep understanding of your audience and market. This approach helps clients save money on promotions and ensures the brand remains relevant for years to come.

Bolder specializes in strategic brand marketing, offering a full range of services that cater to startups and impact-driven companies. Our approach includes Brand Strategy, Logo & Brand Systems, Visual Identity, Tone-of-Voice & Messaging, Narrative Design, Brand Guidelines, and Websites. Bolder's adaptive marketing solutions are aimed at scaling your business, allowing for flexibility as your company evolves.

One example of Bolder's success is our work with Raiseway, a company targeting small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs. Raiseway initially presented themselves with a corporate, dry image that could have been more appealing to their target audience. Bolder identified the need for a simpler, more relatable brand identity and communication strategy.

Bolder transformed Raiseway's branding to better resonate with small business owners and entrepreneurs, who often seek to distance themselves from the corporate world. By creating a more approachable, friendly image for Raiseway, Bolder positioned the company as a supportive partner for small and medium-sized businesses.

Bolder also focused on making Raiseway's messaging more human and accessible, ensuring that their target audience could easily understand the company's offerings. This shift in communication strategy helps Raiseway connect with their customers more effectively, building trust and stronger relationships.

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We believe in you!

Now that you're armed with a better understanding of what a brand strategy is, it's time to take action. Put all key elements of a brand strategy into one whole prospect yourself or with a help of an agency. Keep in mind the insights and best practices shared in this article, and consider reaching out to a professional marketing agency like Bolder for expert guidance. With a personal approach together with deep expertise in the field of marketing, we'll be able to make your brand stronger and bolder!