5 Essential Questions to Ask Before Developing Your Brand Strategy
What’s worse than having a brand?
Wasting time and money on the wrong brand.
And the wrong brand can be many things:
a brand that is not tuned in with the needs of your ideal customer,
a brand that is ever-changing and hence lacks in consistency and cohesion,
a brand that fails to differentiate itself from competitors, blending into the noise,
a brand that drains resources without delivering a meaningful return on investment. Although, in complete honesty, this one is a consequence of the above symptoms.
In my experience, most business owners understand that they need a brand and branding. More and more business owners also understand that branding is not just visual identity. Few, however, realize that branding is a long-distance run that requires clarity, cohesion, and consistency. Yes, the 3 magical Cs of communication.
Clarity is achieved through a branding strategy exercise that examines key branding building blocks and results in a branding blueprint for your brand. This document acts as an ever-evolving guideline for your brand-building efforts. If you stick to it, your communications will be cohesive.
Consistency is on you and your team. The minute you deviate from the document, you stop being consistent. If the data you have acquired over a longer period of time tells you that the approach doesn’t work, it is okay to drop it. This is not okay if you lose interest and want to try something new on a whim.
But this is not an article about cohesion or consistency. It’s about achieving clarity in and for your branding.
In the following articles, I will examine each key building block. We will take a close look at how to get a decent understanding of your ideal audience(s), how to identify your niche and positioning, what some great exercises to determine your voice are(yes, we will check out the famous brand archetypes), and much more. Each article will contain practical and proven exercises that help me develop branding strategies for my clients.
Before we dive into practicalities, we need to do some branding soul-searching.
Yes, I know it sounds funny. But it’s needed.
In my experience, most brand owners jump into the branding strategy exercise directly and, halfway through it, realize they don’t like what they see. Or they love the envisioned direction but soon see it doesn’t reflect their reality or the realities of their target audiences.
For this reason, I am starting this series with branding soul-searching questions that will help you better grasp your reality. These questions will inform your strategic decisions in the upcoming exercises.
Question #1: Branded, Brand-Led, or Sales-Led
One of the first decisions you must answer is how you want your brand to operate. Should it be a branded company, a brand-led company, or a sales-led company?
The difference matters, says Jasmine Bina in her article about the 16 rules of brand strategy. There is no right or wrong approach — either option works as long as you commit to it.
Branded companies have an identity, but consumers truly identify them by their products. When a product supersedes the brand, a company is always at the mercy of the consumer and their needs.
Most brands that come to your mind are branded companies. They have an identity, but they also follow the diktats of the market.
A subset of a branded company is a sales-led company. Such a company prioritizes revenue, then looks at margin, product and brand.
What is the difference between the two? While a branded company focuses on creating a recognizable identity and leveraging its corporate reputation across various product lines, a sales-led company prioritizes immediate revenue generation and market share growth, often making branding a secondary concern. In a branded company, the identity is centered around the brand as a whole. In contrast, a sales-led company adapts quickly to market demands with an intense focus on sales performance, sometimes at the expense of long-term brand loyalty.
On the other end of the spectrum lies a brand-led company.
Brand-led companies, in contrast, play the long game and require more investment. The identity of the brand supersedes the product and allows a company to resist certain market forces.
To me, Patagonia, Apple, and Geiko are prime examples of brand-led companies. Their brand promise and vision, not mass consumer pressures, dictate their growth.
While branded companies tend to grow quickly and extract a lot of market value early on, says Bina, brand-led companies create movements and have more market authority once they find their ideal positioning.
Question #2: Are you better or different?
The next decision you need to make is whether you want to be a brand that does things better or different(ly).
If you are better, you are — according to Porter — essentially optimizing operational efficiencies. This means you can, say, do things at a lower cost, faster, or more reliably.
Most companies that come to mind are optimizing operational efficiencies (yes, including Apple). They can never relax; their optimization never ends. Otherwise, they can get outperformed by their competitors.
Being different, on the other hand, means performing different activities from rivals or performing similar activities in different ways. This means you are making tradeoffs: deliberate choices of what you will not do and stick to it. This also means you are dead serious about your values and don’t compromise on them.
Each of these directions comes with its unique set of pros and cons.
Being better is cheaper and more productive and, in my experience, makes you money faster with a lower investment. However, you will also struggle to differentiate your business and potentially suppress innovation in your company.
Being (truly) different will bestow you with strong market differentiation and result in a loyal customer base. However, it also requires higher investment in marketing (and R&D), and in many cases, it takes longer to create a loyal base.
Question #3: Why are you doing this?
This is probably a question I should’ve opened this article with.
But if you’ve started contemplating the two questions above, you have indirectly touched upon this question, too.
The why question has two subquestions:
Why does your brand exist? According to Simon Sinek, answering this question defines our “compelling higher purpose that inspires us and acts as the source of all we do.”
What do you want to achieve with your brand for you? Short term? Long term?
Do you want to have fun? Do things your way, not compromise on quality? It sounds like you a value-driven, brand-led company is a good fit for you.
Do you know you can make the lives of your prospects better? But you also want to make money fast? And you have no problems with compromising? Then a branded company is probably a way to go.
Question #4: How much time and money you can give?
Before starting the branding process, it’s crucial to assess your available resources, both in terms of money and time. Branding is an investment, and the amount you can allocate will significantly impact the scope and scale of your efforts.
Since you’re reading this article, I assume that you are an SME owner with a limited budget. You can most likely allocate more of your personal time to this exercise than financial resources. This is okay — that’s why this series of articles exists: to help you navigate the creation of your brand story.
When you want to DIY
As mentioned, it’s completely fair if you want to DIY your branding strategy.
However, this means you need to make yourself a promise — you will be (highly) critical of your ideas. You will carefully examine them by asking: “So what?!”
Here’s what Neil Patel says about this test:
You want customers, right?Then start telling them what your product does for them!Stop simply reciting what your product does. For every line of copy you write, ask yourself “So what? What does this do for them?” Let’s use Dropbox as an example:Dropbox stores your files in the cloud.So what?It means you can use Dropbox and retrieve your files from any device. The files don’t have to be stored on the device.Now put that in a short sentence.Dropbox keeps your files safe, synced, and easy to share.Okay, great. Now I understand what it does for me.
In my experience, when the company owner lays branding foundations, they normally don’t go deep enough. As the brand’s owner, you know how your products work in and out, and — let’s face it — think your brand is great (that’s why you’re doing this, after all). Your customers, on the other hand, have a limited attention span and are being bombarded by different brand offers and promises at the same time. For this reason, they don’t have the focus to connect the dots in your offer. It’s your job to do this for them. (Don’t worry — we will explore how to do this in the article about brand messaging.)
When you can afford someone else’s help
When you can afford someone else’s help, hiring a branding professional can greatly benefit your branding efforts. Here are some key advantages to consider:
Objective perspective: A branding expert brings an outside perspective, free from the biases and assumptions that you may have as the business owner. They can challenge your ideas and push you to think more critically about your brand positioning and messaging.
Specialized expertise: Branding professionals have deep knowledge and experience in crafting effective brand strategies. They understand the nuances of brand psychology, market research, and creative development, and can apply proven methodologies to guide your branding process.
Time savings: Developing a comprehensive branding strategy can be time-consuming, especially if you’re starting from scratch. By hiring a branding expert, you can free up your time to focus on other critical aspects of running your business, while still ensuring that your branding efforts are in good hands.
Professional execution: From conducting customer research to designing visual identity elements, a branding professional can ensure that all aspects of your branding are executed to a high standard. This level of polish and consistency can be difficult to achieve on your own, particularly if you lack design or copywriting skills.
What to look for in a branding professional
When hiring a branding professional, look for someone who:
Has a proven track record of successful branding projects in your industry
Takes the time to understand your business goals, target audience, and unique challenges
Communicates clearly and collaboratively throughout the process
Provides a detailed proposal outlining their approach, deliverables, and timeline
Offers ongoing support and guidance as you implement your new branding
Keep in mind that hiring a branding expert is an investment, and the costs can vary widely depending on the scope of your project and the professional’s level of experience. Be sure to allocate a realistic budget that aligns with your business goals and resources.
If hiring a full-service branding agency is beyond your means, consider working with freelance professionals or consultants who can provide targeted support in specific areas, such as brand messaging or visual identity design. Many online platforms, such as Upwork or 99designs, can connect you with talented freelancers at various prices.
Question #5: What are your current ideas about your brand?
This is the last set of considerations you need to make before you embark on the brand development journey. They will act as your initial hypotheses (and not truths!). As you progress through the branding process, you may need to refine or even overhaul these initial concepts based on research, feedback, and strategic insights.
Who is your target audience?
Having a clear understanding of your target audience is the foundation of any successful branding strategy. At this stage, you likely have some ideas about who your ideal customer is, but it’s important to be as specific as possible.
Consider the following questions:
Demographics (age, gender, location, income level, etc.)
Psychographics (values, interests, lifestyle, personality traits)
Pain points and challenges related to your product or service
Goals and aspirations that your brand can help them achieve
Preferred communication channels and media consumption habits
Remember, your target audience should not be too broad or generic. The more niche and targeted your audience is, the easier it will be to craft a brand message that resonates with them.
What is your promise to this user?
Your brand promise is the value proposition you offer your target audience. It should clearly communicate the tangible and intangible benefits your customers can expect from your product or service.
To develop your initial brand promise hypothesis, consider:
The core features and functionalities of your offering
The emotional benefits and aspirational outcomes that your brand provides
The unique user experience that sets you apart from competitors
Your brand promise should be concise, compelling, and easy to understand. It should also be realistic and achievable, as failing to deliver on your promise can damage your brand reputation.
Some questions to ask yourself when crafting your brand promise:
What problem does my product or service solve for my target audience?
How does my brand make my customers feel?
What can customers expect every time they interact with my brand?
Why should customers choose my brand over competitors?
What makes you different from others trying to make the same promise?
Simply making a promise to your customers is not enough. You need to differentiate your brand from competitors who may be making similar claims.
Your initial branding hypothesis should include ideas about what sets you apart, such as:
Unique product features or proprietary technology
Exceptional customer service or personalized support
A compelling brand story or mission that aligns with your audience’s values
A distinct brand personality, voice, and visual identity
Aim to identify differentiation factors that are:
True and credible, not just marketing hype
Relevant and valuable to your target audience
Difficult for competitors to copy or replicate
Consistently delivered across all brand touchpoints
Keep in mind that differentiation is not just about being different for the sake of being different. It’s about understanding what matters most to your customers and delivering on those key factors better or differently than anyone else.
Conclusion
Congratulations on completing this branding soul-searching exercise! By answering these fundamental questions about your brand’s identity, target audience, unique value proposition, and differentiating factors, you’ve laid a solid foundation for your branding strategy.
Remember, the answers you’ve provided are initial hypotheses, not set-in-stone truths. As you progress through the branding process, be open to refining and evolving your ideas based on research, customer feedback, and market insights.
To help you organize and record your branding hypotheses, I’ve created a quick Notion worksheet that you can use as a starting point. Feel free to copy and adapt it to your specific needs.
In the following articles, we’ll take a deep dive into each key building block of a comprehensive branding strategy. So stay tuned and make sure to follow me to receive updates when new articles in this branding strategy series are published. And if you found this guide helpful, please share it with your network and leave a comment with your key takeaways or questions. Happy branding!
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This article was first published on Medium. You can read it here.
