Brand strategy is the planning, blueprint, framework and roadmap that you create for your business’s branding purposes. It’s the foundational stone that defines what your brand stands for, how it’s different, and how it should be experienced by customers, employees, and investors alike. It’s not just about having a catchy logo or a great-looking website. It can be observed or realized as a collection of different elements, factors, aspects, and branding components woven together to form a strong, decisive blueprint that helps brands move toward success.
It has to be different for every type of company and business, and not only that, it explicitly depends on the niche, nature, and type of audience a brand is trying to target. When deciding on a brand strategy, the business must focus on who it's targeting, what pain points it's going to address, why anyone should trust the product, and how the brand wants to be remembered. It’s equal parts positioning, messaging, differentiation, and voice, all packaged into one single strategy made to not only theorize the ideas but to have actionable measures to execute.
Brand strategy is the long-term plan for how your brand will achieve its goals by shaping people’s perception of it. Now that we have deciphered what brand strategy is, let’s move ahead and discuss what brand strategy is for startups.
Brand strategy for startups
For any startup that has just set foot in the market. Brand strategy becomes an inevitable component. Whether the brand will succeed in the market is a question for later on; first, whether the product will survive and become stable in the market entirely depends on brand strategy. Brand strategy sets the direction. Brand strategy offers a roadmap to follow. This way the company remains in control and is aware of what to do next, what to do if this happens, what to do when that happens, and, of course, what to do when something doesn’t work.
This is the simplest form of explanation that can be given for a brand strategy. Even when the big conglomerates do not shy away from developing and implementing this, a startup or even an SME should not ignore the fact that they will also need a brand strategy.
Cost of Skipping Brand Strategy?
When we talk about startups, everything is happening in the office and on the field at a rapid pace. The management is introduced; the entire workplace is going through a lot of things, such as hiring, building, pitching, and tweaking the product. When multiple things are in motion, it is understandable that brand strategy gets left out in the corner or, worse, gets shelved for a brief period of time. But again, although it is understandable, it still exists, and you must never let it go out of your sight. Either by design or by default. Without a strategy, the brand messaging becomes dispersed. The marketing feels disconnected. All of this leads to more confusion, and more confusion leads to chaos.
If we look at these statistics, consistent branding across all platforms hikes the revenue by approximately 23%, and 77% of consumers purchase products from brands that share their own values. What this tells us is that you require something to connect with your audience, and that's one thing.
Yes, you’re right, that’s brand strategy.
Also keep in mind that early-stage businesses benefit the most from brand clarity. In fact, it's the best time to start for any brand. An effective brand strategy guides you in attracting the right people and helps you not to fall into the common pitfalls that can make the brand bleed financially.
I personally have come across many brands that fail miserably without strategy, and it is either too late or completely over for them by the time they realize it. This is why I often say that brands without strategy bleed money silently. As a brand strategist, it is my fundamental responsibility to make your businesses aware of what’s missing in their branding operations.
When Brand Strategy is in Action
There are a series of core elements that a brand strategy consists of and works on, such as brand purpose, mission, vision, brand values, brand positioning, target audience, brand identity, brand voice, messaging, and the whole representation of the brand both online and offline across different channels and platforms.
Brands that are consistently presented are 3.5x more likely to enjoy excellent brand visibility. When a startup invests in brand strategy, the benefits show up across the board. Marketing becomes more focused and persuasive because the business gets clarity on who they are talking to and how to talk to them. The entire process of sales gets smoother as the pitch is sharper and more consistent. Strategy works on perfecting one element at a time, and in exchange, that one thing helps in regulating other elements too. If people don’t remember you, they won’t trust you. And if they don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you. This is how the cycle works for any brand.
When Should Startups Build a Brand Strategy?
According to McKinsey, companies with strong brands outperform those with weak ones by up to 20% in terms of return to shareholders. If the startup has not invested in brand strategy from the start then the second best time for a startup to invest in brand strategy is right now, start from today, start from this very moment. Start early, and get a headstart on branding.
Learn A to Z of personal branding, if you are just about to start a business, focus on brand strategy parallelly and do not take it for granted. That’s one thing I’ve always seen founders do and that is also the same thing I do not want you to repeat. Learn from others' mistakes, you don’t have to do it yourself.
Final thoughts
The bottom line of this entire blog reflects one and only message: the importance of brand strategy. If you are a startup owner, have a brand checklist prepared for yourself. Make sure you align the brand strategy with your operations and do not delay or postpone it. Once you implement brand strategy in the right direction, you get a long-term plan for your brand at the set time. In contrast, without a brand strategy, you unintentionally sign up for a long-term struggle and suffering in the market that can result in big financial chaos.
