What is brand strategy?
Brand strategy is the plan for how your business wants to be seen, by whom and why. It defines your audience, positioning, values, personality and key messages, giving your designer and marketing a clear direction to follow.
What is brand positioning?
Positioning is the space you want to own in your customers' minds compared with competitors, for example the friendliest, the most specialist or the fastest. Clear positioning makes your marketing sharper and your pricing easier to justify.
Why does my business need a brand strategy?
Without a strategy, design is guesswork. A strategy makes sure your logo, website and messaging all point the same way, helps you attract the right customers and stops you chasing work that does not suit you.
How do I define my target audience?
Look at your best existing customers: their industry, size, location, problems and why they chose you. Build simple profiles from that. A brand designed for a specific audience connects far better than one trying to appeal to everyone.
What are brand values?
Brand values are the beliefs that guide how your business behaves, such as honesty, reliability or craftsmanship. They shape your tone of voice and customer experience, and help customers decide whether you are the right fit.
How do I make my brand stand out from competitors?
Research what local competitors look and sound like, then deliberately do something different, whether in colour, tone, imagery or the promise you make. Being distinctive is usually more effective than following industry clichés.
What is a brand story?
Your brand story explains why you started, what you believe and how you help customers. Told well, it builds trust and gives people something human to remember and repeat, which is especially powerful for local businesses.
What is brand personality and tone of voice?
Brand personality describes your character, for example expert, warm or bold. Tone of voice is how that comes across in words. Defining both keeps your website, emails and social posts sounding like one consistent business.
Do I need brand strategy before a logo?
Ideally, yes. Even a short strategy session before design gives the designer the insight to create a logo that means something. Skipping it often leads to more revisions because there is nothing to judge the designs against.
How long does a brand strategy take?
For a small business, a strategy can be done in one or two workshops plus a written summary, usually within a couple of weeks. Larger organisations with multiple stakeholders and research needs may take longer.