How to Build a Successful Brand Strategy

Author: Kacey Waleski Category: Branding Date: July 1, 2021

Your brand is one of, if not the most prized asset of your company or organization. It is not always easily defined, but it is almost always easily recognized. It is intangible, but it is comprised of tangible elements. So, what does a successful branding strategy accomplish? Simply put – everything. It carries with it your reputation, your visibility, and your relevance to the people you serve. Your success rests on it. As a result, to build a successful brand strategy requires a carefully calculated plan – one that encompasses more than just a compelling logo and a visually appealing Instagram.

Like any building project, you must start with a blueprint to identify the pieces you need, how to put them together, and how they will work collectively. When launching a new brand strategy, there is an integral process for how to build a successful brand strategy, and each step depends on the one before it.

Know who you are. What is the purpose of your business or organization? What problem are you trying to solve? What makes you different from others working in the space? Hopefully, these are simple questions to answer because they are important ones. All the strategic decisions you make creating your organization or corporate branding plan will use your identity as their foundation.

Do your homework. Getting to know the target audiences of our clients is an essential first step in how to do branding for a new company. (We talk more about the importance of it in this short, free brand development strategy webinar.) Who are you targeting? Be specific. This means knowing their age, gender, level of education, where they live, what they do for a living, and their family dynamics. This also means knowing their priorities, how to connect with them, what they like and dislike, and what motivates them. Brand image building strategies that try to target everyone actually target no one at all.

Doing your homework also means knowing about your competition, so you can build a successful brand strategy that sets you apart.

Decide who you want to be. In brand development marketing, we often call this your brand voice. This is the feeling you want your audiences to have about who you are. Is your tone technical and authoritative? Are you warm and friendly? Do you want to be seen as professional and customer service-driven? Your brand voice will help you relate to your target audiences most efficiently.

Figure out what you want to say… Strong messaging is imperative if you want to build a successful brand strategy.  Your messaging should be simple, appeal specifically to your target audiences, and tell them exactly what you want them to do. It should remove all doubt that yours is the brand for them. You will likely need messages tailored to each audience segment, but they should all flow naturally from your identity and voice.

…And how you’re going to say it. This is where you equip your strategy toolbox with all the tools you’ll need to build a successful brand strategy – one that will reach your audiences and engage with them. This includes:

• Your brand assets, like your name, logo, and tagline
• Your channels, like your website, social media, and digital outreach platforms
• Your collateral, like your brochures, stationery, and other promotional items
• Your communications, like videos, blogs, and earned and paid media

Each tactic should reinforce the steps that preceded them – supporting your identify, reflecting your voice, and infusing your messaging. Everything – from their colors to their functionality – should target your key audiences.

Live, learn, and adapt. Once you have established how to build a successful brand strategy, you must infuse it into everything you do. Consistency is fundamental to saliency. You should also monitor it every step of the way, from how well it was implemented to its achievements. This will help identify areas of improvement and potential course corrections.

It can be tempting to jump right to developing your flashy website to get your organization or business out into the marketplace, but starting with good strategy is critical. At Paradigm, we specialize in helping you achieve a cohesive, united brand identity you can be proud of. Let us work with you to build a successful brand strategy from start to finish. Contact us today.