This article will give you clarity on how to define the brand direction, using a well-defined strategy to help you evaluate your marketing efforts in the business.

What is brand strategy?

Brand strategy is a plan that encompasses specific, long-term goals that can be achieved with the evolution of a successful brand -- the combined components of your company's character that make it identifiable. A well-defined and executed brand strategy affects all aspects of a business and is directly connected to consumer needs, emotions, and competitive environments.

First, let's clear up the biggest misconception about brand strategy: Your brand is not your product, your logo, your website, or your name. In fact, your brand is much more than that — it's the stuff that feels intangible.

1. Why does your brand exist? "Every brand makes a promise. But in a marketplace in which consumer confidence is low and budgetary vigilance is high, it's not just making a promise that separates one brand from another, but having a defining purpose," explains Allen Adamson, chairman of the North America region of Landor Associates. Find your purpose, and you'll have a better vision of how your brand should grow.

2. Consistency is the key. The key to consistency is to avoid talking about things that don't relate to or enhance your brand. As you strive to build brand value and trust, assess how consistency works across all aspects of your identity, including messaging, tone, imagery and delivery.

3. Reach beyond rationale; think about what emotion you want your customer to feel. Customers aren't always rational. How else do you explain the person who paid thousands of dollars more for a Harley rather than buying another cheaper, equally well-made bike? A strong emotional connection is determined by the degree of overall positive feelings a customer has toward a brand. Markers of such intimacy are fulfillment, identity, nostalgia, indulgence, ritual and enhancement.

4. Durability & Flexibility. In this fast-changing world, marketers must remain flexible to stay relevant. While consistency aims to set the standard for your brand, flexibility enables you to make adjustments that build interest and distinguish your approach from that of your competition.

5. Connect the people. In this era of digital, human connection is worth more than just a representative; your employees are the reason why your company still runs today. Community marketing is a brand growth strategy centered around bringing customers together over a topic aligned with a brand. TL;DR it's about them, not you.

6. Embrace the social loyalty. 'Social Loyalty' has been gaining momentum over the past five years as an effective strategy to drive engagement, enablement and sales performance. Be present and interact closely with your audience. Include them in your process.

7. Competitive awareness will help increase the category of your industry — which then increases the market size, followed by your market share. Take the competition as a challenge to improve your own strategy and create greater value in your overall brand.

Conclusion:

These are the 7 pillars of brand strategy that we always implement to our client's strategy as a base foundation. Transforming business digitally is hard, let alone synchronously implementing your brand experience throughout all your customer's reach.

Free ebook: 15 Actionable Steps in Building Brand + Bonus Materials. Book a conversation: Brand experience consultation.

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7 pillars of brand strategy

What is brand strategy?

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