Strategic Branding & How to Get Started Fast

Branding is key to all businesses – particularly those in highly competitive markets. Without a strong brand, it’s difficult for your business to stand out. While some associate “brand” with “logo,” know that your brand extends beyond one creative asset. Your brand reflects everything about your business, which is why being thoughtful matters. Developing a full brand strategy takes time & resources, so unfortunately many businesses neglect strategic branding to focus elsewhere. If you know that your brand leaves much to be desired but feel overwhelmed by the needed improvements, that’s okay. Below are our tips on how you can make quick and meaningful updates.

 

Review & Document Current Channels

Before you make changes to your branding, understand your starting place. You don’t have to spend hours documenting every detail of your brand. Instead, look at the elements that most customers see and/or interact with. Start with the highest impact assets, such as your website (if your site has significant traffic), and work from there. Based on your business type and the importance of each channel, consider reviewing your website, social media pages, marketing emails, digital ads, custom/news/brand-development-logo-design/expert-advice-for-a-powerful-website-revamp/er service processes, etc. What message are you conveying with both words and imagery? How do you interact with customers & what tone and language do you use? Look at any campaigns you’ve run, and judge how those align with your core brand assets. Don’t make the review complicated – a quick slide deck or word document with screenshots & notes can do the trick in a pinch. Make the task manageable, to simply get the process started.

 

Focus on the Foundation

While your brand shows up in all that you do, a few foundational pieces of your brand may require additional attention. For example, your logo, tagline, color scheme, typography, and mission statement. Review any part of your brand that should remain consistent vs. a one-off piece of marketing or content. When you focus on the most impactful elements of your branding, others who are working on your brand (such as team members, designers, developers, marketers, etc.) are set up for success. As people helping to support your business, they will have solid guidelines from which to build.

 

Scale Based on Resources

Now that you understand what your brand conveys and what to update, get more granular as you’re able. The level of granularity is scalable. Meaning that based on the time and resources you have available, the more thorough you can be. For example, after auditing your channels for core brand messaging, consider your sales messaging. Are you selling your products or services in the best way possible? This ties to your business’s value proposition. Are copy, images, and other content focused on customer benefits, rather than product features? If you have been writing about how great your business is, rather than the problem you solve, that’s an opportunity for improvement. Finally, consider working with professionals on a more built-out digital brand strategy. Their expertise and experience can help guide the way.

 

Avoid analysis paralysis with your brand. Get started by documenting where you are today, focus on key elements, and then scale. If you’d like to learn more about brand strategy, we offer free 30-minute consultations. Reach out to us here – we’d be happy to provide feedback & answer your branding project questions.

 

 

Tags: brand development, branding, logo design