Reasons Why Your Brand Strategy is Falling Short
You keep hearing that all-important word, “brand.” They all say that you don’t just need a business; you need a recognizable and respected brand. So you listen to their advice. You do some research on brand strategies, come up with a brand strategy of your own, and start implementing it. Despite your best efforts, though, you’re now months into the process, and your business hasn’t improved. Why?
As it turns out, there are many reasons your brand strategy may not be getting the traction you wish it had. Take inventory of these common mistakes and find out if you’re making any of them.
Your brand strategy is missing clarity.
Have you ever gone to a business’s website and, after clicking through multiple pages, you still have no idea what they do? If your branding strategy lacks solid clarity, your customers will have a similar problem. Stop overcomplicating your strategy with unnecessary detail. Edit every word as if each word cost $1M. Focusing on the essentials will provide much-needed clarity in your messaging.
Your branding strategy needs to be clear and specific. It should lay out clearly and concisely who you are, what you do, and why it matters. Those essentials should be included in every part of your brand strategy, from your logo to your marketing campaigns.
You’ve fallen into the trap of setting it and forgetting it.
Some businesses create a brand strategy and use it to make large-scale decisions about marketing campaigns, website development, and how they do business. Then, they set it aside and forget about it. To make the most of your brand strategy, you need to keep that strategy in mind for every decision you make, even the day-to-day minutiae. A well-crafted brand is the result of not only a solid branding plan but a branding plan you consistently implement day after day.
Look at it this way: whether or not you’re conscious of it, everything you do will impact how customers view your company image. If you want to cultivate the brand you’ve chosen, that brand needs to guide every interaction and every choice you make. You can build this into your branding strategy itself. For example, create guides for the type of language to use in your interactions with customers. Design templates for your customer emails that include the visual qualities of your brand, like your color scheme and your brand’s fonts.
You are overlooking your customers.
As you develop your brand strategy, your customers should be a top consideration. After all, you’re creating a brand in order to appeal to them.
Let’s say your business is an insurance company that specializes in insurance for seniors. It might sound fun to brand yourself as a fun, youthful, innovative business. Chances are that this won’t appeal to your target customers. Think through why someone would purchase you from; what do you make them feel?
You also need to consider the best mediums to appeal to your customers. For example, an insurance agency for seniors might want to spread its brand through more traditional means, like direct mail, rather than focusing on digital marketing.
Every good brand strategy starts with comprehensively researching your customers and understanding who they are and their motivations. This is one benefit of working with an experienced branding specialist who knows how to research your customers and discover the best ways to appeal to them and turn them into brand evangelists.
You are focusing too much on your product.
Did you know that 65% of people habitually skip ads when they watch videos online? The reason is clear: people are tired of being “sold to.” They hear and see ads all day, every day, so they skip them when possible and tune them out when they can’t skip them.
If your brand strategy focuses too much on your product itself, all your branding will feel like “just another ad” to customers. The content won’t feel human and resonate with them; as a result, you won’t get the well-defined, well-known brand you’re trying to build. For that reason, your brand strategy needs to focus more on the value you provide or the solution you’ve created. Let’s go back to that insurance agency example. Everyone knows the basics of insurance, so if you’re just telling customers about your products, they’ll get bored and ignore your message. If you focus on peace of mind, they can gain it, or the way they can take the stress off their family members, you’re more likely to get through to them.
How to Get a Brand Strategy That Really Works
Two factors determine whether your brand strategy will achieve the desired results: the strategy itself and how you carry it out. To make sure your efforts don’t go to waste, work with a professional who can help with both aspects.
Our team specializes in getting to know your business and developing a detailed, exceptional brand strategy with powerful potential. We can then take it a step further to help you put that strategy to work in your campaigns and your day-to-day operations. To find out more or to start building your brand strategy, contact our brand strategists.
