How to create a memorable brand
You know when you meet those people who are so grounded and real, yet interesting, that they’re a pleasure to be around? They engage in meaningful conversations. They know what they care about and live accordingly. They’re the kind of people you invite into your life time and time again, because each interaction deepens your understanding of them, a reveal of another layer.
One thing these kinds of people have in common is a clear sense of purpose. Not the same purpose — their unique purpose. Maybe they know it intuitively; more likely they’ve spent significant time working it out. This is big personal development stuff, but you can see how much value it brings to us as individuals, and to our relationships.
It’s equally important for your brand. Developing your business purpose, mission and goals, and a brand strategy and identity to communicate them, are the foundations of a brand that people talk about — and want to be around.
Think of it as a kind of ‘business self-development’ that underpins all of your business’ efforts, from the products and services you offer, to your pricing strategy, hiring policy and how you communicate with your audience. Your brand strategy acts as a guiding light and framework for how you run your business, ensuring consistency and alignment.
Having a strong and meaningful brand not only helps you attract your ideal customer, but it can also help with securing strategic partnerships, increasing your pricing and even attracting the right staff. Because knowing your brand’s purpose and mission, and having a strategy to demonstrate it, is not just for your benefit. It’s also crucial for your relationships — both existing and potential. Others are able to see clearly what you’re about, and know very quickly if and how they’re aligned with you.
You can’t really go wrong with having a strong brand strategy right from the beginning. You draw your tribe in quick and close, and those who are not attracted still know clearly what you’re about (and maybe even respect your brand having a point of view, even if it’s not theirs).
Without a sense of purpose, we fall into the trap of living our lives without any guiding principles, direction or really knowing our 'why'. And we know from personal experience how slimy it feels being around someone who changes their position depending on who they’re talking to. How frustrating it is when someone sits on the fence. Or how insincere it comes across when someone jumps on a bandwagon. These kinds of behaviours reveal a lack of character, and leave you with an empty feeling where safety and trust should be.
So it’s crucial to know what you stand for and why. For SMEs it’s especially important so that you can be targeted in your activity, rather than responding to opportunities with knee-jerk reactions, or getting blown along your business path with the wind. Being guided by your brand strategy allows your business to grow out from the centre, with every element of your brand utilised to explore and express your purpose, mission and values in infinitely rich and complex ways.
So what is a brand strategy?
A brand strategy articulates what you do, why you do it and for whom. It speaks to where you’re headed, how you’re going to get there and what is truly important to you as a brand.
Patagonia is a great example of a brand with a strong and clear strategy. Their purpose, “We’re In Business To Save Our Home Planet”, is communicated through every aspect of their operations. The products they sell, the materials they use, the services they offer. What they say and how they say it. What they choose to invest and re-invest in. All are facets of their guiding purpose, demonstrated through a meaningful and cohesive brand strategy. The result is not only a loyal customer base, but also an increasingly powerful voice and role in the wider community. The brand has become a platform to enact real change in the world.
As Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon puts it: “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”. So you want to make sure you’re really clear on who you are and why you exist so that you can actively influence your audience’s perception and understanding of who you are — and importantly, how you can help them.
Your brand is not any one thing. It’s not your logo. Not your product. Not your shop front. It’s a holistic view of everything you do. It’s emotive and, when used effectively, it can be a powerful way to establish yourself in the market and create lifelong customers and brand advocates (the holy grail of marketing).
Our three tips when developing your brand strategy are:
1. Do your research. Understand the market and category you play within. This is going to greatly influence your positioning, offering and how you communicate with your audience.
2. Really understand your ‘Why’. Why does your product or service exist? Are you filling a gap in the market or improving on an experience that already exists in market?
3. Know your audience. Know everything about them and not just your typical demographic information such as age, income, gender. Know their mindset, their psyche, what keeps them up at night, what problems they have. Having a deep knowledge of your audience will help you to understand how your product or service is going to help them and how you can communicate this in a way that’s meaningful and relevant.
Like any self-development, the process of developing your brand strategy is a challenging and enriching one. You’ll discover things about your business that surprise you, and get to know it in a whole new intimate way. You’ll be able to faster identify opportunities for growth, and more clearly recognise the activity that only serves to distract your brand from its true purpose. It will help you with decision-making, gap-filling and time-wasting.
A brand strategy is the north point that keeps you (and your brand) on the right path. A good one will translate your brand’s internal values into external actions, behaviours and words that the world can experience and appreciate — in every way, every day.
Article by Tyneal Alexander, Marketing Guru from Ritual Consulting