Developing Your Brand Strategy

A Step by Step Guide

By Laura Lake, About.com Guide

See More About:

• brand strategy
• brand development
• branding

Developing a brand strategy can be one of the most difficult steps in the marketing plan
process. It's often the element that causes most businesses the biggest challenge, but it's a
vital step in creating the company identity.

Your brand identity will be repeatedly communicated, in multiple ways with frequency and
consistency throughout the life of your business.

Creating your brand strategy can be done easily by following the step by step guide below.

Developing Your Brand Strategy Email Course

If you are ready to begin the development of your brand strategy, but need guidance and
feedback the Brand Course is just for you. Each week you will receive a new lesson delivered
to your email box and assignment to complete. When you have completed the assignment you
will post the assignment and I will review each lesson and coach you through the 6 weeks, by
the time you have completed the 6th week you will have created your Brand Strategy.
More Info

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What is Branding?
A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies day by day. It's important
to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand
is the source of a promise to your consumer. It's a foundational piece in your marketing
communication and one you do not want to be without. In this first week's lesson we will
discuss and lay the foundational concept of branding, what it is and what it is not.
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How To Define Your Brand
This is the first step in the process of developing your brand strategy. By defining who your
brand is you create the foundation for all other components to build on. Your brand definition
will serve as your measuring stick in evaluating any and all marketing materials and
strategies.
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Determining Your Brand's Objectives
Critical to effective brand management is the clear definition of the brand's audience and the
objectives that the brand needs to achieve. How do you go about defining those objectives
and putting a plan into place that will help you succeed in meeting them.
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Focusing on Your Target Audience
The power of your brand relies on the ability to focus. That is why defining your target market
will help to strengthen your brand's effectiveness. Learn how to define your target market in
this week's lesson of the Developing Your Brand's Strategy course.
More Info
Discovering and Crushing Your Brand Barriers
When creating your brand strategy for a product or service it is important to perform a careful
analysis to determine principal barriers that you may come in contact with. These barriers are
also known as market conditions that can keep your product or service from achieving
success. In this lesson you will learn where you can do the research to find your specific brand
barriers.
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Brand Packaging and Identity
Branding is your identity in the marketplace, is yours saying what it should? Your company
image is all about the appearance of your packaging. What is your company image saying to
the marketplace?

Determining Your Brand's Objectives

By Laura Lake, About.com Guide

See More About:

• brand strategy
• brand development
• brand objectives

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Critical to effective brand management is the clear definition of the brand's audience
and the objectives that the brand needs to achieve.

What are the objectives that you hope to achieve with your brand?

Your brand should be comprised of the company personality, image, core

competencies and characteristics. The impressions that you make as well as the
words people will use to describe your company to others, are the basic framework
of your brand.
With a strong brand you build credibility, have more influence on your market, and
motivate customers and clients to purchase from you.If done correctly your company
will be looked at as a leader not a follower.

To determine your brand objectives ask yourself the following question:

• What is it that you want your brand to do for your company?

• What do you want others to know and say about your products or services?

Sample objectives may include:

• Being recognized by receiving a specific award

• Picking up a certain number of choice projects
• Gaining a specific number of new clients in the next year
• Positioning your company as an industry leader in the next five months

You will find that by defining your objectives with specifictimelinesit is easier to
develop a plan of action to achieve those objectives. By defining your objectives you
are able to map out a plan on how to achieve those objectives. Say for example your
objective is to position your company as an industry leader. How can you go about
doing this? You could:

• Have members of your team speak at Trade Shows

• Schedule lectures at professional group gatherings within your industry
• Write and publish articles in newspapers, magazines, or online media

Once you've determined your objectives the next step is to build and develop your
brand strategy by listing out how, when, and what you are going to do to accomplish
and meet your those brand objectives.

Use the questions above to determine your brand objectives. List each objective and
map out how you plan to accomplish and succeed in meeting those objectives. Don't
stop there! Once you've finished take time to list out what you can do in the this
month or this quarter to meet that objective. Be specific and schedule those action
items in your business calendar.

You can ask questions, add comments, and post your assignment in the Marketing
Forum.

Focusing on your Target Audience

By Laura Lake, About.com Guide

See More About:

• target marketing
• market segmentation
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Your value proposition must be relevant to your target market. This means your
target market must be clearly defined. It's not uncommon for a business to have to
refocus and revisit their targeting, especially if it was not clearly identified in the
beginning stages of business.

It is necessary to find the right balance when defining your target market in a way
that causes your audience to recognize that you are talking specifically to them. This
often requires companies to narrow down their target market.

Why is Your Target Market Important in Branding?

It does not matter what your Brand mission is identifying and gaining the devotion of
your target audience is the necessary means to reaching those objectives.

To achieve your brand marketing goals it is important that you know your target
market inside and out. This requires conducting a market analysis. This market
analysis must be as in-depth as possible providing you will all the data you need to
reach your target effectively. By knowing your target audience you will be more
confident in the steps to take to connect with that audience.

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The power of your brand relies on the ability to focus. That is why defining your
target market will help to strengthen your brand's effectiveness.

There are two steps in Lesson four of the Developing Your Brand's Strategy course.
The first is to conduct and informal market analysis of your target market and the
second is to write a target audience definition for your company. The instructions
below will walk you through the process of completing both of these steps.

Conduct Your Informal Market Analysis

The following questions will help you assess your market analysis. Make your study
as complete as possible. Use the Internet to conduct research. You can also read
news stories that are related to your target market. This will help you to narrow
down your target by interest, demographic, and common trends.
 1.Who is your target audience?
2.Where is your target audience located?
3.What do they think about your current brand?
4.What would you like them to think about your brand?
5.How will you attract them to your products or services?
6.Who else is competing for their loyalty and devotion?
7.Are you targeting business or consumer sectors?

Write Your Target Market Description

Using the questions below write a target market description. Be as specific as you
like. The more specific the better.

Second draft a statement on the type of relationship you would like to have with
your clients.

Post Questions, Comments, and Answers to the above Questions in the Marketing
Forum.

Discover and Crush Your Brand Barriers

By Laura Lake, About.com Guide

See More About:

• brand barriers
• develop your brand strategy

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When creating your brand strategy for a product or service it is important to perform
a careful analysis to determine principal barriers that you may come in contact with.
These barriers are also known as market conditions that can keep your product or
service from achieving success.

For example they could include the following:

 • Competition
• Timing
• Financing
• Location
• Lack of Demand

In order to be prepared to face these obstacles or barriers it is important to spend

time doing a careful analysis of your product or service. This analysis will assist you
not only in the development of your brand, but also in the positioning of your
product or service.

A careful and thorough analysis will assist you in answering the following questions:

• Do you have a niche market? What problem does your product or service
solve or need?
• How should you determine the price of your product or service?
• Who are your potential customers and where can you find them?
• Who are your biggest competitors? What can you do better than them?
• How should you advertise? Where will you find your target market? Will you
use new media or traditional media?

Now that you have your questions where do you start your market analysis
research? Starting your research is actually easier than you think, but it will take
time. You will need to dedicate hours to this research in order for it to be useful and
effective.

Let's start by visiting some very popular Internet websites that you can use for your
market research:

Is there a great demand for your product or service? Find out by using Overture's
keyword suggestion tool. By typing in key terms you can see how often your product
or service is searched for on the Internet.

Who are your competitors? Investigate them online by using the Profusion Tool. This
search tools enables you to drill down to your search topic and even has the ability
to notify you when your competitor change or updates their website.

Keep informed on current market conditions and trends in your vertical market by
subscribing to trade publications, news alerts, and electronic newsletters. There are
several directories available, but you can get started with the few listed below:

• EzineLocator
• NewsDirectory
• KnowThis Publication Directory
• Google News Alerts
Who makes up your target market? What are their statistics and economic position?
Where are they located? You can find this information by viewing industry surveys
and research documents. Get started by using the following resources:

• Annual Survey of Small and Medium Size Business

• NUA Internet Surveys
• Forrester Research
• National Association for the Self Employed
• National Foundation of Women Business Owners
• Fortune Small Business
• National Federation of Independent Business

Use the resources and questions above to analyze your market and discover any
brand barriers you may come up against. I have no doubt that you will find at least
one barrier. When you've located that barrier develop a plan to crush it and move it
out of your way so that you can move forward towards success in marketing your
business.

Continuity: Creating An Image Greater Than The Parts

From Jim Schakenbach

See More About:

• marketing communication
• brand identity

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2009
Let's face it. Every industry loves it's own proprietary language and the world of
marketing communications is no different. Today, marketing and advertising is all
about branding, but in its early days it was known as positioning and a key element
in the effort to establish a marketing identity - regardless of what you call it - is
something called continuity. What exactly is that? It's the strategy and process of
coordinating all the elements of a marketing message to achieve a consistent,
memorable, overall look and feel for a company, service, or product.

Sounds impressive, doesn't it? It's really all about making sure that everything you
do as a company has a coordinated look and feel about it. Graphically, that means
creating a standard logo, selecting a corporate color (or colors), a particular
typeface, even a photo or illustration style. Content-wise, it means determining key
points for your marketing messages that clearly, concisely, and compellingly
elucidate your unique selling proposition (there's another one of those industry terms
that falls in and out of fashion on a regular basis).

This is not as simple as it sounds. It requires an unfaltering, dedicated effort up and

down your marketing chain to avoid going "off message". Time and time again I
have seen engineering departments grab logos and typestyles and use them with
haphazard abandon on everything from data sheets to PowerPoint presentations. I've
seen sales people ignore mandates from the home office and routinely put out their
own marketing pieces with not a shred of semblance to the carefully crafted look
painstakingly created by their own marketing department. The result is always the
same - a dilution of the company's identity and often a related drop in market share
in response to the lack of an effective, unified marketing message. That, in turn,
requires a needless squandering of precious marketing resources to reestablish the
company's former brand awareness in the marketplace.

It doesn't have to be that way. A little discipline and a lot of vigilance can head off
these potential image drainers and nip them in the bud before they become a real
problem. By paying attention to continuity, your company can reap a multitude of
benefits - heightened market visibility, enviable awareness among potential
customers, and a more effective use of your marketing budget, yielding the biggest
bang for your buck. Overall, a keen eye toward continuity helps you achieve levels of
image and branding efficiency unavailable to practitioners of hit-or-miss marketing
with little or no image consistency between messages and media.

It starts with your corporate identity.

I never cease to be amazed at how casually some companies treat their identity.
There's no shortage of firms that use two, three, even four versions of their logo on
a regular basis, with no particular rhyme or reason. The same goes for corporate
colors - often a victim of one or more employee's personal taste ("I HATE that color,
I'm going to use green instead...I think it looks better"). This dilution of image is
made even easier by the proliferation of PowerPoint and other tools used by more
and more employees. If this is happening to your company, I have three words of
advice: STOP IT. NOW.

The longer this practice is allowed to continue, the more it will cost your company. In
time, money, image awareness and, ultimately, in market share.

How do you combat this insidious problem? By establishing company-wide standards

and maintaining them. Issue a simple style sheet that everyone can understand and
follow and then enforce it. That means establishing a corporate color (or colors), a
particular typestyle (especially one that is duplicated in computer fonts) and creating
a logo that works well in 4-color (the process colors used by printers to print in full
color), 2-color (usually black and a particular shade of a color from the Pantone
Matching System, identified by a PMS number), and black and white printing. If you
create high and low resolution files in these three versions and make them available
to the people most likely to need them, you will go a long way toward unifying your
image out in the marketplace.
Brand Packaging: Are You Reflecting the Right
Company Image?
By Laura Lake, About.com Guide

See More About:

• brand identity
• brand development

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Branding is your identity in the marketplace, is yours saying what it should? Your
company image is all about the appearance of your packaging. What is your
company image saying to the marketplace?

It's important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive
influence on the purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer,
just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special
attention to your packaging is when you are in the launch of a "new" brand. If you've
already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close
attention to the packaging.

How can you package your brand so that it is an integral part of your business and
represents a strong identity? Keep in mind that I am not speaking of packaging has
only a box that contains a product, but as a vehicle that reflects your company's
brand and image. Packaging can be judged and represented by the following
common business tools:

• business cards and stationery

• web site
• answering system
• email address

What image are you putting across with these business tools that you use everyday?
What are they saying about your company? Take a few moments and lets look at
each one of these.

What are your business cards and stationery saying? Are they saying we are strong,
we are confident, and we can succeed in helping you? Or does it reflect an image
that says we are flimsy, our dynamics are minimal, and we will try but we cannot
guarantee continuity?

What does your web site say about your company? Does it reflect professionalism,
clarity, and show them that you respect and care about them? Or does your web site
confuse viewers, project an untrustworthy image of your company and ultimately
drive potential customers away?

What does your answering system and call return policy say about your company?
Does it say we are here to help, eager for you business and will do what it takes? Or
is it putting across the message that you are too busy to cater to new clientele, don't
care about their needs, and wish they would just quit calling?

What does your email address say about your company? Does it suggest your role in
the company, is it easy to remember, and does it something about you and your
business? Or does it project a meaningless or generic emptiness? If you are using
the email address hotbabe4u@hotmail.com for your business dealings................it's
time to change!!!!!

As you can see all these things speak volumes about your image and they either
strengthen or weaken your brand. Your image is all in the packaging. Would
potential clients take a second look or is your message getting lost? If you thought
these things were not worth the investment or didn't matter, you were wrong.
Clients and customers will make assessments of your company based on these
things and while not always conscious, that customer appraisal says much about
your business, your attitude and your priorities.

Post Questions, Comments, and Answers to this Question in the Marketing Forum.

What Role Does Your Logo Play in Your

Branding Strategy?
By Laura Lake, About.com Guide

See More About:

• company logo
• brand strategy
• brand identity

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When I speak about branding it's not uncommon for people to mistake their logo as
their "branding". Your logo is only one piece of your branding strategy. Your logo is a
symbol that can provide consumers with instant and powerful brand recognitionof
your business and the services or products that you offer.

Before beginning the process of logo creation be sure that you have developed your
brand strategy. Why? Your logo is like a small ad for your company, without the
strategy behind it a logo can put across the wrong message and in return weaken
your strategy. You want to keep your brand message consistent to help increase
consumer recognition.

How do you know when you are ready to move to the process of having your
logo created?

• The mission of your logo is to portray the values and goals of your company.
Make sure that these are clearly established before venturing out to find a logo
designer.
• Be clear about the message you want your brand to convey so that your logo
can clearly reflect that message. You must have a strong association between
your brand and your logo. Remember it is only one piece of your branding
strategy.
• Your logo should reflect professionalism and growth no matter how small your
company is.
• If you are designing your logo in-house to save money be sure to market-test
your efforts.
• Make sure that the logo you select is not dated but can be used effectively
year after year. Keep in mind it is how consumers will recognize your company.

The conclusion of the role your logo plays in your branding strategy can be summed
up in the following statement.

Confident branding and a strong branding strategy uses design to communicate a

message that attracts the target audience that you want to attract - a message that
creates confidence in your brand while differentiating between you and your
competitors. Does your logo fulfill this mission? If your answer is no it may be time
to consider strengthening your brand strategy and looking at a new logo to re-
position your company.

How To Write a Slogan that Sticks

By Laura Lake, About.com Guide

See More About:

• sticky slogans
• brand identity
 • tag line

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When you think of slogans, what comes to mind? What brand can you recite a slogan
for immediately?

Take for example the following slogans that have made their way into the memory of
thousands:

• Just Do It - Nike

• This Buds for You - Budweiser

• Have it Your Way! - Burger King

• We Bring Good Things to Light - GE

• We'll Leave the Light on For Ya! - Motel 6

• Zoom! Zoom! - Mazda

Use the six components below to test your slogan and make sure it has what it takes
to make it stick.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: 1 to 3 Hours
Here's How:

1. Make it Memorable
Your slogan must be memorable. Make it easy to remember, something they
want to brand in their memory and possibly even repeat to others. Take for
example the above slogans, when you first heard them what was it that made
them stick with you?

2. Key Benefits
Your slogan must contain a key benefit of the product or service. Give them a
reason to remember it.
3. Differentiate Your Brand
It must differentiate your brand. Does it bring out the character of the product
or services that sets it apart from your competitors?

4. Solidify the Brand

It must recall the brand name otherwise who cares who remembers it. The
brand can be depicted in the words you use or in the image of your logo.

5. Rhythm and Rhyme

Create rhythm and rhyme. Does it rhyme? Does it have a ring to it? The rhythm
of the tagline will help to stick in the memories of those that read it or hear it.

6. Warm and Fuzzy Effect

Make it warm and fuzzy. Does your slogan leave people feeling warm and
fuzzy? Does it bring a smile to their face or perhaps even a little chuckle? A
slogan is more likely to stick in the minds of others if it imparts a positive
feeling or emotion.