This just in: running a business isn’t easy 😅 In fact, these days it’s harder than ever.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 70% of small businesses will fold before their 10th year. That’s the highest rate of business failure since 2009, coming out of the financial crisis. I don’t say any of this to scare you, but in today’s fiercely competitive environment it’s important to know what you’re up against. Even the market-best products and services are easy to overlook without a strong brand strategy.
If looking at a list of brand strategy services feels like reading in a foreign language, don’t worry. We’re here to outline the essential strategy pieces you need to help give your business a serious boost.
What is a brand strategy?
A brand strategy is a part of your overall marketing plan. It focuses on how your business will present your brand to the world and how you position yourself in the marketplace. In other words, it’s all about the optics. An effective brand strategy will help establish your business, attract superfans, and effectively set you apart from the competition.
A solid brand strategy is part science and part art. It requires a deep understanding not only of your brand, but also of your ideal audiences and the industry at large. While the pieces of a brand strategy are infinitely customizable based on your business goals, we’re going to focus on four essentials that you shouldn’t skip.
Essential brand strategy services
#1: Defining your brand’s purpose and core values
For many business owners, the brand purpose and core values are intangibles that live in your head. They’re the driving “Why” behind your decision to start a business in the first place. And they’re the bedrock of your brand strategy. Without them, everything else falls flat.
It’s important to remember that your brand’s purpose isn’t just what you DO; it’s why you do it. Let’s use a taco shop example 🌮
Imagine you have two taco shops: Abuela’s and Muchas Gracias. They both sell tacos, and they’re damn good at it. But Abuela’s purpose is to honor the authentic cuisine of the chef’s region of origin while Muchas is all about making comforting, affordable food for busy folks.
It’s easy to see how these two distinct purposes would affect everything, from the ingredients and food preparation to the dining experience and marketing messaging.
Diving deep on your brand’s purpose and core values is an essential part of a successful brand strategy. Full stop. But it can be tough for business owners to translate what’s in their head and heart onto paper. That’s why if you invest in just one brand strategy service, it should be this one.
#2: Target audience profiling
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: if you try to speak to everybody, you’re not really talking to anybody. Broad, vague messaging might seem like it would appeal to a wider consumer base. But in reality, it gets lost in the mix because it doesn’t spark an emotional connection.
Your brand strategy is all about your business’s personality in the world. And that personality needs to connect with the people who will appreciate it most. That ability goes beyond knowing the age, gender, and location of potential customers. It’s about tapping into your audience’s values and communicating how you can solve their problems.
Audience profiling is a brand strategy service that helps establish your brand’s True North so you always know who you’re serving to fulfill your brand purpose.
#3: Industry trends analysis
You’ve done the brand purpose deep dive. You’ve figured out how to align your values with your ideal customer. Now it’s time to take a big picture look at what’s happening in your market, your industry, and the world! That might sound lofty, but no business functions in a vacuum.
Let’s kick it back to the 1800s and imagine you’re selling the world’s best carriage horses. Even if you’re at the top of your game, the industrial world’s move towards steam engines is going to disrupt your business. You either have to pivot or evolve how your brand strategy.
The same is true of every business in every era. With an industry trends analysis, you’re looking for potential challenges, threats, and opportunities for your business. Today, those might look like advancements in AI and new technologies.
But industry trends aren’t just about tools available on the market. It also digs into the overall sentiment around your industry and what’s going on in the world. For example, a clothing brand would want to keep up-to-date on conversations around fast fashion, ecological stewardship, and efforts to make the industry greener. Recognizing and getting ahead of trends that align with your brand purpose can be an incredibly powerful move for any business.
#4: Brand voice development
Your brand voice is the culmination of all that research you’ve done. It’s where you figure out the best way to communicate your purpose and values to your ideal audience. It helps you nail down the tone, messaging, and personality that your brand carries into the world.
One big benefit of hiring someone for this brand strategy service is the added objectivity. As business owners, it can be hard to separate ourselves from the brand. In fact, it’s pretty common that when we ask clients about their brand voice they shrug and say something like: “It sounds like me, only better.”
That might work in the short term, while you’re writing your own content—every email, social post, and word on the website. But what happens when your team expands? Or when you get so busy you need to outsource your marketing? That’s where a clearly outlined, descriptive brand voice is worth its weight in gold.
A consistent brand voice isn’t just about the words and emojis your brand uses (thought that’s part of the fun too 😉). It digs into the core messaging pillars that help you connect with your audiences.
Check Out Our Brand Strategy Services
While brand strategy isn’t your entire marketing strategy, it’s an important piece of the puzzle. A strong brand strategy serves as the foundation for how your business interacts with the world. It sets the tone for other important branding pieces, like your website, social media presence, and brand design.
Here at Lunar Creative, every project starts with a strong strategic foundation. We fully believe that when strategy and design go hand-in-hand, businesses become unstoppable. Be sure to check out our full suite of strategic brand services.
Have questions or want to chat about an upcoming project? Get in touch! We have experience working with everyone from startups to legacy brands. Check out our work portfolio to see what we’ve been up to recently.
