In continuing our series on Why Your Business Needs a Brand, 21 reasons why you need a Brand Strategy, let’s look at the final 7 reasons. Let’s go!
15. UNIFIER
A Brand is a UNIFIER (connects the dots between all the aspects of your business in a coherent and consistent way) Every business has so many touchpoints through which Customers can engage with it. From the name, logo, products/services, offline and online presence, to messaging, packaging, marketing, brand ambassadors, influencers, and so on. Without a properly developed brand and Brand Strategy, it would be either a circus or a nightmare to try to keep all these in sync. With a solid brand, your audience will easily see the unifying thread running through all these touchpoints and tying them all into a consistent, overarching flow. Confusion is erased and top of mind is gradually achieved and cemented into the minds of your target audience.
16. ASSET
A Brand is an ASSET and adds greatly to your Business Value. Think Coca Cola or Apple. A truly well-developed Brand has the potential, through strategic nurturing, to grow into its own financial (and perceptual) value, outside of the physical assets of the business. People will gladly invest in a brand they connect with, and believe in. Most brands that trade on National and International Stock exchanges are valued many times more than the physical assets they own like factories, offices, products, warehouses, and equipment. This is largely due to the company’s branding. The more deliberate effort you put into the development of your brand, the more financial value you engineer into it, basically.
17. IMPACT
A Brand determines IMPACT. When you take the time to develop a strong brand strategy, you set up your brand for impact. Good brands have a promise, but Great brands are focused on purpose. Such brands are able to go beyond the results of increase in revenue, and physical or perceived value, to having an impact on people, communities, nations, and the world. Brands with a strong purpose are well-centered brands with a devoted followership of people who have the same concerns, be it human rights, climate change, or self-esteem. These brands are able to influence policies, create change and transform lives. Brands like Toms Shoes and Dove fall into this category.
18. TELL YOUR STORY
A Brand helps you TELL YOUR STORY easily, and stories are an excellent way to get your target audience connected and emotionally invested in your brand. In developing the various aspects of your brand strategy, which eventually are targeted at filling a space in your audience’s mind, you have the liberty to tell your unique and authentic stories. These stories form part of what makes you, you and are key to making a great connection with your desired audience. A secret to an authentic Brand Story though, is to not make your brand the “hero” of your story, as most brands tend to do, but to make your audience the hero. This gives them a sense of being a part of your journey.
19. CONFIDENCE
A Brand builds CONFIDENCE. Ever prepared massively for an exam? You burnt the midnight candle and worked through thousands of reference questions and scenarios. Or you were invited for an event, and your stylist (for most of us that’s us!) decked you out in a phenomenal outfit. You know that confidence, right? The same thing happens to a brand that has done its strategy homework. You are bold to communicate your promise, your messaging, your visuals because great thought has gone into it. And this confidence cascades into your teams, your performance and your projects. Confidence is contagious, and pretty quickly your customers, old and potential, will pick up on it.
20. GROWTH
A Brand Catalyses GROWTH. When a deliberate brand strategy is developed and executed in a business, the natural response will be growth. This growth will span every area of the brand, from company culture, to talent acquisition, customer base and new business, and of course, sales and revenue. This is because like we’ve said before, a strategic brand will bring crystal-clear focus to your business, affecting staff morale & performance, messaging that connects to your customers and target audience, and eventually translates to financial and other growth. A great example is Warby Parker, a unique brand with a social purpose that grew to $1.2Billion in 5years.
21. SUPPORTS
A Brand SUPPORTS your Marketing and Advertising. When your marketing and advertising efforts are done without the benefit of a well-developed brand, what you have is messaging that is being shot in the dark at best, and damaging to your brand at worst. The essence of a Brand Strategy is to bring clarity to your brand in terms of who you are (clear personality and culture), who you are for (your target audience) and what emotional connections you can create with your audience. Armed with these (among other) strategic information, your Communications efforts are supercharged and you get so much more return on your marketing investment.
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