What’s a Brand Strategy? So many things!
Truth is, you don’t necessarily need a strong brand strategy to make money.
I can see why a lot of small business owners are on the fence about whether they actually need one at all.
They often wonder if it would make more sense to put that investment directly into copy or hiring marketing support. And it might… sometimes.
But, having worn both marketing and copywriting hats in my career, I’m going to tell you honestly: I will never write another piece of copy or dig into a marketing campaign without first laying out the critical foundation of a brand strategy. Because, while you can often wing it and luck out without one, it's way more stressful and a huge missed opportunity.
Because having a strong (and substantial) brand strategy is an undeniable advantage. And it levels up everything else - your copy, sales, content, marketing, and even your confidence.
So what is a brand strategy? So many things!
It’s like a roadmap – articulating your ultimate vision and the big shoes that you're aiming to grow into over time in your industry. This includes things like a vision for the world, a purpose statement, and a greater declaration of your “lane” or the big transformation that you can create for people. It keeps you focused.
It’s also an essence – like one of those little boxes of food colouring. It includes all of the compelling and meaningful ideas and messages about your business – distilled down into their purest and most concentrated form. Ready for you to pluck out and “add water” – turning them into copy, content, new products. It's a never-ending source of inspiration. It makes you interesting.
It’s a reservoir of ready-to-go messaging and sound bites. It brings together all of the things you have to say into one place so that you never have to start from scratch again. It includes the catchy vocabulary and phrases you use to describe your business and your work. So you can start repeating yourself in the very best way. It makes you cohesive.
It’s an agreement. Between you and your people. You and your team. And you and YOU. It's a record of the big decisions you’ve already made so that you can stop going back to the drawing board or second-guessing. When you revise it, you do it consciously and not on a whim. It serves as a lens through which all future business decisions are examined. It keeps you anchored and consistent, and that builds trust between you and your community of fans.
And, it’s also permission. Developing a bold brand strategy allows you to cross the “who do I think I am bridge” once, and then get on with it. Seeing your intentions and authentic truth down on paper is often the confidence-booster that leads you to finally sharing your voice and your genius more widely and more often. It’s a rite of passage that transforms you into an unapologetic spokesperson for your brand – for something bigger than yourself.
All of that wrapped up into a simple, understated Google Doc that will possibly support you for the entire life of your business.
Our clients often call it their “branding bible”.
Developing your Substantial Brand Strategy is the first big outcome of our signature client offering: The Unrepeatable Brand Intensive. From there, we bake that brand into your suite of Incomparable Offerings. And we even bring it to life with done-for-you copy for one (or more) of your signature sales assets so you can start attracting your next level clients right away.
To your next level,
Lisa