10 ways a Brand Strategy helps your small business in real life…

I hate marketing jargon. It’s kinda boring, a little bit ‘ick,’ and not always used in a relevant way so that the audience can actually understand what the heck is being said.

I realise though how contradictory that is when one of the main products from The Brand Dance is all about building a strong brand strategy which is totally ‘jargon-y’ though right? There really is no other way to say it, but I like to think of it as this –

BRAND = what you, as a small business owner are trying to build and grow

STRATEGY = a plan that gives you the direction to actually do so

Therefore, a brand strategy is a plan that gives you direction to build and grow your small business.

So what does that mean in the real world for you as a small business owner? Essentially, it helps make your decision making process easier. Clarity, consistency, confidence…for all manner of things you need to succeed in your day to day operations and long term goals.

So here’s a list of 10 ways a great brand strategy helps make your life easier:

1. DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND ASSETS AND VISUAL IDENTITY

It helps you develop your brand assets and all the visual fun that goes into your style guide and branding. How to narrow down your brand colours when you have the whole rainbow to choose from? A strategy will help you.⁠

2. DECIDING ON MARKETING CHANNELS

You’ll be able to choose your marketing channels with ease, after all, there’s a lot of choice! For example, what kind of advertising, PR or collaborations are right for your brand and the timeline for laying it all out.

3. CONTENT CREATION, IDEATION & DIRECTION

It will help you clarify what content you need for your brand when it comes to content marketing. How do you decide what social media platforms are the right ones for your brand? What kind of content will work best? What's the direction should it . These questions can be answered with a great brand strategy. ⁠

4. DECIDING ON YOUR PRODUCT SUITE, SERVICES AND OFFERS

It will help you identify the best products and services to offer your customers AND inform any changes you want to make. For example, how do you know if launching a new product is right for your audience? A brand strategy can help you make the decision.⁠

5. ⁠INVESTIGATING BRAND EXTENSIONS – EVENTS & SAMPLING

It will help you decide what brand extensions to look into or even participate it. That way, we you come across an opportunity, you can give an efficient yay or nay and feel very confident.

6. MAKING LOGISTICAL CHOICES AND NEGOTIATING WITH SUPPLIERS

Whether you are a bricks and mortar business or an online retailer, you have decision to make around logistics. What kind of retail space suits your brand best, what do you need when it comes to shipping and who is the best courier partner that delivers (pardon the pun!) what you need as a business AND what your customers expect. Your brand strategy will help get you started with this.

7.  HR DECISIONS AND BUILDING A TEAM CULTURE

Building a team, running a business and managing employees can be tough. How do you know what to look out for in the people that you hire? What is going to form the basis of your team culture and how to outline your expectations for your team? What remuneration or staff incentives do you want to offer and be known for? This can all be covered in your brand strategy as you want your team to be your best brand ambassadors…

8. GAINING RECOGNITION & LEVERAGING YOUR SUCCESS & EXPERTISE

Ever looked at some local and national awards and think, “I could’ve done that?” You know you deserve the recognition but sometimes the process to get there can be daunting. Often, the panels for local and national awards want to hear the background and ‘building blocks’ it took to get your business where is today and you’ll then be able to share your strategy with them – the work is almost done for you!

9. HIRING THIRD PARTY CONSULTANTS AND COACHING

When you start to build out your direction in the strategy you can understand the areas that aren’t your strongest. Then you can identify where you need to go to hire third party coaches or experts to help you build on those areas.

And most of all…..

10.  CEMENTS YOUR VISION AND PURPOSE

Why exactly did you start your business in the first place?

All of this helps you to make informed choices because it’s right for YOUR business and in the direction to grow your brand in the way that you envisioned. Having a strategy, a plan (or whatever you want to call it!) means you can forget all the ‘noise’ happening around you and focus on exactly what it is you originally set out to do!

Image: Valeria Ramirez Photography