Attracting new clients and achieving your brand's long-term goals requires a holistic approach to building a clear identity that is both recognizable and relatable.
Branding is the link between your customer and your business. It entails a story, told through verbal and visual communication, to bring the right customers to your product or service.
The story you choose to tell has the power to attract, convert and sustain loyal customers.
In a world full of too many brands for the private consumer to choose from, the challenge to stand out and claim your place in the market is growing bigger as social media are making it harder to distinguish between true and authentic, overselling and scams.
As our digital world expands to the (yet) unknown capabilities of AI, we are searching more than ever for a real human connection to lead to our consumerist choices.
We want our choices to bring the desired outcome, to fulfill the promise made between seller and buyer, and we want our time, money and choice to be valued and appreciated.
In order to do that, your brand should present the right message to your ideal clients and attract the right audience with the credibility of your authentic brand.
Making choices
WHAT IS BRAND STRATEGY?
The brand strategy is the infrastructure for actionable plans to meet your goals as a brand owner and communicate your brand to your ideal client. It is a holistic structure to follow that not only includes all your branding needs but also your marketing strategy, customer journey and your vision for growth.
The more elements you include in your Brand Strategy, the more consistent your brand will become, and consistency is key to a sustainable brand and customer loyalty.
WHY DO YOU NEED BRAND STRATEGY?
Think of your brand strategy as a compass for every decision to be made throughout your business journey. Having a clear entity reflecting your vision for your business will help you create better consistent work, and allows you to communicate better with your potential clients, existing clients, vendors and other service providers.
Use your Brand Strategy not only to clarify your vision, intentions and core values to your clients, but also to yourself, as a brand owner, and increase your confidence and authenticity as a Solopreneur.
HOW TO BUILD A BRAND STRATEGY
A brand strategy will consist of elements that reflect the brand's core identity and will take into account the ideal client's point of view.
A Brand Strategy includes the following elements:
Mission Statement: deceleration of intentions.
Core Values: The brand's integrity and point of view.
Tone of Voice: language, terminology communication.
Brand Identity: logo, typography, colors and imagery.
Positioning strategy: Market research, Target audience, pricing strategy.
Content Strategy: frequency, format, information type.
Marketing Plan: product launch, awareness and campaigns.
Customer Journey: customer service, loyalty, relationship.
Growth Strategy: vision statement, long-term goals.
You can roughly divide these elements into 3 categories that represent the milestones that need to be reached before launching your brand, the milestones to process while your business is up and running, and the milestones that refer to your brand's future and long-term goals.
That is why Branding and Brand Strategy are both dynamic processes that keep on going and developing as your business grows and evolves.
WHERE DO I START?
You might already have a name figured out, perhaps you already have a logo designed, a business card printed, a domain purchased, paying customers, or maybe none of that and you might not even know what your product is exactly. Different solopreneurs start at different stops of the branding journey, and no two journeys are ever similar.
Some solopreneurs already have a functioning business before they start working on their brand strategy. Getting straight down to work is a great thing if you already have customers, and your strategy can take inspiration from the experience you've already gained with them.
INVENTORY LIST
The best way to plan your roadmap toward your brand strategy would be to take a look at what you already have and what is yet to be answered, then you can categorize your branding assets and assignments into the milestones of your branding journey.
If you already have branding assets that were either designed for you or by you, collect them into a folder where you can have direct access and review them while working on other aspects of your brand.
If you don’t have any branding assets but have done some research on your industry, pricing range, idea of your costs and profit margins, that can be categorized under your positioning strategy and serve you in your marketing planning down the road.
If you haven't done any work yet, and you are starting your journey from scratch, congratulations, you have the opportunity to work with a clean slate and work from the ground up.
Branding assets
WHAT IS MISSING FROM MY INVENTORY LIST
What is the biggest component that is missing from my branding assets at the moment? - that will help you figure out your next move.
What are the elements that keep you from launching your brand or moving forward with it?
If you are having issues with the visual appearance or digital assets, like missing a logo or a website, what can you do to resolve it even as a temporary solution?
There are so many affordable (even free) tools to make up for the graphic design, illustration, copywriting and imagery, that are definitely good enough to start with if you don’t have the time or funds to create them from scratch or hire a professional.
Website hosting platforms are more approachable than ever to the inexperienced audience, and having a strong social media presence is sufficient for most businesses to start with.
BRANDING IS A LONG-TERM JOURNEY
Many Solopreneurs think they need to get everything perfect right from the start or they can’t begin their business journey. But the truth is that being a Solopreneur, or having a small business, allows you to make many changes along the way without compromising or delaying your brand launching.
If you don’t have the perfect website yet, but you managed to sign clients and get experience and even positive testimonials, then you are already doing something right.
If your business has been running without a Brand Strategy in place, it is always a good time to set up one, especially after gaining experience and insights on your customer journey. Taking your branding journey backwards will give you amazing results in growing your business and broadening your audience.
Wherever you are on your Branding Journey, there is always an opportunity to go onwards and backwards until you reach the optimal results to meet your goals.
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