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How to define your brand to add value beyond profit.
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This strategy guides how a brand presents itself to the world establishing key elements, such as visuals, brand personas, a positioning statement, and messaging, to provide consistent messaging across all channels to drive perception and build a loyal customer base.
Having a clear objective will make it easier for your clients to create a positive connection to your product or service and help separate your brand from the competition.
- What problem does it solve?
- Where and how does your product or service show up?
Knowing your advantages and weak points will add clarity to your strategy.
- What do you offer that others can't?
- What do you do better?
- What are your limitations?
- What does your competition do or offer that you can't?
- How can you stand out among your demographics' other options?
A clearly defined purpose gives you something to work towards and adds credibility to your brand. Defining your why will help you determine your goal, vision, and core values.
- What is your back story?
- What are your mission and values?
- How do you accomplish your mission?
- How does your mission align with your values?
Your Customers and Audience make up your demographic. You need to know them to determine what they are looking for and evaluate the need for your services or products.
- How does your product or service add value to your demographic's life?
- Why should they trust you?
- What are you doing to establish trust?
A brand strategy provides a blueprint for everything from marketing campaigns to product development, ensuring that every element of the brand experience is cohesive, consistent, and aligned with your brand’s goals and values. An effective strategy involves combining each brand element into a consistent story.
DEFINE YOUR BRAND PURPOSE AND MISSION
Define why the brand exists and its overarching goal. It’s the "why" behind what the brand does and often includes a mission statement that outlines its aspirations and intentions.
Start with why your brand exists. Articulate its purpose and mission statement. The purpose connects to the brand’s deeper values, while the mission is the actionable goal.
Example: If the mission is to empower BIPOC small business owners, keep that central as you develop each brand element.
UNDERSTAND YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
Knowing the target audience allows a brand to tailor its messaging and offerings to their needs, desires, and values.
Research your audience’s demographics, psychographics, and pain points. This understanding will help shape your messaging, tone, and positioning.
Example: If targeting BIPOC entrepreneurs aged 25-40, learn their business challenges, preferred platforms, and cultural influences.
CRAFT YOUR BRAND POSITIONING STATEMENT
Positioning is about carving out a unique space in the market. This includes differentiating from competitors and defining what makes your brand unique in your audience’s eyes.
Define your brand’s unique offering in one sentence that captures who you serve, what value you bring, and what makes you different.
Example: "We are the go-to resource for BIPOC entrepreneurs seeking creative support, providing accessible and culturally resonant brand solutions."
DEVELOP YOUR BRAND PERSONALITY AND VOICE
These are the human characteristics associated with the brand and how it communicates. A brand’s personality (e.g., friendly, bold, supportive) and voice (e.g., casual, professional, playful) make it recognizable and relatable.
Think of your brand as a person and decide how it would communicate. Is it friendly and empowering, or bold and direct? Choose traits that resonate with your audience and a tone that matches.
Example: A supportive & encouraging personality, and inclusive actions may work well.
DEFINE CORE VALUES
These are the principles that guide a brand’s actions and decisions. Values reflect what the brand stands for and are essential for building trust and authenticity with the audience.
Guiding the brand’s actions from marketing to customer service, these values should resonate with your audience’s beliefs and shape all brand decisions.
Example: Values like inclusivity, creativity, and community support could be key.
CREATE MESSAGING FRAMEWORKS
This defines how your brand communicates with its audience through language, tone, and storytelling. Core messages and taglines capture your brand’s personality and how they are used consistently across various platforms.
Develop a core message and supporting messages for various platforms. The core message is your brand’s promise while supporting messages address specific audience needs. Each message should reflect the brand’s positioning, values, and voice.
Core Message: "Empowering diverse entrepreneurs through impactful brand storytelling."
Supporting Message: "From brand design to social media support, we’re here to help you shine."
ESTABLISH VISUAL IDENTITY
This includes your logo, color palette, typography, and any visual elements representing the brand. These elements should align with the brand’s personality and appeal to your target audience. Use visuals that resonate culturally with your audience, perhaps incorporating colors or symbols that reflect inclusivity or creativity.
MAP OUT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND TOUCHPOINTS
Every customer interaction with the brand should reflect its values and personality. This includes the product or service, customer support, website experience, and social media interactions.
Identifing all potential touchpoints (website, social media, customer support) should also reflect the brand’s purpose. Each interaction should feel consistent with the brand’s promises and tone, reinforcing trust and connection.
Now that you’ve created a unified strategy that feels consistent across all channels and appeals directly to its target audience your brand will become more recognizable over time. If your brand is dedicated to helping BIPOC small business owners, your brand strategy might look similar to the following examples:
PURPOSE AND MISSION
To empower diverse entrepreneurs with creative tools and resources.
TARGET AUDIENCE
BIPOC entrepreneurs aged 25-40 who value authentic, culturally relevant brand support.
POSITIONING
A community-focused brand partner specializing in culturally resonant, affordable solutions.
PERSONALITY AND VOICE
Friendly, inspiring, and supportive.
CORE VALUES
Inclusivity, empowerment, creativity, community.
MESSAGING AND STORYTELLING
“Empowering you to create a brand as unique as your story.”
VISUAL IDENTITY
Warm, inviting colors, minimalist yet expressive typography, and culturally resonant symbols.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND TOUCHPOINTS
Every touchpoint, from consultations to social media, is accessible, respectful, and focused on delivering real value.
Brand strategy is a continuous process that requires ongoing tweaking and improvement. Analyze your audience’s response every few months to see what works. If something isn’t resonating try changing it or testing different approaches, such as revising messaging, enhancing visual elements, or exploring new technologies that provide a better customer experience.
To ensure your branding efforts remain effective and successful, establish clear objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), review your progress regularly, and adjust your strategy as needed. You should also monitor how your competitors position themselves and adjust accordingly to help strengthen and differentiate your brand.
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