BUILD A BRAND STRATEGY IN 5 EASY STEPS
Branding isn’t just about beautiful design. In order for branding to work for you and your small business, you have to establish the foundations first…
And this is exactly what ‘brand strategy’ means - it’s the foundations of your business, the who’s, the why’s and the what, that enable you to create a brand that aligns with your dream clients. The best part? You can do this yourself, even BEFORE hiring a professional designer with these 5 easy steps!
There is bundles of information out there and with all the industry terms being thrown around, it can all become quite confusing. We’re here to help break down the key components of how to set up a brand strategy, in a simple and effective way that’s easy to understand and implement into your small business.
01. DEFINEYour Brand Strategy is the building blocks to achieving your long term business goals
A successful brand strategy encompasses your brand's mission, its values, and how these are communicated to your audience. This is where your branding comes in, as your brand strategy is what influences your brand design. Together, strategy and design can help build brand awareness, establish an identity and connect you with your dream clients!
Before we delve into the design phase of any project at Moonlit Design, we help our clients to decipher their brand strategy from the onset, by asking the following key questions:
WHO ARE YOU?
WHAT DO YOU DO?
WHO DO YOU SERVE?
WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE?
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
You’ve recently set up a business…
You perhaps have a makeshift logo and a Facebook/Instagram page - you’re doing okay, getting custom from people you know and friends of friends, but your business isn’t growing…
You ask yourself, “why”?
SOUND FAMILIAR?Then you may have skipped these vital steps in setting up your brand strategy and missed out on the power of aligning this with your branding. Branding is an investment into your business growth, but if you’re not quite ready then here is how you can still start creating a brand identity before working with a designer that will make all the difference!
MOONLIT DESIGN BRAND DESIGNER & PHOTOGRAPHERIt’s time to grab a pen & notepad!
For this exercise we’re going to write down the following questions along with our answers. Try to be as intuitive and free with this as you can, allowing the words to flow naturally. The idea is that once you are aware of your brand strategy, you can start to implement your vision easier and start creating a brand identity that connects with you and your audience, enabling growth in your business.
AT THE END, WE WILL PUT ALL OF OUR ANSWERS TOGETHER TO CREATE OUR MISSION STATEMENT!
WHO ARE you?
- SAID THE CATERPILLAR
First of all, we want to define who you are as a brand. Your brand is the face of your business, it’s what your audience will see, feel and experience. In branding design, we want to unearth who that is so we can visually translate your brand story!
LET'S BREAK THIS DOWN:WHAT IS YOUR BRAND’S PURPOSE - YOUR WHY?
WHAT ARE YOUR VALUES?
WHAT IS YOUR BRAND STORY?
2. WHAT DO you DO?
What does your business do? Be clear and concise on what your services are and what your business has to offer. What is your business title? Do you offer different packages? These are all questions that you need to address in order to successfully communicate your brand to potential clients.
3. WHO DO YOU serve & WHY?
Who is your target audience… your dream client? Who are you trying to aim your business at? It’s also a great idea to understand why/how you are helping your clients with your services. Knowing who you are marketing too is essential to making branding work. For good branding to have an impact, the design needs to align with your target audiences lifestyle, wants and needs. This is why having an idea of who your ideal clients are first before working with a brand designer, is always handy!
NOTE - TIPIt may seem scary at first, but It’s important to narrow down your marketing to a specific audience, or niche. This will make you an expert within that market, enabling you to build stronger relationships with that group of people, become sought after and therefor increase revenue with the ability to charge premium prices.
YOUR BRAND CAN'T SPEAK TO EVERYONE, AND IT'S OKAY IF IT DOESN'T!4. WHAT IS your USP?
What makes your business and brand special? What is going to make you stand out in your market? What is the reason that your dream clients should work with you?
Your unique factor is what will set you apart, talk to the hearts of your dream clients, and get your brand noticed and remembered.
5. WHAT ARE YOUR goals?
What do you want to achieve with your branding? What are your short and long term business goals?
Setting out your goals will help create the path for your brand to follow and visualise the journey you will need to take to achieve them. By writing out your goals and checking them against the decisions you make in your business, they will seem far more manageable to achieve!
How was that?
From this exercise, you should now feel total clarity in what you want to achieve with your brand - you are also now perfectly set up to work with a brand designer! By doing this, you have made a solid foundation for your brand, making marketing far easier and setting a clear direction of where your band is heading and what it is trying to deliver.
HERE’S OUR BRAND STATEMENT:
I’m Danielle, Founder of Moonlit Design, specialising in authentic branding, website design and photography. We help soulful creatives illuminate their business with intuitive design, helping to position them as experts in their craft and increase revenue. Our highly collaborative and bespoke services aim to grow small businesses with branding that aligns with dream clients and shines with confidence.
Let us know if you take part in this exercise, we would love to see your answers!
WE WANT YOU TO HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE AND PRIDE IN YOUR BRANDLOVE & LIGHT
