Brand strategy is such an important part of growing a business. I’ll say it louder for the folks in the back … 

>> Brand strategy is the most important part of growing a business. <<

Hey there! If we’re meeting for the first time, I’m Koree and let me tell you a fun fact about myself — I do not shut up about brand strategy. Seriously … I could talk about it all day. Why? Well, to put it simply … I think it’s the foundation of absolutely every business decision you make! Without a solid brand strategy (plus the management skills to carry out said strategy), your business will flounder like Michael Scott taking a dip in the koi pond.

But with a detailed brand strategy, you’ll have clarity and efficiency on all fronts.

It’s taking that understanding of your core essence and what makes your business amazing and then formulating a strategic foundation to keep all of that in alignment. 

New fun game — take a shot every time I say “strategy” in this blog! (unless it’s early … then just take a sip of coffee every time I say “strategy”.) Kidding. But in all seriousness, I want you to remember this stuff! I could write many, many love notes to brand strategies. But instead, I’ll share the top 8 reasons why a brand strategy is so important. Let’s dig in!

1. Brand strategy defines the core elements of your brand 

Brand strategy helps you define the core elements of your brand, and your business. Going through this process helps you dig into your business and brand to clearly articulate the core components of your brand — your business goals, mission and vision, competitive strategy, audience strategy, brand position, and message strategy. 

You probably have a decent understanding of these elements. It’s what helped you build your current successful business. But it could be much stronger! Going through this process at a granular level to get really clear, then distilling it into a strategy document will bring everything into focus both internally and externally. Plus, it pulls all the information you have in your brain and connects all the pieces in a really powerful way so anyone on your team can use it and be on the same page as you.

2. Brand strategy clarifies your differentiator

In terms of defining your differentiator, it’s … you guessed it … what makes you different. It’s your “special sauce” and the thing that makes you stand out to your primary target audience. And it’s ultimately why people come to you.

To find your differentiator, you’ll want to first define the core elements of your brand — what I listed above. (If you need help with this, check out my resources page!) These help you discover your special sauce and talk about it in a way that’s meaningful and powerful for your specific target audience.

It’s a key piece of your brand position. And your brand position is the encapsulation of everything defined in your brand strategy. So, knowing your differentiator is a foundational element of building a cohesive brand and a really important outcome of the brand strategy process!

Once you know what makes you uniquely attractive to your audience, you can present everything through that lens and really show off what makes you the perfect business for your primary audience to work with.

3. Brand strategy articulates your brand position in a way that’s meaningful to your target audience

Brand positioning is all about how you relate to (compare/contrast with) other businesses in your market — and ultimately, it’s how you express your differentiator. It’s what your customers associate you with and what you’re known for. And it’s a critical part in the creation of your brand strategy.

What do you want to be known for? Why should your target audience choose you? How do you serve them in a unique and meaningful way? These intangible things that create the feel of your brand and how you “come off” to audiences must be present in everything you do in order to have clear and effective messages, marketing, and sales.

Related Reading: Brand Strategy Glossary: 16 Terms You Need to Know

4. Brand strategy establishes the strategic foundation for your business

Your brand strategy is just that — it’s a strategic plan of action that will help you gain the clarity and cohesion you need to efficiently reach your goals. Without a solid foundation to build upon, you’re going to crumble faster than a really flaky pie. 

Having a strategic foundation will help you grow your business from a place of clarity. All your brand content and marketing efforts can be measured against your brand strategy and you can set goals and create programs that are in total alignment. Then you can bridge the gap between internal and external by using this strategic foundation to guide your messaging strategy, brand identity, and so on.

Without a strong, strategic message that’s aligned to your goals, everything will be disjointed and confusing. So, as an internal piece of the overall strategy, you can (and should!) share your brand strategy with your team so everyone is on board with the values and mission you’re focused on.  

Because it’s the foundation for your graphic identity, your copywriting, and your marketing (basically all the external, visual pieces of your brand), having this clearly defined will help ensure your brand is consistently represented wherever it shows up.

5. Brand strategy is an internal document that serves as a compass by which you measure your brand material to keep everything consistent

As they say, consistency is key. People need many repetitions to buy from you. We all know Starbucks, Dunkin’, and Tim Horton’s have coffee. And we know that because we’re served that message in every marketing touchpoint they put out.

Your brand is no different. Decide what messages you want to share and what you want to be known for, then share it consistently — in every platform you use. A brand strategy will help ensure that what you’re putting out there is in alignment with your goals with a consistent, cohesive message each time.

Related Reading: Brand Strategy and Branding: What’s the Difference?

6. Brand strategy guides your marketing decisions

Think of your brand strategy as a roadmap. Without a map, you could drive from Maine to California, but it’s probably not going to be the most efficient use of time, resources, and energy. Further, your family following along on Instagram will be like “Wait, I thought they were going to California. Why are they in Florida?”

But when you use a map, you can efficiently navigate yourself from point A to point B. And you won’t confuse dear Aunt Sally when you land somewhere that isn’t Cali.

A brand strategy is the same way. It’ll help guide your decisions so you use your resources wisely and you don’t confuse anyone along the way.

7. Brand strategy creates clarity and cohesion among your internal team

Speaking of not confusing anyone… Have you ever been on a team that’s getting information from 3 different sources at 5 different times of the day? It’s frustrating to say the least!

You need something for your people (both inside and outside the company) to rally around. Trying to lead your team without a clear message of your values, goals, and how you’ll express all of that will ensure that you get 15 different versions of the same thing. It’s confusing for all involved because no one knows exactly what they’re aiming at.

But with a clear strategy document that everyone on your team understands and has access to, your brand content and marketing projects — whether it’s a new graphic, a whitepaper, podcast, social post, or … you get my drift — will all be based on the same foundation and will sound cohesive, regardless of who’s creating it. Everyone is supporting the same vision, the same brand position, and the same goals. Imagine how powerful and efficient that can be for you, and your team! 

8. Brand strategy provides an objective benchmark and minimizes subjective discrepancies

Any marketing campaign needs to have a way to track success metrics. Deciding those goals ahead of time will serve as a map of what you’re aiming for and whether you succeeded or didn’t on your goals.

Think of brand strategy the same way. A clear strategy will help you create those goals for both your overall company and each project you do. Creating and reviewing marketing content becomes less about subjective preferences and interpretations, and more about objectively measuring your content against your brand strategy

Not only that, you can be sure that you’ll use your time efficiently and won’t have much waste since all of your deliverables can be measured against your brand strategy to ensure they’re all contributing to the goals. 

Then, you can review the campaign at the end and see how you did in reaching people based on the metrics you laid out, what needs to be updated for next time, and so on.

Related Reading: 6 Simple Steps for Project Management Success

When it comes to optimizing your projects, planning successfully, growing your business, and making projects as efficient as they can be, brand strategy has a big role in that. Basically, a brand strategy is the thread that creates clarity and efficiency on all fronts. 

If you understand who you’re talking to, the core essence of what you’re saying and why, it translates to your projects and keeps it in alignment. And it’ll ensure your projects reach the right people and hit the goals you need to help your business grow!