8 Steps for Building Your Brand Strategy

Hi, there!

Happy February!

Last year, I decided to shift away from offering many design services to focus on just one package (Brand Strategy & Identity Design). This felt scary at first, but now that I’ve made the transition, I feel much more in control of my business and it’s been exciting and empowering to specialize in one service—I’m able to iterate on and improve this one offering so that it’s as effective as possible for my clients.

Today, I’d love to share the Brand Strategy part of my package with you—specifically the 8-step framework I’ve built and follow for building effective brand strategies for clients (before starting any design work).

Whether you’ve already designed your brand or aren’t ready to yet, going through these steps is a productive exercise to see if you’re on track with your existing brand goals or, decide if you want or need to shift your direction.

I personally return to these steps when I need a refresher on the strategies I’ve set for myself and to see if they still feel aligned—I like checking-in every 3 months and at the end of the year.

8 Steps for Building Your Brand Strategy

1 — Define what makes your company unique
The most important step! Take the time to reflect and define your unique strengths that can’t be replicated. What’s your company’s unique story? Lean into what makes you or your company different and embrace it!

2 — Write your purpose and mission statements
Purpose: Why your company exists on a fundamental level.
Mission: What your company does, who it serves, and how it does it.

3 — Set your 1-3, 3-5, and 5-10 year goals
Write down your goals. It’s ok if these change and evolve, but you need a clear direction to get started. Also outline how you’ll measure whether or not you’ve achieved these goals.

4 — Get super clear on your customer
Know their pain points and the problem you’re solving for them. Define how you want them to feel with your brand. Pick 1-3 core feelings (i.e. confident, empowered, joyful).

5 — Know and research your competitors
Who are your top competitors and what are the reasons your target customer will choose you over them? Also consider the things you admire and don’t admire about them.

6 — Develop your brand personality
Your customer, how you want them to feel, and your competitors should 100% inform your brand personality. Think of your brand as a person—who are you and who are you not?

7 — Define your unique positioning (unique value proposition)
If you’ve completed the prior steps, you should have what you need to define how you uniquely fit within the marketplace. What are you offering (and how) that no one else is?

8 — Consider where your brand will be used
Last but not least, it’s important to consider where your brand will live (i.e. social media, website, mobile app, etc.). This influences both what visual assets you’ll decide to invest in and then the constraints for building those assets.

I hope these steps are helpful! If you go through them, I’d love to know what you’ve come up with and your feedback on the process.

If you have any questions or need more of an explanation of any of the steps, just reply to this email and let me know!

All the best,

Natalie

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