Your guide to DIY Brand Strategy
A step-by step brand strategy process for small businesses just starting out
In the era of DIY entrepreneurship, crafting a brand that captivates your audience and converts them into customers is the ultimate goal. But how do you navigate the labyrinth of branding when you're the mastermind behind every aspect of your business?
Don’t worry, I’ve distilled my signature brand strategy process into five clear steps, empowering you to rule your industry!
Step 1: Define Your Business Values
The purpose
Are you lost in the sea of generic messaging, hoping to appeal to everyone and ending up with a diluted brand identity? When you anchor your brand by defining its core values, you make it possible to embrace authenticity and forge genuine connections with your audience. Research shows that 64% of consumers pledge their loyalty to brands that share their values [Harvard Business Review].
How to get started
Start by listing values that resonate with your business. Whittle them down to your top five, then weave them into your brand's messaging organically. Avoid the trap of listing out your values for your audience to read. Instead, integrate your values seamlessly into your messaging, demonstrating how they shape your actions and decisions.
Step 2: Create Your Dream Customer Profile
The purpose
Are you attracting customers who don't align with your vision? Or simply not attracting customers at all? It’s time to step into your dream customer's shoes. Understand their needs, aspirations, and pain points to tailor your offerings effectively.
How to get started
Whether through surveys, social media engagement, or visualisation exercises, gather key information about your ideal customer. Paint a vivid portrait to guide your marketing efforts. Key information to gather includes their passions, personality traits, goals, problems your service solves, and how they'll feel interacting with and after using your brand.
Step 3: Industry Analysis & Research
The purpose
Constantly comparing yourself to competitors leaves you feeling inadequate, right? I like to call it comparisonitis, and it’s a habit that’s hard to break. When you shift your focus from emulation to innovation, you can start to find opportunities where you can shine. Conduct thorough research to identify gaps in your industry and opportunities for differentiation.
How to get started
Identify your competitors by analysing businesses similar to yours, both locally and globally. Conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to uncover areas where you can outshine the competition. This critical and positive thinking will help you build the bigger picture of your industry and find gaps to fill.
Step 4: Carve Out Your Personality & Niche
The purpose
If your brand lacks personality and direction, you’ll blend into the background noise. Embrace your uniqueness to stand out in a crowded marketplace, and get the confidence to be authentically you. Define your niche and infuse your brand with personality, creating a category of one.
How to get started
Write down your personality traits and get specific. Whether you're a solopreneur or a team, let your personality shine through every interaction. Treat your brand like a character if it helps. Define your niche by combining what problem you solve, your values, vision, personality, and what you do differently from competitors.
Step 5: Generate Your Unique Selling Proposition
The purpose
You’ve done all of the strategic groundwork, but you need a way to connect it to your day-to-day branding and marketing efforts. The last step is to translate your brand strategy into a compelling Unique Selling Point (USP) and actionable insights.
How to get started
Craft a concise USP statement that encapsulates how you solve your dream customer's problem uniquely. Use your USP as a guiding light to inform your brand's visual and messaging style. Embrace authenticity, relatability, and modernity to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Share it with your audience online and say it out loud until you know it by heart.
You've Come a Long Way!
By following these steps, you've laid a solid foundation for your brand's success. From clarifying your values to honing your USP, you've gained clarity and confidence to propel your business forward.
If you want to dive deeper into strategy with a detailed workbook with examples and actions to take…
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