What is Brand Strategy?

Are you throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what will stick?

I see it often in the online space — a new entrepreneur launches her business with a few offers and a general direction. In her mind, her first steps should be creating a name, logo and a website. 

So what does she do? She hires a web designer right away, but then realizes she needs a message to share on the pages of the site, so she whips up some website copy by checking out the competition to see what they are saying, what they are doing and what they are charging. 

She follows their lead (even though they might be in a different season of business with a different customer profile). She then dives into social media and begins mindless posting on Instagram, Facebook and everywhere in between.

Her strategy is reactive, and she makes these moves without stopping to think strategically about the direction of her business. She’s scattered and feels like she is on a hamster wheel, doing all the things without seeing consistent results. 

It. Is. Exhausting. 

It also isn’t working.

This entrepreneur wonders why clients aren’t buying. Her confidence is low and she starts to think that she should change her offers, her price, her message (again!) to see if that will help. It’s a constant game of trial and error.

The way out of this MESS?

Stop throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks and instead get strategic. Before you execute the branding elements, the website, the marketing, form your plan.

Brand strategy is the plan that determines how your business looks to customers and stands out among competitors. 

How do you get your brand to connect with your audience so they become a customer? The answer is more than just its name, logo, fonts, colors and visual assets. It requires you to think of your brand as the sum of your business’s soul, personality, philosophy, values, competitive advantage and customer experience.  

Your brand strategy must intentionally define your brand’s story so you can connect at a deeper level and attract the right clients.

How do I start forming my brand strategy?

You need a smart plan of action in place FIRST before you can deliver your services and implement all of the tactics. You need to define clearly your mission, positioning, ideal client avatar, brand direction. 

Think about it…

• You can’t create a magnetic offer if you don’t understand what your skills/strengths are and how you are different from the rest.

• You can’t have a real social media content plan if you don’t know your key areas of expertise to discuss

• You won’t know what opportunities are right for you if you haven’t defined your distinct point of view and vision

• Your website launch won’t be effective if you don’t know who your ideal client is and what their problems and desires are

You must start with brand strategy and not with tactics.

The Brand CEO Method 

It’s time to stop winging it and act like the CEO of your brand! My proven method, The Brand CEO Method, will help you develop your brand strategy without the overwhelm.

1. Discover your brand’s brilliance.  What is your story? What do you believe in? Why do you do this work? What passions and previous professional/life experiences do you have? What are your future goals? 

Ask yourself these deep questions, so you can build a brand that is authentic and leverages your unique skills and strengths. 

2. Define your secret sauce. What is your specific area of expertise? Who is the best targeted audience that you should be serving? How are you different? What is your power niche? 

You need to develop your competitive positioning so you don’t look like the rest, you become the sought after expert, and you can attract clients easily. 

3. Deliver your brand expertise. What is your core offer? Do you have a branded methodology? Is there a lead magnet, signature talk? 

We need to package your genius in a way that has clients saying YES and paying top dollar.

When you set up your own brand strategy, you take control of your business. You gain confidence and more sales will follow.

The alternative, when you don’t have a strategy or roadmap, is being stuck in reaction mode, spinning in all directions and feeling confused. Your audience won’t stick around to watch you spin out of control! They will also feel confused, and a confused mind never buys, it bails.

Now is the time to strengthen your brand so your business no longer feels out of control. 

If you’d like to nail your strategy once and for all, you have to check out my mastermind that starts in mid September! The Brand Breakthrough Mastermind is a 4-month, high-touch mentorship for ambitious women entrepreneurs who want to build a stand-out brand without the confusion, time-suck and figuring it all out on your own. This program is for women who are ready to do the work it takes to elevate their brands and become the sought-after expert. Count me in!