Developing Your Branding Strategy

Developing your branding strategy can be one of the most difficult steps in the marketing plan process. It's often the element that causes most businesses the biggest challenge, but it's a vital step in creating the company identity.

Your brand identity will be repeatedly communicated, in multiple ways with frequency and consistency throughout the life of your business.

Creating your branding strategy can be done easily by following the step by step guide below.

How To Define Your Brand
This is the first step in the process of developing your branding strategy. By defining who your brand is you create the foundation for all other components to build on. Your brand definition will serve as your measuring stick in evaluating any and all marketing materials and strategies. [MORE]

Determining Your Brand's Objectives
Critical to effective brand management is the clear definition of the brand's audience and the objectives that the brand needs to achieve. How do you go about defining those objectives and putting a plan into place that will help you succeed in meeting them. [MORE]

Focusing on your Target Market
Your value proposition must be relevant to your target market. This means your target market must be clearly defined. It's not uncommon for a business to have to refocus and revisit their targeting, especially if it was not clearly identified in the beginning stages of business.

It is necessary to find the right balance when defining your target market in a way that causes your audience to recognize that you are talking specifically to them. This often requires companies to narrow down their target market.

Why is Your Target Market Important in Branding?
It does not matter what your Brand mission is identifying and gaining the devotion of your target audience is the necessary means to reaching those objectives.

To achieve your brand marketing goals it is important that you know your target market inside and out. This requires conducting a market analysis. This market analysis must be as in-depth as possible providing you will all the data you need to reach your target effectively. By knowing your target audience you will be more confident in the steps to take to connect with that audience. [MORE]

Brand Packaging: Are You Reflecting the Right Company Image?
Branding is your identity in the marketplace, is yours saying what it should? Your company image is all about the appearance of your packaging. What is your company image saying to the marketplace?

It's important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on the purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to your packaging is when you are in the launch of a "new" brand. If you've already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close attention to the packaging.

How can you package your brand so that it is an integral part of your business and represents a strong identity? Keep in mind that I am not speaking of packaging has only a box that contains a product, but as a vehicle that reflects your company's brand and image. Packaging can be judged and represented by the following common business tools:

• business cards and stationery
• web site
• answering system
• email address

What image are you putting across with these business tools that you use everyday? What are they saying about your company? Take a few moments and lets look at each one of these.
What are your business cards and stationery saying? Are they saying we are strong, we are confident, and we can succeed in helping you? Or does it reflect an image that says we are flimsy, our dynamics are minimal, and we will try but we cannot guarantee continuity? [MORE]