If you’ve found yourself here, you’re getting serious about your brand development. That is music to my ears. And while you may not yet be ready to invest in a formal brand strategy, I want to give you a leg up and make this process a whole lot easier for you to do on your own. Consider this your crash course for strong brand development.
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ACCESSIBLE BRAND DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
Over the years, I’ve been working one-on-one with small businesses on their brand development. From brand strategy development to designing the final brand identity. It’s an important process that creates clarity, ease, and momentum for a business.
But I realize the cost of brand development isn’t always in the budget for small businesses. This is why it’s important that I’m making the tools of brand strategy accessible so that you can still work on your own brand development without needing to go broke.
Frankly, that was the impetus to my Brand Building Blog, a growing collection of brand development and marketing resources for entrepreneurs.
But let me show you the best place to start for developing your own brand.
THE 5 PILLARS FOR STRONG BRAND DEVELOPMENT
Brand strategy is a comprehensive process with lots of nuance. But if I had to choose five pillars that would make a real difference in your own brand development, here’s what I would encourage you to focus on.
1. Your Brand Purpose
So many small businesses centre their brand messaging around what they do and how they do it. But when you lead with why you do it, you’ll draw the attention of the right people.
Understanding your purpose as a brand and as a core pillar of your marketing will enrich the narrative that people associate with your business.
A 2019 study by Porter Novelli revealed the importance of brand purpose on consumers. Their study found that:
89% of Americans are more likely to have a positive image of a brand that leads with purpose
86% are more likely to trust a brand that has a clear purpose
Brands that lead with purpose are 83% more likely to gain consumer loyalty
When your purpose as a brand aligns with who your target audience is trying to become, you’re golden.
3 BRAND DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS TO CLARIFY YOUR BRAND PURPOSE
Why did we start our business?
What fundamental belief drives us forward?
Why do we aim to exist?
2. Your Brand Promise
More commonly known as a value proposition, your brand promise is exactly what it claims to be. It’s the short and sweet summary of what you offer, to whom, and the emotional benefit it brings them.
That may seem simple enough to pull off, but this is one part of your brand development you absolutely want to nail. So spend time crafting your brand promise strategically.
Your brand promise, or some iteration of it, is what you want to use:
above the fold on your website
on your social media bios
and consistently throughout your marketing
This brief brand statement should clearly and concisely communicate your value as a brand and what’s in it for them. Make it memorable and make it easy for your audience to see why you’re a brand they need in their life.
BRAND PROMISE DEVELOPMENT TIP
Go visit 5-10 of your competitors in the market and write down each of their brand promises. Look to the leading statement on their website or in their social bios. Look at the language already being used in your competitive landscape to help craft a truly distinct brand promise of your own.
3. Problem + Solution Scenarios
At the end of the day, your business offers a solution to a problem. For your brand development to have a major impact on your marketing, spend time zeroing in on the range of problems your audience is faced with. Trust me, there are far more than you may realize.
Make a list of the functional, emotional, and self-expressive problems your ideal client is dealing with and counter each one with the solution you have. This helps reveal the brand language you’ll use throughout your marketing.
Functional → The more obvious problems your business solves.
Emotional → The emotional problems that arise from having the functional problems.
Self-Expressive → The impact these problems have on their self-image.
It’s our emotions that make us take action. This list of problem+solution scenarios will act as a source of content ideas and make marketing and storytelling a breeze. A must-have for your brand development.
4. Target Audience Priorities
An often overlooked part of brand development is focusing on what’s important to your target audience. You may think you know, but I would encourage you to do some market research here. Talk to past clients. Listen to what potential clients are saying on sales calls. Read between the lines and make note of:
how they’re feeling now versus how they want to feel
where they’re trying to go or who they’re trying to become
why they haven’t been able to solve their problem yet
Consider their values, deal-breakers, and other priorities that will lead them to say YES!
Your brand messaging and your marketing will convert more easily when you’re able to demonstrate just how much you understand about who they are, how they’re feeling, and what they need to take that next step towards change.
4 BRAND DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS FOR AUDIENCE PRIORITIES
What do they need to feel good about investing in you?
What objections or hesitations do they have about moving forward and how can you reassure them?
What are they looking for in a [your profession]?
What personal values influence how they make their decision?
5. Clear Brand Positioning
The fifth pillar for your condensed brand development is having a clear brand position. This simply means claiming a distinct space, compared to other comparable businesses, in the minds of your target audience.
Get familiar with your competitive landscape and who your next client is comparing you to. This goes hand-in-hand with making a strong brand promise, except your brand positioning statement declares how you’re different from any other business out there.
Being confident in what makes your business unique and consistently communicating this in your marketing is how you shape your reputation while offering your audience something new that may be better suited for them.
Among the six Strategic Brand Planner workbooks, planner three: Market Distinction and planner four: Positioning Your Brand are the best for nailing this part of your brand development.
MUST-READ BRAND BUILDING BOOKS FOR EVERY ENTREPRENEUR
What kind of brand consultant would I be if I didn’t leave you with a list of my favourite brand building books. These four books have shaped my thinking and improved my ability as a brand strategist for my clients. And no, none of these are affiliate links—they’re all personal faves of mine.
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
This will help you in crafting your brand purpose and shift how you lead as a business.
Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
A beautiful look at how to become a good storyteller in the context of branding and business.
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout
A great perspective on how we, as consumers, think about brands and how you can be strategic in your positioning to distinguish your business among the masses.
Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind by Jonah Berger
A look at the range of techniques used by marketers and even hostage negotiators to influence behaviour.
Hopefully, this crash course in brand development has given you what you need to get started. Dedicating the time to get super clear in these areas will anchor your efforts and bring a natural cohesion to your messaging, marketing, and your offers.
If you want a more structured approach, be sure to grab my Strategic Brand Planner. Equipped with six digital brand planners, you’ll work strategically through your brand development while optimize your marketing for more meaningful connection and conversions.
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Jenny Henderson Studio develops memorable brand experiences and strategic brand foundations to improve recognition and revenue for service-based small businesses.