You have a new hire who is unfamiliar with brand strategy. How can you explain it in a way that resonates?

Brand is a product/service with a ‘differentiating idea’ wrapped around it which makes it more valuable and desirable. It is a collection of words, images, thoughts and feelings about a product or service in a person’s mind. What makes a Brand? 1. Does it fulfill a consumer need? 2. Does is have a clear and distinct identity? 3. Does it offer rational & emotional benefits? 4. Is it differentiated? 5. Does it create value for all stakeholders- customers, shareholders, employees, community and society?

Your brand is not just about aesthetics and visual identity. Branding is the soul of your business and how you communicate your core values and ethos with the world, and more specifically your target audience. It includes: Internal foundation: Values, ethos, politics (or not), mission, vision, purpose, target market, strategy External signals: Products, design, brand attributes (personality, tone-of-voice), visual identity (logo, colors, fonts, art direction), customer service & UI/UX Branding is the foundation on which a business builds its reputation, signals its target market, and attracts new customers.

Your brand isn't something you physically touch; it's the impression people form based on their interactions and feelings. It's what sets you apart, builds trust, and leads to recommendations. Your brand is essentially a promise to customers, outlining what they can anticipate from your business and how you'll fulfill those expectations.

Brand is simply looking at a business like its a real life person. What do they do. How can they help me. How do they look, talk, quirks, beliefs, how warm or cold they are, can they be trusted, what do other people say about them. Will they do what they say they do? How did they do it? Will I go back to them? If you ask your customers the above questions and they all answer similarly, that's a brand.

Begin by defining what a brand is. Explain that a brand is not just a logo or a product, but the overall perception and reputation of a company or organization in the minds of consumers.

Brand strategy involves shaping, positioning, and sharing your brand with your audience. It's crucial because it aligns your business goals and vision with what your customers want. This strategy ensures a unified brand identity everywhere, from your website to customer service. With a solid brand strategy, you stand out, foster loyalty, and boost your business's success.

Brand strategy is the roadmap that guides how a brand presents itself to the world and connects with its audience. It's like the personality of a brand—how it looks, sounds, and behaves. Imagine a brand as a person; the brand strategy is what shapes its character, values, and the story it tells. It's not just about having a recognizable logo; it's about creating a consistent and memorable experience that leaves a lasting impression. By aligning every aspect of the brand, from visuals to messaging, we ensure that our audience understands who we are and what we stand for, fostering trust and connection. It's the foundation that helps us stand out and make a positive impact in the minds of our customers.

Highlight the importance of having a clear purpose or mission for the brand. Explain that brand strategy is about defining how the company will communicate its purpose, values, and unique attributes to its target audience.

Highlight the importance of having a clear purpose or mission for the brand. Explain that brand strategy is about defining how the company will communicate its purpose, values, and unique attributes to its target audience.

Brand strategy enables businesses create an exclusive, unique & memorable experience for the customers. This enables the user to create a persona about your business and gives them a reason come back in to your business in the future.

Creating a brand strategy follows four main steps: research, analysis, development, and implementation. Research involves gathering info about your market, competitors, and customers. Analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Development crafts your brand's purpose, mission, vision, values, personality, voice, and story. Implementation turns your strategy into visuals, words, and experiences that convey your brand identity and message.

It's simple ( Not easy ) Define what you want to do broadly. Find what your competitors are doing. Find how your competitors serve. Find a reason how your product/service is different. Its usually something between, technology, speed, cost or customer experience. Define and create a plan to position yourself among your competitors.

Introduce the concept of target audience or target market. Explain that brand strategy involves understanding who the target audience is, what their needs and preferences are, and how the brand can effectively connect with them.

When crafting a new brand strategy or developing one for the first time, it can feel like an existential exercise discovering who we are at our core. I recommend finding time for all relevant stakeholders to have collaborative white board sessions. Two of the first questions I ask before crafting a Brand Strategy are: 1. Tell me the story behind your brand name? 2. Why did you start the brand? (the real honest truth, not the PR answer) Followed by an exercise focused on defining the brand's core values. Asking ourselves questions like: -Who are we culturally? -What does existing team represent and value? -What do we stand for? -What do we stand against? -Do we take a stance politically, socially, or environmentally?

How to create a brand strategy? Leveraging Data-Driven Insights: Emphasize the importance of using data analytics in understanding market trends and customer preferences for a more targeted brand strategy. Inclusivity in Branding: Discuss the role of inclusivity in brand development, ensuring that the brand resonates with diverse audiences. The Blend of Tradition and Innovation: Suggest balancing traditional values with innovative approaches to keep the brand relevant and dynamic.

Discuss the importance of differentiation in brand strategy. Explain that brands need to stand out from competitors by offering something unique or differentiating themselves in some way, whether it's through product features, customer experience, or brand personality.

Brand strategy creates the brand experience. Brand experience affirms your marketing to your audience. Audience can't be fooled, so they start believing in your brand and they become fans to bring in more business & fans.

A brand strategy offers several benefits: clear identity definition, consistent communication, alignment with target audience, building credibility, guiding decision-making, and supporting growth. It's the roadmap to establishing a strong brand that resonates with customers and ensures long-term success.

What are the benefits of brand strategy? Building a Resilient Brand: Talk about how a solid brand strategy can help businesses weather economic downturns and market uncertainties. Brand Strategy as a Talent Magnet: Explain how a strong brand attracts not just customers but also top-tier talent who want to work for reputable, well-branded companies. Enhancing Customer Experience: Illustrate how brand strategy directly influences the overall customer experience, turning transactions into memorable experiences.

Touch on the various elements of brand strategy, including branding elements like logos, colors, and visual identity, as well as brand messaging, tone of voice, and brand positioning.

Measuring brand strategy success involves tracking organic reach, website traffic, and inbound leads. Engagement metrics on social media, brand awareness surveys, customer feedback, and competitive analysis are also essential. By analyzing these metrics, businesses can evaluate the effectiveness of their brand strategy initiatives.

How to measure brand strategy success? Beyond Traditional Metrics: Encourage looking beyond standard metrics to gauge brand health, like employee engagement, social impact, and innovation rate. The Role of Social Listening: Highlight the importance of social listening tools in understanding real-time public perception of the brand. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Discuss how measuring CLV can be an effective way to assess the long-term impact of brand strategy.

If I’d have to explain brand strategy to a new hire who is not familiar with it, I’d start off with describing how brand strategy is all about crafting a compelling story or narrative around a key insight that we have arrived at after hours of in-depth research and analysis of the market, competitors and audience. I would then take them through the must-know terminologies relating to brand strategy, explain where brand strategy fits in the entire hierarchy of strategy, introduce them to frameworks, tools, case studies, contemporary books on strategy, specialised resources like industry experts that they should follow and newsletters they should subscribe to and even online courses that they can take up.

How to teach brand strategy to your new hire? Interactive Learning: Propose interactive learning methods like role-playing, brand strategy games, or simulations to make the learning process engaging and realistic. Mentorship Programs: Suggest establishing mentorship programs where new hires can learn firsthand from experienced brand strategists. Encourage Creative Thinking: Encourage new hires to think creatively and challenge the status quo, fostering a culture of innovation in brand strategy development.

Here’s what else to consider Global Perspective in Branding: Discuss the necessity of understanding global market dynamics and cultural nuances in crafting an effective brand strategy. The Role of Technology in Brand Evolution: Delve into how emerging technologies like AI, VR, and AR are revolutionizing brand experiences. Ethical Branding in a Polarized World: Address the challenges of maintaining brand integrity in a politically and socially polarized environment, emphasizing the need for tact and empathy.

Hacer un plan de onboarding adecuado es lo que hará que el empleado conecte no sólo con la marca, si no con el propósito de la misma y los objetivos del negocio. A veces algunos jefes en la premura de que el colaborador inicie cuanto antes, no le da la importancia a este tiempo y es súper clave.