How to attract your ideal customers using brand strategy…
You probably know your brand inside out and understand why it would appeal to someone like you. But do you understand why it appeals to others? This is where brand strategy comes in. But exactly what is a brand strategy, and why does it matter?
Let’s say you have a stunning, high-quality promotional flyer. Maybe it looks amazing, but it doesn't actually speak to your specific customer – they simply don’t see how your business can solve their unique problems. You can create the best marketing collateral in the world, but if it doesn’t relate to your customer or reflect your wider brand strategy, it could look inconsistent, sloppy, and fall on deaf ears.
What is a brand strategy?
So, what is a brand strategy, and how can it help? Brand strategy basically involves having a plan for your business and all of your marketing collateral, so that you capture your ideal customer, send leads down your funnel, and, ultimately, make more money. Winning, right?
But to achieve success, you have to understand:
· Who your customer is,
· Where they’re located, and
· What they’re interested in.
You have to know your customer inside out – including what drives them, what motivates them, and, it goes without saying, which kind of marketing communications is going to be most effective with them.
Brand strategy is simple; it's sitting down, working out a plan, discovering who your customer is and how to best market your brand to them!
The way I usually explain brand strategy is a fishing analogy (stick with me here!). Essentially, if you want to go fishing, and you want to catch the best fish, you're going to go and research. For instance, if you want to catch a Marlin, you would seek advice from people at a bait-and-tackle shop and ask them about the best bait to catch a Marlin. You wouldn’t just go and use whatever bait you think you need.
Instead, it’s a matter of researching that specific fish, and working out the strategy to catch it. You’ll need to find out where it hangs out, and at what time of day, as well as which bait it likes the best.
That's what we do at Saffron & Co – we can help you research your customer, work out who you are targeting, and come up with a specific strategy to land your perfect customer, instead of suggesting a cookie-cutter approach.
Why does brand strategy matter?
Having a brand strategy focuses all your efforts, enabling you to pretty much guarantee that your business will be successful. Why? Well, because you're actually thinking through the eyes of your customer and making that customer the priority.
In other words, why would you bother investing in a huge net and fishing all over the country when you can create a small, effective net? Sure, it might take more time initially, but once you’ve built your net you can go to the precise places where you’re sure to land a huge catch!
You're not designing your products or services for just “anyone”; you're designing them for your customers.
Having a brand strategy is also extremely valuable for when you're doing your social media marketing – it guides your whole approach, even if you've hired an expert to help.
A brand strategy can:
· Allow you to understand what your brand is and what it stands for, guiding your efforts for the future,
· Help you communicate your brand consistently, so customers know exactly what to expect,
· Attract the right customers, and
· Position your brand just the way you’d like.
How to create a successful brand strategy : case study
Jenny and Brendon came to us to start up a new business, called Propt Me. Propt Me is an app that helps people hire out (or in) services for use around the house and make money from this. Hence the photo above.
They wanted to do a brand strategy session in order to understand their market better. They wanted to make sure that all their future design and marketing communications connected with their potential customers. Ultimately, they had the idea, the passion and the drive… but they didn’t have clear, measurable goals or a detailed understanding of who their customer was and how to market to them.
The brand strategy session and report I created helped Propt Me to define their business goals. We also identified their customer personas, and how to reach them, giving them a clear understanding of their focus for the future.
This was their review:
“The brand workshop really helped us discover who our customers are and who we are as a business. We learned what really sets us apart from our competitors so that we have clear marketing communication.
We feel this workshop was a huge investment to our business as we will save money by not spending money on marketing avenues where our audience isn’t even present. Saffron explains everything really easily and guided us through the whole process. It was actually fun.”
Here is Propt Me design and branding work we did here.
So, what now?
If you’re still feeling a little lost, or your marketing efforts are falling flat, it’s probably because they’re not guided by an overarching brand strategy. You’re trying to catch the big fish but you’ve got no map, the wrong bait, and your fishing rod is far too small!
If you’re ready to level up and create a brand strategy, sit down with a professional. I specialise in brand strategy and have helped countless business owners to redefine their brand, setting them up for future success.
What is a brand strategy workshop? Well, in our workshops, I’ll sit down with you for a workshop where we discuss your business, your goals, and your vision.
Our brand strategy workshop will help you:
· Refine your business and marketing goals
· Pinpoint your specific audience and identify how to connect with them
· Identify a clear vision for your brand
After the session, I’ll provide you with a 6-page brand blueprint, which will outline your:
· Medium-term and long-term business goals
· Customer personas
· Brand vision and mission statements
This will guide your marketing efforts, helping you squeeze the most out of your marketing dollars. Ultimately, it could save you hours spent marketing on the wrong platforms. Want to hear more? Sign up for my brand strategy workshop here. Or, contact me for more information or for tailored advice on how your business can thrive.
Example of Brand Strategy Document specially designed for your unique business.
I specialise in brand strategy, and a main part of this is working out your ideal customers so that you have a strategy for your business.
If you would like to get in touch with me to chat how we could help you, book in a brand strategy workshop or just need more advice on one or more of the points above, click here to message me.
Thanks Saffron, :)
