HOW TO DESIGN A BRANDING STRATEGY?

DEFINITION OF BRANDING

Let’s start by defining what it is not:  branding should not be reduced to a logo , name or product. It is a concept that goes further and enters the field of perceptions, endowing our organization with unique attributes that will allow it to differentiate itself from the competition, among which physical elements such as a corporate image, the  packaging , colors, slogans or names. 

Therefore,  branding is a method that is used to position a brand , a product or a company in people’s minds. It is nothing more than a set of positioning strategies that generate value for a company. Marketing no longer sells products, but  feelings, lifestyle and experiences . 

 TYPES OF BRANDING : PERSONAL BRANDING AND PRODUCT BRANDING

Although traditionally the concept of branding has focused on products and services in recent years it has led to the personal brand or personal branding , whose purpose is none other than attributing a number of qualities to people who are behind them in order to achieve your goals. As we will see throughout the post, during the process of creating a brand we will be able to apply some of the tips that we provide you when talking about personal branding , although there will be some differences that we must take into account.

 HOW TO DESIGN A BRANDING STRATEGY

The first thing to keep in mind when creating a branding strategy is that, by definition, it is a long-term plan , developed to guarantee the continuity of a brand or company in the market. However, it should not be conceived as something rigid, but adaptable to the circumstances surrounding an environment as changing as the one we live in. Professionals like Michael Grayum can help you build the right strategy for your business. To help you successfully design your Brand Marketing, we have compiled 8 stages that will help you create your branding strategy :

KNOW YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER OR BUYER PERSONA

The creation of ideal customer or buyer persona profiles is a fundamental process in the elaboration of a business strategy . The knowledge of our client has to be the base of the creation of any Marketing strategy, reason why we must be exhaustive in the elaboration of these profiles so that they are truly useful. Who is our ideal client? What products do you consume? It is important not to confuse our ideal client with the concept of potential client. For example, if my product is a lipstick, my client will potentially be a woman, although if it is a product tested on animals, the size of the market will be reduced.

DEFINE THE OBJECTIVES OF A BRANDING STRATEGY

The objectives of a branding strategy are not different from what we could set ourselves in any other campaign: they must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and limited in time (in case you hadn’t noticed, it responds to the acronym in English SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant & Time related).

Regarding types of objectives, we also find a great variety:

• Notoriety : we want to increase the knowledge of our brand or product in the market
• Sales : boost our turnover
• Reputational : linking certain values ​​to the perception that our audience has of our company, product or service

ANALYSIS OF COMPETITION AND STRATEGIC SCENARIOS

Knowing your competition can make the  branding process  easier. Take into account their tactics, strategies, human capital and communication actions to determine which plot of   the consumer’s top of mind they occupy, and thus assess which will be yours.

Some  tips to identify your competition :

• Do a Google search for those keywords that best represent your product or service
• Use the advanced search functions of social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or even Pinterest
• Analyze the resulting websites and social profiles with specialized tools like Similarweb or FanpageKarma

 DEVELOP YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION ( BRAND VALUE )

Here is one of the critical points of any branding strategy : developing our value proposition or positioning (in English, brand value ). There are endless possibilities in this regard, hence we have chosen to show just a few:

• Price . Not much else to point out: this is a cost-based approach to the product
• Quality . “The washing machine manufacturers only recommend Calgón “. There are many anti-scale products, but they only work and extend the life of your appliances
• Alternative . Do you remember the famous advertisements of Don Simón in which they informed the consumer about the percentage of juice compared to their competitors? What about Pepsi’s strategy to try and scratch Coca Cola’s market share ?
• Niche . Specialist in a specific aspect within a larger area. For example, Carglass positioned itself as a window change company, compared to conventional multifunction workshops
• Nostalgia / tradition . “Come back, come home, come home.” Does anyone imagine a Christmas campaign of nougat El Almendro with another jingle ?
• Group membership . There are many insurers, but I “am from Mutua”. This concept is closely linked to that of exclusivity (speaking of nougats, how about we buy a tablet from the “most expensive nougat in the world” -1880-)
• Status . Who has not wanted to buy a certain technological gadget so as not to be up to date? Do you remember when the first iPhone came out back in 2007, and you saw people with it in Spain even when it was not yet commercialized?

 DEFINE YOUR MESSAGE: STORYTELLING

For those who do not know the concept, Storytelling is understood as the technique that allows a brand to connect with its users through a linked story. If we land this concept, we will find ourselves before the structure on which we will build our value proposition to transmit it through the most appropriate channels to make them reach our audience.