How To Build Your Brand Foundation
Why develop your brand strategy? It gives you a strong foundation of clarity to move forward and grow your business. You develop “brand confidence” - the ability to attract your ideal clients with the right messaging, content and offers.
Build your brand foundation by focusing on these 4 key essentials:
1 - Purpose
2 - Perception
3 - Positioning
4 - Packaging
PURPOSE
Start with why. Know why you chose to start and grow this business that you spend your time and energy on. Why does it matter to you? Why should it matter to others?
When you stay connected with your “why,” you remain inspired and it’s easier to inspire your audience. An inspired audience loves to connect with you, converts into paying customers and sticks with you, coming back again and again.
To connect with the purpose of your brand, simply start with why. Your business wouldn’t exist in the world unless you decided to breathe life into it.
Ask yourself: Why does your business exist in the first place?
Your answer is something you should keep handy. Share it with your audience regularly. It’s the beginning of your brand foundation because it’s the reason you get out of bed each morning to do this work.
PERCEPTION
Your brand perception is being formed with or without your help because it’s simply the impression your customers have of your business. One way you build a strong brand foundation is by defining and shaping your brand perception with intention.
Start here:
01 - Determine what your Actual Brand Perception is today.
What do your clients, past & present, think about your brand?
What do your engaged social media followers feel about your brand?
Ask people on your email list.
Do a poll or survey in your private Facebook group.
02 - Brainstorm your Desired Brand Perception.
How do you want your audience to perceive your brand?
How do you want them to feel every time they interact with your business?
What kind of unforgettable experience do you want to provide?
Your brand foundation is only as strong as your clarity about who it’s for. You must clearly define your niche in order to create the right building blocks for your brand. For example, to create your desired brand perception, you need to know who you’re building an experience for.
The experience you deliver, the expectations you set and every other aspect in your brand strategy can only be determined when you know your ideal clients. That means, before you move on to positioning and packaging your brand, take the time to nail your niche.
POSITIONING
Once you’ve defined your target audience, you can position your brand to speak directly to them. Your positioning includes:
A clear statement saying “What You Do for Your Ideal Client” (I.e. Brand Strategist for Visionary Entrepreneurs)
Mission statement: I help [ideal client] do [what] so they can [benefit]
Vision: Your lofty, aspirational goal you’re reaching for in your business
Core values: what you believe in
What Sets You Apart: your unique brilliance & why you’re different from anyone else
Your story: that allows your audience to see themselves in it & relate to you more
Tagline(s): to inspire & express the benefits of your brand
Brand Promise: the promise of transformation for your ideal clients
Brand Voice & Personality: to speak your audience’s love language
Take your time with these branding elements. Make sure they feel good, are clear over clever and truly speak to your ideal client’s pain points, problems, goals and ambitions.
PACKAGING
After the strategic work of positioning your brand is done, you can translate your strategy into design and style. Developing your brand identity includes:
Primary logo
Secondary logo
Submark (a smaller, abbreviated logo)
Color palette with exact hex codes
Pattern(s) and/or illustrations if applicable
Font package with guidelines and hierarchy
Professional photography: custom brand photos and/or stock photos that align
Brand video
People often don’t believe something until they can see it or experience it. Having a strong visual brand that is easily identifiable and enhances the messaging and strategy you’ve created for your brand is the final cherry on top for building your strong brand foundation.
When you take the time to develop your purpose, perception, positioning and packaging, your brand will have a solid foundation that creates a clear direction to reach your audience effectively.
Ready to take the first step towards clarifying your brand? Download my free guide “YOUR BRAND SUPERPOWER IN ONE CLEAR STATEMENT”.