news & insights

The challenges of building a brand can seem endless, from employee engagement to market confusion, pricing battles, and maintaining relevance. But there is one under-utilised tool in your business toolkit that could hold the key to all of these challenges and more.

Your brand strategy. 

And no, we don’t mean the copy of your brand guidelines sitting sad and neglected, gathering dust. We don’t mean an afterthought, nice-to-have relegated to the marketing department. We mean a thorough, consistent, and well-implemented brand strategy that beats at the very heart of your business in a slow and steady rhythm and informs every single decision.

By implementing a strong brand strategy, your business can build a powerful and consistent identity that resonates with your target audience, steers the direction of your business, increases brand recognition, and ultimately drives growth.

Below are seven common business challenges we see in our strategic branding work. We’ve included some questions so you can assess if any of these apply to your business.

CHALLENGE NO.1: THERE IS A LACK OF BRAND RECOGNITION WITH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

• Does your audience struggle to recognise your brand?
• Is your brand represented inconsistently across different platforms and touchpoints?
• Do you find it difficult to create a lasting impression on your target audience?
• Are you unsure how to create brand assets and content that support your strategy and connect with your desired consumers?

A well-defined brand strategy should inform and influence your brand identity, which – if used consistently – will foster familiarity, trust, and lasting impressions among your target audience.

CHALLENGE NO.2: ONBOARDING AND ENGAGING (THE RIGHT) EMPLOYEES

• Could your team members tell us your brand’s purpose?
• Could they articulate what makes your brand unique from competitors?
• Does every employee understand the bigger objectives your business is working towards?
• Do they understand the brand values and how to demonstrate them in their daily decisions, actions and conversations?

A strong brand strategy not only influences sales and marketing but also plays a vital role in attracting, engaging and retaining the right employees by aligning them with the brand’s purpose, values, and goals – ultimately improving productivity, job satisfaction, and customer experience.

CHALLENGE NO.3: YOU’RE DIFFERENTIATING YOURSELF ON PRICE (AND LOSING BECAUSE OF IT)

• Are you constantly adjusting your prices to match or beat your competitors?
• Are your customers buying from you solely based on price?
• Do you find it challenging to increase your prices due to customer pushback?
• Are your profit margins lower than you’d like because you can’t price your products or services higher?

Investing in a strong, consistent brand strategy allows you to compete beyond price, command higher prices for your products or services, and ultimately increase your profits.

CHALLENGE NO.4: YOU LACK DIFFERENTIATION FROM COMPETITORS

• Are customers able to identify what sets your brand apart from competitors?
• Do you offer unique features, benefits, or experiences that competitors don’t provide?
• Are you able to articulate your unique value proposition effectively?
• Are the differences between you and your competitors meaningful to your customers?

In a crowded marketplace, differentiation is essential for business success, allowing your brand to stand out, attract a loyal audience, and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. A brand strategy will help you figure out exactly how you differentiate.

CHALLENGE NO.5: YOU’RE INEFFICIENT WITH YOUR MARKETING SPEND (AND YOU’RE NOT SEEING RESULTS)

• Are you struggling to track and measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns?
• Do you struggle to allocate your marketing budget to the most impactful channels?
• Are you not generating enough leads or seeing a low return on investment (ROI) from your marketing efforts?
• Do you lack a clear marketing strategy and rely on ad-hoc or inconsistent marketing activities?

By integrating a well-defined brand strategy into your marketing approach, you can build long term brand value, optimise your marketing spend, enhance targeting and personalisation, and ultimately achieve better results for your business.

CHALLENGE NO.6: YOU’RE EXPERIENCING LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR CROSS-SELLING OR UPSELLING

• Are your customers only purchasing individual products or services without exploring other offerings?
• Do you lack a systematic approach to recommending complementary products or services to customers?
• Is your marketing team overlooking opportunities to educate and communicate to your existing database?
• Do your internal teams have a lack of understanding about the whole business offering so they can recognise, and respond to, cross selling opportunities?

By incorporating cross-selling strategies into your brand strategy, you can increase revenue, strengthen customer relationships, and enhance overall customer satisfaction.

CHALLENGE NO.7: YOUR COMPETITORS ARE SMASHING IT, AND YOU NEED TO LEVEL UP

• Are your competitors consistently outperforming your business in terms of market share or customer acquisition?
• Are customers choosing your competitors over your brand due to perceived advantages or better offerings?
• Are you finding that your brand is looking a little dated compared to your competitors?
• Do you lack a clear strategy to address competitive threats and stand out in the marketplace?

By developing and living by your brand strategy, you can reposition your brand with intention. If you want to be the market leader it’s time to look like one.

Written by: Jodie de Vries
Published: May 22, 2024