The 5 Elements of an Effective Brand Strategy

The strongest brands succeed because of a great brand strategy behind them. With the help of the right strategy, brands of all types can navigate their industry and stay ahead of competitors.

To get the most from your brand strategy, you need to know how to approach it. These five key points can inform your strategy and help differentiate your brand from competing businesses.

A solid brand strategy is critical for eCommerce brands, including those selling frozen food and a myriad of other products. Regardless of your industry, consider incorporating the following five elements into your brand strategy.

1. Your Narrative

Your brand’s narrative or story is the first item to consider when developing a brand strategy. This includes how you got started (i.e. your source of inspiration), your company’s values, and your mission. Think about what made you want to pursue your career and build your brand. How can you relate it to your audience?

If your brand story resonates with potential customers, they’ll feel a stronger connection to you. This can be invaluable when trying to attract more people to your products.

On your website and in your marketing, you can include details about what your brand stands for and what value you plan to bring. This can go a long way in gaining trust among your audience and winning people over.

2. Visual Design

The visual component of your brand is also crucial in appealing to audiences and standing out. This applies to just about everything pertaining to your brand materials, from the color schemes in your logo and website to the packaging you use for your products.

Your brand design should be instantly recognizable to audiences once they become aware of you. This will ensure you continue to stand out in your niche. The right visuals will also be consistently aesthetically pleasing to your audience, making them among the favorite things about your brand.

Once you settle on a cohesive design scheme for your brand, ensure it’s consistent across all of your marketing and advertising. Your website, ads, and other content should all form a unique brand identity that’s unmistakably yours. Consider creating a brand style guide that defines your logo and logo guide, color palette, typography, imagery, and voice (language used to describe your brand).

3. The Brand’s Voice

Another necessary element that can mean the difference between connective and ineffective branding is your voice. This applies to the specific language you use to communicate with your audience. It complements both your brand story and design to establish a strong relationship with prospective customers.

If your messaging features a voice that’s aligned with your target audience, you’ll create a brand persona that customers can relate to on a personal level. Your brand could come off as an authority worth listening to or a helpful friend. In any case, you should find out what kind of voice your audience listens to and adapt it to your own.

One of the most popular examples of an effective brand voice is Coca-Cola’s. In this brand’s marketing, they promote a happy lifestyle that emphasizes the “Enjoy” in their classic “Enjoy Coca-Cola” tagline. They’re positive and relatable in their voice with every piece of content, whether showing friends enjoying a movie together in their Cinemark movie theater ads or painting a picture of a connected community.

4. Your Brand’s Promise

You also need to consider the specific value you bring to your customers. This can tie into your brand narrative.

People want to know exactly what you can do for them. What is it that you provide that competitors don’t? How do you work to ensure your customers are satisfied with their purchases? What can you do to make customers loyal to your brand over less worthy competitors?

As with any promise, you should ensure you deliver on your brand promise. Otherwise, people will quickly find that your promises are empty and turn away from you. To avoid this, determine what a realistic promise is for your brand. For example, Geico promises “15 minutes or less can save you 15% or more on car insurance.” This is memorable and concise, and it doesn’t make any specific guarantees.

5. Your Brand’s Overall “Feel”

One last element to consider is your brand’s “feel” or general vibe. It speaks to your brand’s personality and what people think of when they think of your brand. Based on your brand’s persona, values, and visual elements, you can create a general tone for your business that connects with audiences.

With this specific sense, you can align your brand with a certain idea of what you’re all about.

Develop the Right Branding Strategy for Your Business

Regardless of the industry you’re in, you must have an effective brand strategy. As you pinpoint each element for your brand, perform plenty of testing. You can use A/B split testing to try different marketing materials and see which visuals, messaging, narrative, and promises resonate most with audiences. You’ll then be on your way to driving traffic, conversions, and sales.

If you would like more help with growing your eCommerce business, learn about what the experts at Gray Growth Logistics can do for your brand.