How brand strategy helps business growth
Branding, and the brand strategy that underpins this, is about increasing the perceived value of a product or service: helping you to create tangible, premium, and more empathetic associations in the minds of your target audience.
A benefit/value approach
Clearly articulating WHAT you do provides immediate clarity so your audience can make a simple, informed decision on whether they need your services. Adding a WHY you exist and what VALUE you offer sets a more authentic, and differentiating benchmark that may reflect your customers’ personal values and beliefs. If your customers relate to your story they are much more inclined to choose you over your competitors. People buy brands. The more you connect to their needs, the more successful your associations will be. Particularly if you ensure a cohesive message and visual identity at every touchpoint.
Key takeaways
Choosing one product or service over another is often driven by the emotional connection people have with a brand.
In a global study titled Loyalty Deciphered, Capgemini surveyed over 9,000 consumers and found that 82% of consumers with high emotional engagement always choose their preferred brand when making a purchasing decision.
A resonating purpose
Let’s consider the WHY in more detail. People are more likely to form a relationship with an individual or company that shares a mutual set of values: that could relate to the quality of a product, standard of service, commitment to sustainability etc. In short, ask yourself how your company improves people’s lives. This will help you focus on your purpose and values.
Key takeaway
Jim Stengel’s 10-year study of more than 50,000 brands found a compelling link between strong brand ideals and business growth. From this research, he identified 50 companies whose brands were centred on a clear ideal of improving people’s lives. Collectively, these “Stengel 50” significantly outperformed the wider market over the period studied, delivering almost four times the growth of the benchmark he used. Stengel also reported that companies centred on these ideals grew at around three times the rate of their competitors.
A brand ecosystem that works internally as well as externally
One of a company’s key assets is its people, and there’s a direct connection between having a unified purpose, and improved employee performance, satisfaction and retention. The key points to consider here are a) What does my company stand for? and b) Are my employees aware of, and guided by a clearly defined purpose and articulated set of values? After all, they are the representatives of your brand experience throughout.
Key takeaways
In a pwc study, Putting Purpose To Work, among 1500+ employees and 500 business leaders in over 39 industries, 83% of employees said having a sense of purpose gives them meaning in their day-to-day work.
In Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, he notes the following: “When there is a serious lack of clarity about what the team stands for and what their goals and roles are, people experience confusion, stress and frustration. When there is a high level of clarity, on the other hand, people thrive. The fact is, motivation and cooperation deteriorate when there is a lack of purpose.”