What Is Brand Strategy and What Should It Include?

Brand strategy is the foundation of your Strategic Marketing Playbook. It defines what you want to stand for, who you serve, and why buyers should choose you, so your messaging and marketing decisions feel consistent instead of scattered.

The first step in building your Strategic Marketing Playbook is your brand strategy. It defines what you want to stand for in the minds of others. Below are seven core deliverables that make up a practical brand strategy.

What Are the Brand Strategy Deliverables?

1. Why does your brand exist?

Besides making things or providing services, what difference is your brand trying to make in the world?

Learn more: What is the Strategic Marketing Playbook (and why it starts with brand strategy)

2. What is your promise and secret sauce?

This is what you “promise” to do that will make your ideal target’s life better and the ways and proof that you are better and/or different vs. competition.

• Promise (one sentence that says what you “promise” to your ideal target. It is How You are Different)
• Secret Sauce (3 sentences about What You Do That Makes You Different)

Learn more: Promise & Secret Sauce

3. Who is your ideal target?

Your ideal target includes the people or companies who have similar needs, are likely to buy from you, and who you truly want to serve.

1. Think of customers who are in your “sweet spot” and you love to work with.
2. Why are they in your “sweet spot”? 
3. Are they profitable?
4. What size are they?
5. What products /services do they need?
6. What market or markets are they in?
7. What do they care about? 
8. What are their frustrations?

For business-to-business sales, there are often multiple people involved in the process. Within the ideal target, identify the different groups of people you need to reach and influence throughout the buying process.

Identify for each ideal target / buying situation:

• What their role is in the buying process
• Who they are (title or position)
• Level of interest or knowledge
• What they care most about (or are concerned about)

4. What is your brand architecture?

Brand architecture is the way you organize brands within an organization so that people can easily understand what is being offered.

Learn more: Brand Architecture

5. What is your naming strategy?

Naming strategy is the structure and guidelines for how and where you use names in the organization’s portfolio so that people can easily understand what’s being offered, including brands, products, and services.

The naming strategy is usually completed after the brand architecture is defined.

Learn more: Naming Strategy

6. What is your brand’s personality?

A brand personality is how your brand looks, sounds, and feels, as if the brand was a person. It makes the brand more human and unique, and the best are instantly recognizable and relatable.

How It Helps

• Differentiates you vs. competitors
• Human characteristics build brand awareness
• Human relatedness increases brand loyalty

How It’s Used

• Inspiration and guidelines for anyone who creates
• Helps the brand stay consistent

Learn more: Brand Personality

7. What is your brand’s tone-of-voice?

The tone-of-voice is one of the “markers” of Brand Personality. It is how a brand communicates, including the choice of words, communication style, and emotional tone.

• Includes all the words used (written or spoken), across websites, emails, brochures, packaging, scripts, and presentations, etc.  
• Influences how the listener will feel about the brand’s message you want to get across

Learn more: Tone-of-Voice

Where should you start if your message isn’t landing?

If you’re not sure where to begin, start with these two deliverables:

1. Ideal Target (who you are for)
2. Promise and Secret Sauce (why you win)

When these are clear, your website, sales conversations, and marketing content become dramatically easier to align.

Want help building your brand strategy?

If you want support clarifying your brand strategy, we can help you build the core pieces of your Strategic Marketing Playbook.