How to Create a Corporate Branding Strategy That Works

While some organizations invest millions of dollars in brand building, others manage to create a branding strategy that works for their organization.

The term “corporate branding” might sound like some magic act, but it’s pretty simple. In today’s world of digital, social media, and instant communications, it’s not enough anymore to just have a logo, website, and advertising campaign. You need to have a consistent message across every platform you use.

How does this apply to you? For one, you need a single, cohesive message to represent your brand. So what is this message? It’s your corporate branding strategy. This is the one message your employees and customers will see whenever they interact with you online or in person. What’s even better is that this is something that you can continually revise and develop, depending on your organization’s needs.

To get started, you’ll want to consider a few key questions: What are you trying to achieve with your corporate branding? Whom are you trying to reach? What are you hoping to accomplish? Why should they choose you over your competitors? The answers to these questions will help you set the foundation for your corporate branding strategy.

Suppose you’re interested in creating a unique brand identity that will help your organization stand out from the crowd. In that case, you’ll need to start by asking yourself one big question: Why do people choose us over our competitors?

What is the goal of a corporate branding strategy?

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A well-designed corporate brand is the core of every company’s success. It is the company’s face to the public and one of the critical elements of building customer loyalty. The objective of any good brand is to create a reputation that attracts customers and inspires them to buy again and again.

When thinking of a successful brand strategy, one must consider three main areas: the business, the product and the consumer.

The Business – How does the business make money? The answers to this question determine the direction the branding strategy should take. A successful branding strategy is about finding the best way to appeal to a customer to make the most money possible.
The Product – What is the product? This is the physical object a consumer purchase from a business. A successful product should be attractive, easy to use and easy to obtain. It should also be in demand.
The Consumer – What does the consumer want? Consumers are not just interested in products but also in the business behind the product. They want to know the brand’s history, what it stands for and how the business operates. The answers to these questions will determine how successful the company is.

What is the purpose of your brand?

The primary purpose of corporate branding strategy is to position and communicate your organization’s brand in the market. To do this, you need to know what your organization stands for.

Corporate branding strategy is an integral part of marketing strategy. It bridges the company’s products, services, processes and customer relationships. Corporate branding strategy is, therefore, one of the main tools used to guide a company’s strategic decisions.

This is why knowing how to show your brand purpose in your corporate branding strategy is essential. It helps you define the organization’s core business principles and vision and how to communicate them to customers. It helps you ensure that your employees share the same core business principles and vision and are aligned around them.

You should develop your brand strategy in partnership with your organization’s senior management team. In other words, you should include the senior executives’ views and opinions in its creation.

So how to show your brand purpose in your corporate branding strategy? Here are three tips for developing your brand strategy.

Tip 1: Understand the company’s core business principles

To create a corporate branding strategy, you must know the company’s core business principles. These principles help to define the organization’s mission, vision, values and goals. Understanding these helps you understand where the company wants to go. This helps you to define your organization’s brand promise.

For example, the company’s mission is to develop and sell computers. To do this, it must offer its clients a reliable, easy-to-use, secure computing platform. So it promises its clients the reliability, ease of use and security of its product.

The company’s vision is to make people work more efficiently and be more productive. Its values are honesty, integrity, and responsibility. These help you determine the company’s brand’s personality.

Tip 2: Know your audience

To know how to show your brand purpose in your corporate branding strategy, you need to know your target audience. Your audience is your clients. They are the group of people you need to communicate with. So, the more you know about your audience, the better.

To do this, you need to know the needs and desires of your target market. For example, do they like to learn new things? Are they technologically savvy? Do they prefer a hands-on approach or an online learning experience?

Asking your target market about their needs and desires will help you to know what they want to know. This will help you to determine the critical features of your organization’s brand promise.

Tip 3: Create a brand proposition

Once you have defined your brand purpose, you must create a brand proposition. A brand proposition is a concise statement that defines your organization’s brand.

This will help you to communicate the brand’s promise to your target market. It will also help you to identify the value your organization’s products and services deliver.

So how to show your brand purpose in your corporate branding strategy? The three steps above will help you. And once you have created your brand, it is time to implement it.

Who are your customers?

Your customers don’t just come from one channel. They could come from many channels, including the Internet, social media, print, direct mail, e-mail marketing, phone calls, etc. A good marketing strategy must address these channels.

While there are numerous channels that you can use to market your business, each has its own unique challenges and benefits. A company’s ideal customer is often a combination of different channels. This means you will have to make strategic decisions about what channels to use for specific types of customers.

The key to finding your ideal customer is to know who your ideal customer is. To do this, you need to determine who your current customers are and what they are doing on your website. You also need to look at your competition and what they are doing.

Define Your Ideal Customer

Identify your target audience by identifying their needs and interests. Once you know what they want, you need to figure out if you are the right company to deliver what they want. You must determine the best way to attract and convert your ideal customer.

For example, let’s say that you sell books. What type of book would your ideal customer buy? Would they buy a technical book or a book for young adults? What type of book would you create? The first step to finding your ideal customer is understanding who they are and what they like.

What does your company value?

People with strong and deep values define Brand Values. These values make people stand out in a crowd. They represent who you are and what you do and form your business’s foundation. A brand is nothing but a collection of values. And if these values are strong enough, your brand is also strong.

In recent years, many companies have been focusing more on company values. Brand values clearly show what your company stands for and help establish a good relationship between your customers and your brand.

Here are some questions and tips to help you find your brand values.

What is your corporate purpose?

Define your company’s purpose in a few words. This is what your customer wants to know about your company. Why do you exist? What’s your vision for the future?

What makes you different?

What is your unique selling proposition? Differentiate your company from other brands. Your company’s unique selling proposition gives a clear picture of what your company does and why people should choose your products and services.

What is your competitive advantage?

What are the attributes that separate you from your competitors? What makes your company a standout brand?

Your brand values are the characteristics that define your company. They reflect the core values of your company. They communicate the purpose and character of your company. They influence people’s perceptions about your company and its products and services.

To find your brand values, start with defining your purpose. This is what your customer wants to know about your company. Why do you exist? What’s your vision for the future?

What is your competitive advantage? What are the attributes that separate you from your competitors? What makes your company a standout brand?

Now, take a look at your unique selling proposition. You need to identify what makes you stand out.

The following are the things you need to include in your unique selling proposition:

Your company’s product/service
How you differentiate yourself from your competitors
Your company’s culture and environment
Your company’s promise

How will your brand help solve your customer problems?

Be specific about how you will offer value. If you’re unclear on how you’ll add value, talk to your customer about what you’re offering and ask them what they want. You’ll be much more likely to succeed if you know exactly what they need and can offer it.

If you think you’re solving the customer’s problem and they’re happy, ask them what else they want from you. Don’t assume that just because you’re providing a service that your customer wants and needs it or that they’ll automatically appreciate your efforts.

Make sure you understand your customer’s expectations.

Think about what they expect from you and the time you will need to deliver their products or services. If you’re unsure what your customer wants, ask for feedback and take action.

Do provide value in exchange for the money you charge. If customers pay you to do something, ensure they are satisfied with the results. If they’re not, tell them that you will not provide more services unless they are willing to pay for additional ones.

Keep in touch regularly.

As a business owner, you may feel that customers don’t matter as much as your family, friends, colleagues, and pets. However, you should be friendly, open and approachable to your customers. If you are not, your customers will find someone else to provide the same service, or you will lose your reputation. Be courteous; remember, you don’t have to do everything customers ask. However, you must be fair, honest, and transparent in what you do.

Know what to say when things go wrong.

If you encounter problems with a customer, or you’re not getting the response you want, do ask yourself why this is. Is it because of something you’ve done or how you’ve presented yourself? If you’re having trouble making decisions or unsure what to do next, you might need some training. If customers aren’t responding to your offers and attempt to keep in contact, consider whether you’re giving them enough information. Maybe you need to make an offer more attractive.

Be flexible.

Your customers will have different needs at different times. You must adapt to these changes and offer new and innovative solutions. For example, if you sell a product to a customer but they change the specifications, you need to make adjustments. Be ready to make changes quickly and offer them to your customers if they ask.

You don’t have to be perfect; you only have to be better than the competition. If you’re not, it’s not a problem; they will find someone else to do the job.

How will your brand attract customers?

When you think about a successful corporate branding strategy, you’re probably thinking about how it will help you attract customers. For example, if you’re a retailer, you might want to focus on the colors, fonts, and graphics that will attract customers. Or maybe you want to target a particular consumer, such as teenagers or men. Whatever the case, you need to be clear on what type of customers you want to attract.

You must consider the customers you’re trying to attract to develop an excellent corporate branding strategy. The following types of customers are usually considered when creating a corporate branding strategy.

Customers that will help you generate sales. These might include customers who already have a positive relationship with your company, such as existing clients, employees, and family members.
Customers that will help you gain attention. This could include potential new customers and customers with whom you want to develop a relationship.
Customers that will help you gain loyalty. You can think of loyal customers who have developed a strong bond with your company. They have a vested interest in your company and feel you’re the only company that can provide them with what they want.
Customers that will help you establish a brand identity. These are customers who want to be associated with your company because of the company’s reputation.

How will your brand be differentiated from your competition?

Knowing your competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, and business strategies are imperative in today’s world. With that knowledge, it is easier to create an effective marketing strategy. For this reason, every business needs to know what its competitors are doing and what they are planning to do.

Corporate branding is integral to marketing, especially in the online world. A successful brand is an investment that benefits the company over the long term.

There are many ways to differentiate from competitors in a corporate branding strategy. Below, we will discuss several of these ways.

1: Use a clear and simple identity

Your branding strategy should be based on a clear and simple identity. This will help people remember the brand and make it easier for them to tell others about the company.

A good brand identity should be able to communicate the company’s core message. Make sure that it is easy to read and understand. It should also be able to stand out from the competition.

The visual aspect is essential. It would help if you designed your brand using a color scheme consistent with the logo.

If your website is inconsistent with your brand identity, it will confuse customers. They will not know whether they are on your site or a different one.

2: Create a positive image

Your brand has to be consistent and unique. However, it also has to be positive and memorable. Customers do not want to associate your brand with negative things like anger, hate, sadness, and frustration.

Your brand has to convey a sense of optimism. Your customers must believe that your products are great and will benefit them.

3: Use customer testimonials

It is essential to include customer testimonials on your website. They can show how happy your customers are with your products.

Customer reviews are one of the best ways to differentiate from competitors in a corporate branding strategy. They allow your customers to share their thoughts about the product, so you can learn about your customers and see what they think.

4: Develop a strong tagline

You can use a solid tagline to differentiate from your competitors. A tagline is a single sentence that describes your product or service. It is usually located at the top of your website.

The tagline should be short, sweet, and catchy. It should also be something that people can easily remember. You can use your tagline in many different ways:

On your business card
On your website
In print advertising
In your e-mail signature

What are the best tactics to use to communicate your brand?

Brand strategy is often used as a catch-all phrase for what may or may not be called a marketing plan. In a marketing strategy, marketing activities are planned across various communications channels to achieve specific objectives.

In a brand strategy, the brand identity, positioning, value proposition, and marketing message are defined and communicated to different stakeholders, including consumers, employees, customers, partners, shareholders, and society.

The word ‘strategy’ is often misused, and the phrase’ corporate branding strategy’ can be confusing. A corporate branding strategy should not be confused with a marketing strategy. The difference is between planning a marketing strategy and communicating a brand strategy to external stakeholders.

A brand strategy is designed and communicated to a wide range of stakeholders, including internal staff members, consumers, suppliers, and the public. A corporate branding strategy aims to communicate a company’s identity, values, position, positioning, and marketing message to the entire organization and its external stakeholders. The goal is to drive organizational change.

Communicating a brand strategy

Communicating a brand strategy requires several vital activities. First, the strategy must be clear, concise, and relevant. A strategy should identify a company’s identity, values, position, positioning, and marketing message. It should be written in plain language.

It should be explained at the outset if there is a need to use technical jargon or scientific-sounding terminology. In addition, the strategy should be supported by facts, figures, and case studies. It would help if you communicated a brand strategy to a wide range of stakeholders, including the internal staff, external customers, and suppliers. It should also be communicated to the broader community, to the public.

Brand strategy frameworks

A brand strategy framework is a structure that provides a logical framework for communicating a company’s brand strategy. It is a tool used by executives to plan the strategy and communicate it effectively to the organization and the public. It consists of the following:

Vision Statement – the main goals, vision, and mission of the organization;
Brand Positioning – the overall character or reputation of the organization;
Corporate Values – the values that the organization holds dear;
Brand Promise – the benefits that the organization offers; and
Marketing Message – the message the organization wants to communicate to its stakeholders, including consumers.

Developing a brand strategy

In the first stage of developing a brand strategy, the executive team must define the organization’s purpose, values, and goals. A brand strategy framework is helpful to help develop and communicate the brand strategy. This involves defining the brand and how you can distinguish it from competitors. It’s helpful to work through the questions listed below to help define your brand.

What do you want to achieve?
Why are you in business?
What are the critical values of the organization?
Whom do you want to be?
What is the best way to communicate the brand to customers?
What does the brand promise?
How do you want to be remembered by future generations?
How will you promote the brand?
Which stakeholders do you want to communicate with?
What are the main differences between your brand and your competitors?

Conclusion

A strong corporate brand isn’t created overnight. Brands are built over time through consistent messaging. In the case of a digital platform, it starts with the website. In the physical world, the brand is built through your products.

The purpose of brand building is to create something memorable, and that speaks to your target audience. The branding process involves several steps, including the company’s vision statement, logo, tagline, and colors. Then comes the creation of messaging, content, and the overall tone and style of the brand.

If you want to grow and scale your business, you need to end the old corporate branding strategy that worked great for yesterday’s market but isn’t cutting it anymore.

How to Create a Corporate Branding Strategy That Works

What is the goal of a corporate branding strategy?

What is the purpose of your brand?