Brand Strategy isn’t something that all businesses do – at least not in an official way.

Sometimes you engage a brand agency to help you create one. Sometimes you create a brand strategy on the fly – whether you do it with intention or not.

But even if you’ve got a professionally created Brand Strategy, there’s a good chance that it’s not doing what it should do for your brand.

In this article, I’m going to explain why the old way of doing brand strategy just doesn’t cut it anymore, and why Brand Story Strategy is the answer to easier brand strategy that you’ll be able to implement and will help grow your business.

You Have a Brand Strategy – Even if you’re not doing it on purpose

That right – even if you’re not doing it on purpose, you’re actively doing brand strategy.

And you’ll definitely have done some of the work related to Brand Strategy before as you’ve built your business (though that might not be what you called it).

You started your business with a vision. And you had a mission you were trying to achieve.

You’ve also probably at some point considered your values – whether they were in relation to your brand, or to how you measure your purpose in business and in life.

And you’ve had a think about the type of customer you do (or don’t) want to serve.

If you don’t have a documented Brand Strategy, you’re still doing brand strategy. But it won’t be giving you a return on investment.

Why the Way You’re Doing Brand Strategy Isn’t Working

If you happen to have a documented Brand Strategy, there’s a good chance that’s not working either.

If you feel confused and lost and have put your Brand Strategy in a drawer somewhere never to see the light of day, then you’ll know exactly what I mean.

Here’s why the way you’re doing Brand Strategy isn’t working at the moment.

You’re working on the fly

We’ve covered this already, but if you’re making things up as you go along, then you’re leaving your Brand Strategy to chance.

Even small businesses are building brand – either with intent and momentum, or by accident.

If you’re doing it by accident, you won’t be able to consistently replicate what you’re doing in a way that will help your business grow.

You’ve been given a “Strategy” but no instructions

This happens way too often. You invest in working with a Brand Agency to create a Brand Strategy, and they give you document with no instructions on how to implement it.

If you don’t implement, then you aren’t getting the return on the investment you’ve made.

You’re using Brand Strategy that’s meant for big business with big budgets

Even if you have a professionally created, documented Brand Strategy, it’s likely been created using an approach that’s meant for big business with big budgets.

Small businesses don’t have time or money to throw at huge brand awareness campaigns. What looks good on paper, doesn’t always deliver in a practical way for your business.

It’s too much about YOU

The biggest challenge you’ll face, whether you’re taking option one and working on the fly, or option two and working with a Brand Agency, is that the general approach to Brand Strategy is simply too much about YOU.

The difference between a brand that simmers and a brand that explodes is the way they’re able to connect with their customer. If you aren’t looking at how your vision, mission, personality and values connect with your tribe, then you won’t build an audience who loves you.

It’s in shared purpose that a brand builds advocacy. Many Brand Strategies don’t take this into consideration.

The Answer to Better Brand Strategy is in Brand Story

Brand Story Strategy is an approach to Brand Strategy that shows you how to connect all the disparate parts that make a brand and pull them together in a clear story that will connect with your ideal customer.

Brand Story Strategy isn’t Brand Storytelling.

It’s not the about page on your website, or the narrative story of how your brand or business came to be.

Your Brand Story is how your customers feel about your brand. It’s the story they tell themselves and others about how your brand fits into their view of the world.

And it’s built through six pillars – brand vision, brand mission, brand values, brand differentiators, the tribe, and brand personality.

It brings old school brand strategy into a place of connection – where your brand will become as much about your customer as it is about you.

It turns story into a Strategy that you can actually implement in your business.

Why Brand Story Strategy Will Change Your Business for the Better

It brings all the disparate elements of brand strategy together

Instead of having a vision, mission, values and personality that sit on their own, Brand Story Strategy will show you how all the pillars of Brand Strategy relate to each other, with your Tribe – your customer – at the centre of it all.

When all these elements work together instead of as simple, well-intentioned, independent statements, they’ll help you to make good business and marketing decisions that are in alignment with your ideal customer.

And when your brand is in alignment with your ideal customer, you’ll be able to amplify your message and find more of them.

It prioritises the customer

Brand Story Strategy prioritises the customer in a way that traditional Brand Strategy just doesn’t.

And small and medium businesses have a massive advantage over big business when it comes to understanding their customer.

You’re on the front line and can access your customer in a way that’s more difficult for big brands. This means you can niche down and understand them from a deeper place.

My Brand Story Strategy process will help you build a really clear view of who your customer is so that you can create alignment between your purpose and the purpose of your customer.

Shared purpose is what makes a brand powerful.

It helps you to use your strategy in a practical way

One of the biggest problems with the traditional Brand Strategy that’s delivered by Brand Agencies is that when you’re done, you’re given this enormous document that comes with no instructions.

Here’s your Brand Strategy – goodbye!

But what an earth are you supposed to do with it then?

Brand Strategy doesn’t come with an instruction manual. But the process of going through Brand Story Strategy makes it clear on how you can implement your brand into everything you do in your business.

When you follow the Brand Story Strategy process, it’s practically impossible to not see how you can implement it into your business.

And a strategy you can actually implement is the best kind of strategy.

It’s Brand Strategy with Heart – and it’s FUN.

Brand Story Strategy puts the heart back into your business.

You’ll see things more clearly than you even have before. You’ll feel connected to your business and in a better place to serve your ideal customer (and avoid those customers who aren’t right for you and simply make everything more difficult).

Brand Story Strategy will challenge you – no doubt. But it’s also fun.

And it will part the clouds on the challenges you’ve been facing in your business that have you feeling lost with your marketing and message.

Ready to Fix Your Brand Strategy?

Brand Strategy has been part of the brand building process for decades.

But Brand Strategy is evolving. And Brand Story Strategy is the way forward for brands who want to succeed in building brand advocacy with the people that matter.

If you’re ready to fix your brand strategy and make it a powerful driver of your business success, then you might like to join me for the next round of the Brand Story Strategy Workshop.

It’s perfect for you if you’re ready to master your message, create more powerful marketing, find and convert your ideal customer and build a brand that matters.