Brand Development

Brand development is a strategic process of creating and distinguishing your company’s image, products and services from your competitors. Development includes aligning your brand with your business objectives, communicating your brand to your target market and updating or strengthening your brand as necessary. 

Brand Development is ongoing, with goals acting more or less as benchmarks, signifying new ideas and products as your company grows. Therefore, your strategy may evolve through the years as culture changes and you reach new audiences. Below, we look at how to develop an effective brand development strategy that tells your story and garners customer loyalty.

Brand Market Research: Your Starting Point

Through extensive market research, you can understand what drives the value of your brand. Instead of asking, “How can we apply the product or service we have?” you’re asking, “What do consumers want, and how can we deliver it?” More importantly, you’re exploring how to best connect with consumers in a way that is unique and meaningful.

A starting point for your research may be to ask critical questions to ensure that your brand strategy supports your business objectives. Questions may include:

• Who is your target client?
• How do you make your customers feel?
• Why do your clients trust you?
• Who are your top competitors?
• What distinguishes your company from your competitors?
• What value do you bring to the market?
• What pain points do you solve for consumers?
• What type of personality do you or your company have?

In addition to the above questions, you may want to explore challenges with your existing brand identity, as well as ways that you can simplify your brand identity. Last, what is your story? What narrative do you want to create in the minds of consumers?

Determine Your Target Audience

A target market is a specific group of people you want to reach with your brand message. This is the demographic that is most likely going to buy your products or services. These people have common characteristics that make them naturally attracted to your brand. The more clearly you can define your target market, the easier it becomes to create a brand that connects with your audience.

Once you define your group, there are several strategies you can use to reach your target audience. These strategies may include:

Creating Useful and Relevant Content

How you communicate with your target audience will determine how interested they are in your products or services. Whether you are channeling your efforts through digital platforms or marketing collateral, try to create content that is relevant, engaging and compelling. Use a variety of platforms to reach as many people as possible.

Use Targeted Advertising

Part of your research will include identifying where your market is and the best way to reach your audience. Online platforms provide numerous tools that allow you to refine your marketing campaigns, while marketing agencies can help you reach your target audience with print and traditional marketing.

Gather Customer Feedback

Perhaps the best way to find out what consumers are looking for is to ask them directly. There are numerous ways that you can gain valuable customer feedback, such as surveys, polls and questionnaires. Gathering information from consumers can help you refine your brand identity and messaging to connect with your target group.