In order for your clients to understand your brand, you must fully understand it yourself. I have put together this branding exercise to help you refine and clarify your brand strategy.
If you find it hard to work on it on your own, why not contact me and we can work on it together as part of a brand strategy package I offer. Sometime a fresh, external perspective can help you see things more clearly… In the words of Proust:
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new sights, but in looking with new eyes.
ESTABLISHING YOUR TARGET MARKET
- Identify the demographics of your target market, eg: 40-70 year olds, middle-class, affluent, owns home, lives in city/countryside? etc
- Understand what would attract this target market – what well-known brands they would use? What car would they drive, what supermarket would they shop at?
LOOKING AT YOUR COMPETITORS
- Who are your direct competitors/peers?
- What do you like / dislike about their brand?
- How do they want to be perceived?
- Do they have a USP?
LOOKING AT YOUR COMPANY
- What Services does your company offer? Are there different services for different target markets? If yes, please specify.
- Does your company have a USP?
- How is your company positioned relative to your peers – what sets you apart?
- What are the key messages you wish to convey to your customers about your company? What’s your story?
THINKING ABOUT YOUR BRAND ATTRIBUTES
- Compile a list of words to describe how you would like the company to be perceived by your target market. Up to 6 words. eg: Stable, Progressive, Professional, Luxurious, Traditional, etc
- If your company was a car what make and model would it be and why?
WHERE YOUR COMPANY SITS ON THE DESIGN SCALE
Chose a number for where you see your company on the design scale:
i.e. 1 being more conservative or 5 being more edgy
