The result is that many businesses make ambitious goals without considering how the brand strategy can support their ability to meet these goals.
By working with the two strategies simultaneously, you are able to create a strong and focused brand that works as a lever of the business strategy by being aligned specifically with the business’ growth targets.
With a clear brand position, you are able to control the market’s perception of your business – and your brand.
There are a number of good reasons to take the time to position or reposition your brand. Markets are by nature a dynamic force and while you may have a strong position in the market, you are not guaranteed that things will stay this way. New competitors appear, new technologies emerge and propel new products, features, function and pricing models.
The need for a brand positioning can emerge from several circumstances. Dropping sales numbers or a shift in your target group. Maybe your business is targeting the wrong people or your roadmap has taken an unexpected turn demanding a new focus. Worst case, your brand is perceived as outdated or downright irrelevant.
The fact is that competition is increasing across markets – and the result is that differentiating one brand from the other becomes harder and harder. If you are operating in markets with a high complexity and growing commoditization, a strong brand and clear positioning will become an increasingly important factor when it comes to winning market shares.
While there may be several reasons to assess or reassess your brand positioning, it is usually worth the investment as a stronger position leaves any brand in a better position to meet its business objectives.
Many businesses struggle with identifying how to position themselves in the best possible way – and how to communicate what they stand for and why it matters at all.
While the majority tries to differentiate on their technical features and functional benefits, such as technology, features, function and price point, an enormous potential is hidden in differentiating your business on the emotional connection you can create with customers and the rest of the market.
With a clear brand positioning, you get the opportunity to control how the market perceives you. But you also get a tool that can create more focused products and services making you appear more convincing and attractive in the market.
If you really want to succeed with your brand strategy, implementation in every corner of the organization as well as translation from strategy to action is required.
It is a matter of getting the business and brand strategy to work together and support each other. In that way, the brand becomes the north star of everything the business does, says and sells.
To create a brand that works as a north star for the entire organization, it is beneficial to anchor your brand in a higher purpose.
If you succeed with getting the organization to make both short- and long-term decisions based on the brand positioning, you will experience a self-reinforcing effect and leave the organization more agile and resilient to changes.
