Welcome to Part 1 of the Brand Strategy Summer Series! This 8-part series dives into the processes behind my Brand Strategy sessions with clients and gives you a look into some intense 2.5 hour strategy sessions with my 1:1 clients.

If diving into your brand strategy using bite-sized, actionable tips sounds like something you’re interested in, you’ll want to follow along! You can have a totally new internal and external identity in just 8 weeks.

So that being said, let’s get into Part 1.

Part 1 of The Brand Strategy Series begins with solidifying the foundations of your brand.

In today’s highly competitive business landscape, branding plays a truly pivotal role in differentiating your business from the rest. A well-defined brand identity helps build trust, brand loyalty, and (most importantly) RAVING fans. However, before even thinking about diving headfirst into a brand redesign, it is essential to lay a strong foundation. Defining your brand foundations, mission statement, brand values, and goals is the first crucial step that sets the direction for your brand’s (epic) evolution.

In this blog post, we explore the significance of these elements and how they guide the successful start of your brand design experience.

But first, let’s talk about establishing brand foundations.

There are three essential parts to your brand foundation – Project Goals, Mission / Vision Statements, and Brand Values. Brand foundations serve as the bedrock of your brand’s identity (and help us move strategically and swiftly into the actual creative design process). By clearly defining your brand foundations, you set the stage for consistency throughout your brand’s existence before we even touch the font and color palette. This foundation should encompass the core values, vision, and personality of your brand, giving it distinct character that resonates with your target audience.

So first, let’s talk about #goals.

Project Goals

Before embarking on a brand redesign, it is a non-negotiable to establish clear and measurable goals. These goals may include increasing brand awareness, expanding into new markets, or repositioning your brand to appeal to a different audience. By setting specific and achievable goals, you provide your redesign efforts with a sense of purpose and direction. Goals also serve as benchmarks for evaluating the success and effectiveness of your brand design.

This is something that I cover with every single client on their consultation call with me – what do you want out of this project in relation to your business? What are your top 3 goals that define success for you? What does a successful brand redesign look like for you?

Actionable Tip: Come up with 3-5 project goals that you’d like to achieve after your brand redesign. (ie: more email subscribers, more sales, better leads, etc.,) as this can help shape your marketing efforts moving forward.

Crafting a Mission Statement

A mission statement succinctly captures your brand’s purpose, outlining why it exists and the impact it seeks to make. This statement communicates the underlying motivation that drives your brand’s activities and serves as a literal guiding force for decision-making. Whenever I have a big decision to make and I keep going back and forth on it, I head to my mission statement and brand values. If that decision doesn’t align with BOTH of those things? It’s a hard-pass.

A well-crafted mission statement sets a clear direction and aligns your brand’s activities with its core purpose. During your brand redesign (and ESPECIALLY if you don’t have a mission statement yet), creating, revisiting, and/or refining your mission statement ensures that your new brand identity remains in harmony with your long-term goals.

Here’s an example of a mission statement that me and my client Lesly created for her brand Family Time Capsules:

BOOM.

Isn’t it crazy that it didn’t have to be 3 sentences? Or 10 buzzwords? IT WAS ONLY ONE. SENTENCE.

It doesn’t have to be lengthy wordy. It’s not your USP (unique selling proposition) – we’ll get to that in a later blog post.

Actionable Tip: Use the following formula if you need some help. “We/I [what you do] by [how you do it] for [target customers] to [ultimate value you provide].”

ie: I help product-based businesses increase sales through their brand and website through a high-converting strategy process.

Defining Brand Values:

Brand values represent the principles and beliefs that guide your brand’s behavior and interactions with customers both on and offline.

These values are uncompromising principles that determine how you conduct business, treat customers, and engage with your community. Clear and well-defined brand values help establish credibility, foster customer loyalty, and attract like-minded individuals who share your brand’s ethos. Evaluating and reassessing your brand values during a redesign ensures that they are aligned with your evolving goals and resonate with your target audience.

Even if you’ve already established these things, I encourage you to go back and refine. Like the seasons, we as humans who run businesses are constantly evolving and changing.

Actionable tip: Head to this post where we do a deep dive into HOW to define your brand values.

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Redesigning your brand without a solid foundation is like building a house on extremelyyyy shaky and inconsistent ground. Defining your brand foundations, mission statement, brand values, and goals lays the groundwork for a successful brand transformation. It ensures that your new brand identity aligns with your core values, resonates with your target audience, and sets the stage for future growth. Taking the time to clarify these essential elements before diving into a brand redesign saves you time, resources, and potential missteps along the way. Remember, a strong brand starts with a strong foundation.

In the next part of this series, we’ll discuss your target audience and how crafting an intentional ideal client avatar can aid in your business’ success.

If you’re interested in beginning the process of diving into your brand strategy, feel free to schedule a free consultation call using this link