More Than a Logo: What Brand Strategy Really Means

In our last insight, Beyond Tactics: Building a Strong Marketing Strategy, we explored how a layered approach, which includes the business and brand strategy, is the best way to build a strong marketing strategy. And how, as time goes on, those strategies need to pivot and evolve. 

Today, we’ll dig a little deeper into brand strategy and what it really means.

Brand Strategy

Let’s recap first. We define brand strategy as the entire brand platform, including brand architecture, naming, brand purpose, vision, mission, principles, personality, brand promises, positioning, visual identity, verbal identity, and more.

Here’s a look at some of the components:

A simple way of looking at the brand strategy is to think of it as the entire experience, not just for your clients and partners but for your employees, too.

Your brand is what you say, and how you say it. 

It’s what you do, and how you do it. 

It’s what you make people think, and the way you make them feel.

It’s the promises you make, and the promises you keep. 

It’s the thoughts you share and the experience you give. 

Ultimately, your brand is experienced in everything you do.

Strong brands make this look easy. Yet for many, it’s not.

We hear this a lot, particularly from companies just starting out:

“I just need a logo and website. I don’t need something fancy or complicated.”

While we agree that you don’t necessarily need something fancy or complicated, we do challenge the thinking that a logo and website are all you need.

A well-defined brand strategy can be the difference between a business that succeeds and one that fails. After all, your brand is your first impression—and sometimes, your last. It either establishes your credibility or destroys it. Ultimately, perception is reality.

Companies with a clear brand strategy are 3.5 times more likely to experience revenue growth than those without one. - Harvard Business Review

Specifically in B2B tech, if you’re looking for funding or you’ve just received it, the investment in your brand will pay off tenfold, not just in the impression you make on potential customers and investors but also in the talent you can attract.

More than just a logo and a website, a brand strategy demonstrates you have given the brand and company significant thought. You’ve thought through the significance of the naming and whether you will run into legal trouble down the road. You’ve considered the brand architecture and whether you’re set up for change and growth as you evolve. You’ve set a clear vision and an attainable mission for how to get there. And you’ve identified the principles that will guide your behaviors and the experience your clients receive as you hire and grow.

Customers, investors, and employees alike care about how being associated with your brand will affect their own. The stronger your brand is, the more trust and credibility you offer those you work for and with. 

In other insights, we’ll go into more detail on the elements that make up a brand strategy. For now, a simple way to define brand strategy is the intentional planning of your brand’s structure and the complete experience you deliver to your audience. It means considering the future (even without a magic crystal ball) and connecting the dots on as many elements as possible. It means considering what your internal culture will be and how that will translate outward. It means giving thought to being clear and consistent in the messages you deliver and the experience you offer. And it means presenting yourself in a way that people can respect, understand, and relate to.

Quick Take

Building a successful brand strategy requires thoughtful planning. While companies often hesitate to invest significant resources in brand strategy in the early stages, experience shows the eventual cost of skipping this step is far greater.

Strong brands know the value of investing early, strategically connecting the brand strategy to authentic experiences that resonate with clients, partners, and employees. Ultimately, investing in your brand strategy today positions your business for sustainable success tomorrow.

Take a look at our own recent brand refresh to navigate the process we typically follow in constructing a new brand, or redefining one. 

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