7 Steps to Align Your Brand Strategy to Your Business Strategy
The owners of a small real estate development firm decided to rebrand. They believed their firm had grown beyond their brand and wanted a new name, a new look, and a new website to more fully communicate the growth and sophistication of their firm. They invested heavily in the rebranding seeking to control how others perceived their business. However, in just a few short months after the rebrand, they began to see a disconnect between the new brand and the direction of their business. They realized their brand was aspirational and they needed a stronger business strategy to grow into the brand. What they lacked was alignment between their brand strategy and their business strategy.
At Thrivence, we are often asked to partner with leaders looking to align brand strategy and business strategy. In some cases, we have added people strategy to the equation. Leading organizations are focused on brand because they are fighting for people’s attention and know their customer’s perception is the organization’s reality. What we’ve learned from these organizations is that a brand strategy must be accompanied by a foundational business strategy. The combination of a fresh brand strategy and a comprehensive business strategy is the secret to success. It leaves the organization and its people with clarity on who it is, where it is going, and how it will get there.
It is our experience that the best starting point is business strategy. With clarity on the business strategy, it is easier to develop a brand strategy that is aligned to business goals and objectives. However, we recognize today’s emphasis on brand causes many organizations to build their brand strategy first and then develop a business strategy to support it. If this is your organization, below are seven easy steps to align your brand strategy to your business strategy.
1. Integrate Brand and Business Objectives
Start by aligning business objectives with brand positioning. If your brand strategy emphasizes sustainability, prioritize eco-friendly products, operations, and partnerships. If your organization is known for its membership experience, develop ideas, plans, and resources for taking the experience to the next level. Each element of your brand positioning should have a corresponding business objective and strategy for achieving it.
2. Map Target Customer Segments to Revenue Streams
Use brand persona research to identify your highest-value customer segments. Develop product lines and services that resonate with these segments while maintaining brand consistency. Structure revenue and pricing strategies to reflect brand positioning (i.e. premium brands must command premium prices).
3. Build Brand-Aligned Partnerships
Select strategic partners that strengthen your brand. Association is a proven way to building brand. Just ask the people at Nike! Advertisers pay huge sums of money to associate with popular professional sports figures and franchises. High-end fashion retailers partner with premium clothing labels. Universities collaborate with leading companies on workforce initiatives. This list of examples could go on and on. Partner selection should be purposeful and strategic. If aligned with business strategy, partnerships can positively impact brand perception for a long sustained period of time.
4. Drive Your Marketing Message
Create integrated marketing strategies to amplify brand messaging. Allocate budget toward channels reaching target segments most effectively. Maintain consistent brand voice across touchpoints while adapting content for channel-specific requirements. Track competitor movements to identify threats to brand differentiation and opportunities to strengthen competitive positioning.
5. Align Operational and Organizational Models
Operations and organizational structure must support brand promises. Luxury brands need superior quality control; innovation-focused brands require agile development processes. Evaluate current operations and customer experience against brand standards and identify gaps requiring investment or restructuring. Moreover, train employees on brand values and the basis for customer preference for your organization.
6. Plan for Innovation (Especially Around Your Strengths)
Develop new products and services advancing brand positioning. Technology brands must maintain innovation leadership; heritage brands balance tradition with modernization. Innovation must double down on the strengths of your brand. Instead of just innovating on how to improve upon weaknesses, spend most of your time coming up with new ideas on how to deepen your competitive advantage and grow the distinctives of your organization.
7. Pencil it All Out
Create financial projections reflecting brand-aligned growth strategies. Financial targets should support brand positioning without compromising value proposition. Be sure your business strategy can be executed effectively with the resources available. If resources are limited, start building your strategy by developing a plan to generate more resources.
One of things your brand strategy and your business strategy will have in common is they must be regularly assessed and analyzed against market changes and competitive position. Consider the building of both strategies an ongoing process that will at times require a disciplined approach to execution and at other times the humility to start over with a new plan. Use data-driven metrics to regularly analyze the progress of your strategies.
This integrated approach builds sustainable competitive advantage through distinctive brand identity and effective operational execution. Continuous brand-business alignment requires ongoing commitment from leadership and clear communication throughout the organization. To state it simply, organizations that achieve this alignment are industry leaders as evidenced by their sustainable success.
