Developing your brand strategy.

Go to any ad agency, marketing firm, or large corporation, and you'll hear the words brand strategy and brand development whispered reverently in the hallways.

You'll see them bowed to in board rooms across the world.

In fact, people who “know” have devoted an entire science to brand development. Now I’m not trying to take anything away from these experts, or the branding process. It’s an extremely critical part of any company and any marketing effort. It helps define who you are. It helps builds brand loyalty.

And that’s important stuff.

But I do want to demystify the process a bit, and make it simple.

(I’m sure you’d do the same for me.)

At its most fundamental, a brand strategy, or branding strategy is about building trust with your customers and differentiating yourself from your competitors. That’s really what it’s all about.

All that being said, I think in many ways small businesses have a distinct advantage over large corporations because they are more fluid and closer to their consumer. On the flip side, however, large corporations have those lovely large marketing and advertising budgets to work with.

But before you get down to business, one site you definitely want to check out is Kris Bovay's More-For-Small- Business site. I really like this site because she's got some great advice on how to build strategy into your business plan. I think you'll find it very helpful.

Answers to your questions.

As most marketers will tell you, a critical part of the brand development process is building loyalty. To learn more about this, check out my article on the “12 Ways to Cultivate Extreme Brand Loyalty.” I think you'll find some great ideas for your own brand-building efforts.

I also give you an overview of the brand development process and some ideas on how to develop a positioning statement.

And since defining your target market is such a critical element in the brand development process, I’ve also devoted a section to that.

Okay…ready to kick off your brand strategy? Then pick a link and get going.

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