Introduction
In an ocean of market opportunities and audiences, branding is the lighthouse that guides your targeted customers to your product. Understanding the nuances of branding is not just about making a product (or service) recognizable — it’s also about imbuing it with purpose and meaningful values that resonate with your target audience.
Today’s post goes through a high-level overview of what it takes to build a robust and effective brand strategy.
Understanding Market Context
The first step in branding is to understand the dynamic of your target audience and the market they exist in. What are the market’s current trends? Who are your competitors and what are they offering? Identifying the gaps and opportunities within your market should be your focus. This requires thorough research and analyses to comprehend the broader context in which your brand will operate. By understanding this landscape, you’ll have the foundation to being able to position your product effectively and thus find a unique space for it (e.g. the “market-fit”) in the minds of your potential customers.
Understanding Who You Are
The second step is to make sure you are clear on who you are as an organization and (effectively) a solution provider in your market. Do you understand your business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? Conducting an introspective analysis on these aspects is a vital piece to creating a brand that aligns with your identity.
Consider what makes your product unique and valuable. Don’t just consider what your features are, but also include the benefits, emotional appeals, etc.; e.g. what is your value proposition — your “so what?” What does your product stand for?
Strategize for Uniqueness
Having a unique strategy incredibly important in today’s competitive market. What does your product offer that no one else’s can? This may involve applying some innovation efforts in technology, design, user experience, or even the way you engage with your customers. Your strategy should stem from the unique value proposition of your product and be clear on how it positions your product in the market.
Validate Your Strategy
It’s one thing to have a plan, but another thing to know if it’s the right one. At this phase, you’ll want to validate your ideas and transform them into a clear, strategic direction. Test your assumptions, gather feedback, and be prepared to pivot if necessary. This iterative process ensures that your strategy is not just theoretically sound but practical as well.
Bring Your Brand to Life
This will involve everyone from product design to packaging, marketing, customer service, etc. — every touchpoint your product has with its target audience should reflect and reinforce your brand. Consistency and clarity are key here. Ensure that your brand’s message and values are clearly communicated and experienced through every interaction with your product.
And, a word of advice from experience, be careful not to go overboard with the latest buzzwords when you present your brand!
Expand Your Brand’s Reach
While you may pivot or perhaps drop particular aspects of your branding as you iterate on your branding, you’ll want to double down on the aspects that work and evaluate whether or not you’re taking them, and thus the validated aspects of your branding, as far as it can go. That last line was a mouthful, but simply put; double down on what works, pivot or drop what’s not, rinse and repeat.
Explore how you can extend your brand’s reach — this could be through new product lines or feature sets, entering new markets, or deepening customer engagement. This is not about diverging from your core values, but rather finding new was to express and amplify them.
Continuous Iteration
The market and your customers are constantly evolving. Just as they evolve over time, so should your brand. You’ll want to regularly revisit strategy, execution, and results. Are they still in alignment with your market and your business’ goals? Stay flexible and adaptable, ready to refine or even overhaul your approach as you gain new insights and experience changes in the market.
Conclusion
Branding is more than a fancy logo or catchy tagline. Branding is the total experience your target audience has with your product. As a product manager, your role is critical in that you ensure your branding is not only aligned with your company’s values, goals, and value proposition to target customers, but also aligned with what your customers actually care about in practice. Remember, successful branding is a journey, not a destination. It will require continuous effort, creativity, and strategic thinking. By keeping everything we’ve talked about today in mind, you’ll be well on your way to defining and fine tuning your product’s branding in no time!