I get it! As a small business, your budget never seems to stretch very far, and long-term thinking feels like something to do, well - long-term. Therefore, it’s tempting to prioritise some quick-win marketing tactics rather than investing valuable time or brainpower in strategy.

However, some upfront thinking always pays dividends further down the line.

Take the analogy of a car journey. You wouldn’t jump in the car without a reason and a destination. If you did, you’d be likely to drive around in circles and burn a lot of money on fuel (especially at today’s prices!)

When building your business, the process ideally starts by creating a Brand Strategy. This forms the foundation of your business and consists of your Brand Purpose, Vision, Mission and Values. These elements give your business a purpose, direction and goals. Together, they provide a blueprint to run your day-to-day operations and guide your decisions and choices.

Your strategy creates a sense of inner belief within your leadership and team, helping everyone to pull in the same direction. Strategy supplies motivation and meaning - after all - when people believe that ‘the work they do is more than just the work they do’, they’ll be happier and more likely to be more productive.

It doesn’t need to be ‘War and Peace’ - not every business needs an extensive strategy. But, it does help every business to define who they are, communicate why they’re different and explain why they’re the right choice for their customers.

Next comes ‘the sexy bit’ ...

…and arguably the most challenging bit to get right - your Brand Positioning!

This is most simply described as ‘the way your brand is perceived by your customers’. Therefore, your Brand Positioning is crafted to influence customers to create certain associations that will encourage them to perceive your brand in a specific way.

Brands don’t tend to publish their positioning statement like they might with their mission or values. But the good ones make it clear through their consistent communication and behaviour.

One great example is Apple. (Isn’t it always?!).

It’s 2007, and the mobile phone industry is currently dominated by the likes of Blackberry and Motorola. Here’s a script of Steve Jobs launching the iPhone...

“Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone... the most advanced phones are called smartphones, so they say. And they typically combine a phone plus some e-mail capability plus... the Internet. It’s sort of the baby Internet into one device, and they all have these little plastic keyboards on them...The problem is that they’re not so smart, and they’re not so easy to use... people have a hard time figuring out how to use them. What we want to do is make a leapfrog product that is way smarter than any mobile device has ever been and super-easy to use. This is what iPhone is. So, we’re going to reinvent the phone.”

Apple’s positioning of the iPhone was twofold. Firstly, they created a brand new category through their innovative product. Secondly, they positioned against the existing competition by offering a better solution to customers’ needs.

So OK, I know you’re thinking, ‘But Apple was launching a revolutionary product with a huge budget’. And whilst that’s true, there is always a way to position any size brand. It could be part of your offering, your service or a combination of things.

Once established, your Positioning determines who you’re talking to, how you communicate your offer and why you’re different to the competition. When done consistently and clearly, your brand is more likely to stand out as the obvious choice to meet your customers’ needs.

Your Brand communication is how you deliver that Position. It is Marketing that then plans and carries out how to best get that message to the right audience.

Hopefully, now you better understand how Brand Strategy creates a framework for your marketing and, therefore, ideally comes first. It allows you to develop a Marketing Plan and content that communicates a considered and consistent impression of how you want to appear to your customers. Meaning your campaigns are more impactful and more cost-effective.

Then, you can create some killer social media posts that will deliver ‘more bang for their buck’.

For definitions of common Brand Strategy terms, check out my guide here