7 Signs You Need Brand Strategy

When is the right time to develop your brand strategy?

As business owners, you want to build a brand and business that thrives. It's not just about making profit, but establishing a brand and business that fulfills both your personal and professional goals.

To do this, you don't want to just start any kind of business or grow any kind of team. You want services, structures, experiences, processes and people that are rooted on a clear vision. This is why brand and business strategy is so valuable for every business.

BRAND AND BUSINESS STRATEGY IS A PROCESS THAT DIGS DEEP INTO ALL THE INNER WORKINGS OF YOUR BUSINESS.

We take in your pain points and look into the structures of what's happening, and we create solutions that actually work for you. We solidify and reimagine where you want to go and map out the ways for you to actually get there. This might come out as having immense clarity on your ideal client and being able to target them in a more focused way, or it might be revamping your onboarding system and service structure. But at the end of the day, this strategy will become the foundation of everything you do in your brand and business.

The question now is this: When do you actually need a brand and business strategy? At what point do you know that this is something you have to invest in if you want to get to your goals? Here are 7 signs to start with.

1: You feel like you don't know how to talk about your business to other people.

What do you tell someone who asks you about what it is that you're doing in your business? Many business owners know what they do in the business, but they have a hard time articulating their unique selling points. They can list out the products and services, but they struggle in communicating the real value that they are providing to their clients. Sometimes they have to change what they say every time someone new asks about their business, mainly because they have so much they want to say but don't know how to compact it into a concise and meaningful summary.

If you experience this too, there's a big chance that you don't have clarity on your vision, business goal, or target clients. When you're clear about the value that you bring to your clients and your main differentiator, you will know your selling and content pillars. You will understand how to connect with your clients at different points of their journey.

2: Your clients don't know which service is the best fit for them.

The way you currently structure your services is also a good indicator. A client of mine shared the different services she had on her website—labeling them as discovery, personal assessment, power hour, and discovery call for companies. As I listened closely to her explanation and examples, we saw an obvious challenge: people who just came into the website won't know what those are. This also means they won't know which service to choose.

If clients feel like they don't know which service to choose as they read the information on your website, then there is some upgrading to do. If you have services that people have never signed up for, it's possible that the particular service isn't working out. Having a brand and business strategy in place will help you realign your services to ensure that your service structure meets both your business goals and customers' needs.

3: You don't know how to market your services.

Do you feel like you don't know what to content to share, how to bring people in, and what to say when it comes to sharing about your services to the greater audience? If you have been feeling confused or overwhelmed when it comes to advertising your services, it's usually a sign that you need more clarity in your customer journey.

Most business owners face a roadblock in selling their services because they don't have a clear brand and business strategy to guide them in building their brand touchpoints. However, you won't know how to build these touchpoints without knowing who your clients are and what they need. The answer to this gap is brand and business strategy.

4: You have a lot of ideas for your business but you don't know where to start.

Many clients come to me with amazing ideas in mind about their brand and business. However, instead of finding these ideas as something that drives them forward, they feel scattered and confused. It's easy to fall into overwhelm because, without a clear brand and business strategy, you won't know what's most important and what action to take next.

This can feel like you're shooting in the dark because there is no clear goal and no clear way to measure your progress. It's especially challenging when you have a full-time job plus a kid and family to take care of, which means that you probably only have 2 hours a day to work on your business. The foundation that will help you know who to translate these ideas to your brand and business in a way that best fits your capacity and goals is your brand and business strategy.

5: You spend too much time managing communications that don't convert.

Your onboarding process is a huge part of building your brand and business. If your onboarding process isn't structured and you have leads coming from various different platforms, you might find yourself spending too much time managing communications with people that don't convert.

When you have a solid brand and business strategy, you can streamline your onboarding system in a way and make things easier for you and your clients. You can build ways to clearly communicate your services to your clients without having to personally invest time messaging them and explaining what each of your services does and what they can expect every single time.

6: You're not booking the clients you want to work with.

Perhaps you feel like you are getting clients and your business is moving along, but you realized you're not booking the clients you want to work with. This could be a sign that you need clarity in figuring out who your ideal client is. When you know who you're speaking to and what connects with them, you'll know how to build your messaging, visuals, and experience.

The anchor that will help you see how all these different elements align is your brand and business strategy. Without a strategy, you might be showing high-quality photography and engaging copy, but it might not communicate the message that your brand intended to convey because the goal wasn't clarified. However, with strategy, you will know how to update every brand touchpoint to support the vision that you have for your brand and business.

7: You're getting clients but not retaining clients.

Or maybe you have been getting the clients that you want to work with, but you are struggling to retain them. It's possible that your current service and pricing structure don't meet them where they're at and don't encourage them to stay with you for a longer period of time.

When you work on your brand and business strategy, you will have a partner to dig deeper with you into your client's needs and map out their customer journey. This process will help you identify how to price your services and brainstorm ways to meet your clients where they're at so that you can bring them on a journey through what you offer in the business.

As you read through these 7 signs, do you resonate with any of those experiences? Have you been thinking about investing in your brand and business strategy? Many of my clients share their doubts about getting a brand partner. They wonder if it's too soon for their business, or whether it will truly transform their business.

The thing is every entrepreneurship and the brand-building journey is unique, and realizing that something needs to change is already a huge step forward. Different outcomes require different steps and habits, so the investment you choose to make now will greatly impact what actually happens long term.