Brand Strategy 101: 7 Important Elements of a Company Branding Plan

Just as an architect draws out a building plan before they start building, you need to develop a brand strategy for your business.

Strategic branding helps you set yourself apart from your competition and build customer loyalty.

In this article, you’ll learn all about the branding methods and essential elements of a branding strategy you need to grow a brand that’ll stand the test of time.

(We’ll get into that more in a bit.)

A well-defined and executed brand strategy affects all aspects of a business and is directly connected to consumer needs, emotions, and competitive environments.

First, let’s clear up the biggest misconception about brand strategy: Your brand is not solely your product, your logo, your website, or your name.

Your brand is all of that and more — it’s the stuff that feels intangible. Your brand is that hard-to-pin-down feeling that separates powerhouse brands from forgettable brands.

To objectively understand a subjective matter that many marketers consider more of an art and less of a science, we’ve broken down seven essential components of a comprehensive brand strategy that will help keep your company relevant for decades.

The elements of a brand strategy include:

1. Purpose

While understanding what your business promises is necessary when defining your brand positioning, knowing why you wake up every day and go to work carries more weight. In other words, your purpose is more specific in that it serves as a differentiator between you and your competitors.

How can you define your business’ purpose? According to Business Strategy Insider, purpose can be viewed in two ways:

Functional: This concept focuses on the evaluations of success in terms of immediate and commercial reasons—i.e., the purpose of the business is to make money.
Intentional: This concept focuses on success as it relates to the ability to make money and do good in the world.

While making money is essential to almost every business, we admire brands that emphasize their willingness to achieve more than just profitability, like IKEA:

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IKEA’s vision isn’t just to sell furniture but rather to “create a better everyday life.” This approach appeals to potential customers, demonstrating their commitment to providing value beyond the point of sale.

Key Takeaway

When defining your business’ purpose, keep this example in mind. While making money is a priority, operating under that notion alone does little to set your brand apart from others in your industry.

Our advice? Dig a little deeper. If you need inspiration, check out the brands you admire, and see how they frame their mission and vision statements.