Small Business Brand Strategy | Tory Burch Foundation

Your products and services don’t sell themselves. How are you persuading customers that what you’re offering is what they need? Creative and brand strategist Robyn Young has nearly two decades’ experience creating sticky brand building for companies and individuals. She’s founder and CEO of Young & Co, a strategic creative branding partner that helps leaders “connect strategy with creative execution.”

Young recently joined our webinar series to advise our community on developing a brand strategy that starts with a strong point of view. This strong point of view gives emerging businesses an edge over competitors, even in circumstances where they can’t outspend them. 

WHAT IS BRAND?

Let’s start with what brand isn’t. Branding like your logo, slogan and Instagram feed aesthetic are just expressions of your brand. According to Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap, a brand is “a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.” Yes, that means your brand isn’t really something you can control. “It’s not what you say it is, it’s what they say it is,” Young said. However, that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. Founders and CEOs hold the reins of their brand strategy. 

BUILD YOUR BRAND STRATEGY: “PICK A FIGHT”

In her session, Young cited Moving Brands author Cici Baxter, who wrote, “A good brand strategy is like a compass for its soul. It should help give direction as to where the brand can and shouldn’t play.” Your brand strategy, or its point of view (POV), is tied to every aspect of your business—not just marketing, but beyond. Your visual identity, community and products should all reference and serve a central message or argument. 

Your brand POV should be customized to your unique goals. Planning your strategy around a psychographic instead of a demographic will allow you to speak to a larger swath of your audience, not just your established customer base. For example, instead of focusing your marketing to mothers age 30 and up (demographics), you can try to reach anyone with a smartphone who is trying to solve a problem quickly (psychographics). Your product or service is important, but what is the overarching idea that anchors your business? That’s where your brand strategy radiates from. Young said these principles still apply if you are the brand. Projecting a strong opinion on platforms such as LinkedIn or Instagram can be polarizing to your audience, but can also make you stand out among peers in your industry. How polarizing you want to be will depend on what you want to accomplish, but if you consider yourself a leader trying to change the status quo, you’re going to need to shake things up.

Your brand POV should be customized to your customer base and the need/gap you want to fulfill for them. There’s no singular brand strategy formula that can apply to every business. Young believes formulas don’t work.  There are two key steps to a successful brand strategy: 1) Having a distinct brand POV, and 2) amplifying it. 

One way to find a genuinely distinct brand POV is to pick a fight with norms or other brands in your industry. Does your mission statement position you as an alternative to a direct competitor? Is there a gap or unfair convention in your overall category that your business stands against? Is there a bigger cultural or societal idea that you’re addressing and forming a belief around? Whatever stance you choose should be polarizing for maximum impact. You will alienate some people, but Young said that if you’re firm in the integrity of your brand POV, you’ll be able to weather whatever storm comes your way. 

She used soda company Olipop as an example of a brand that positioned itself by picking a fight with Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Olipop argues their gut-conscious ingredients make their sodas healthier than the competition’s zero sugar options. Young showed a version of what their positioning statement might look like: “In a world of unhealthy soda companies compromising your health, we believe you should ‘ditch the zero’ and embrace something that’s truly good for you.” 

FOCUS ON TRACTION, NOT TACTICS.

Now that you’ve established a strong brand POV, you have to be smart about how you execute that strategy. Young warned against getting caught up in short-term satisfaction tactics such as viral videos, spammy email funnels, competing with social media platform algorithms or pricey influencer campaigns. These might grab your customer’s attention for the moment, but they’re meaningful brand building.

Typically, customers are neutral on your brand. They won’t argue with your product features and attributes, but there’s also nothing there that would catch their attention or make them want to rally behind you. Focus on the big idea that sits above your product features and benefits; a bold position that creates polarization in the customer base. Some people will love it; others will hate it, and your brand will gain traction. 

Young assured small business owners that developing a winning brand strategy isn’t just for companies with deep pockets. “Never let your ambition be outstripped by your budget,” she said. If you can’t afford to hire a strategist, utilize the resources you can reach: read your favorite strategists’ books, watch their free content on social media and YouTube. Young also said that testing out a minimum viable brand in house before launching to the market at large could be beneficial for feedback and help you find direction. 

At the heart of her presentation was a simple phrase: “Say it straight before you say it great.” Ensuring that your customers will clearly understand your message takes priority over the newest, splashiest marketing tactics. If you believe in your brand POV, let its authenticity shine through.