How to write a business strategy is not my department, but how to build a brand communication strategy is mine. Therefore I have collected those 8 components, which you should definitely take into consideration and include into your brand communication strategy. From time to time revising those points is also useful to be able to adapt yourself to economy, market, customer demand related or any other changes.
In this previous article you could already read about the first three steps:
1.MARKET RESEARCH
2. SEGMENTATION & TARGET GROUPS
3. BUSINESS GOALS & KPIs
And now let’s continue with the next, very massive step:
4. STRATEGIES & TACTICS
This part basically covers the classical 6P model, but in my slightly different structure (yes, 6, because the ‘physical evidence’ criteria is not detailed here so explicitly).
Product with Pricing strategy
(I like to handle them together) Do you have a product, a service, or a combination of them. Is it a SaaS (service as a software) or a ‘tangible’ thing? How big and what is included into your portfolio? How do you want to position yourself and your brand with your prices? Are you a premium or a low-cost product provider? What is your price to each product category and to each target group? What is your entry- and mid-level product? What is your high-ticket product? Do you want to provide anything free or as a gratis? How will you modify your portfolio and prices as your business will be evolving?
It is important to know these answers, because everything influences your brand communication be it your visual elements, your messages, tone of voice, comm channels outlooks or website set-up etc. The list might be long here.
Sales strategy (placement)
Being aware of your sales strategy is crucial, since comm channels and tools have to support those directions. For example sometimes it might happen that due to your certain sales strategy, your marketing communications need to focus on rather brand awareness building methods with a stronger PR support instead of orienting to outbound marketing technics.
Promotion strategy incl. advertising
Depending on all above listed points, this is the phase when you have to clearly define your brand communication goals, focuses, directions and approaches incl. advertising comm. I usually summarize just a brief one-pager about it, then separately detail everything in the below pointed ‘communication mix’.
Communications mix (promotion mix)
Which offline and online channels should be in the focus? What should be your priorities, what will be the best to support your sales? Which channels and what kind of content would be relevant for your customers and be credible from your side? Youtube or TikTok would be indeed relevant to your target groups? What type of communication tools should you use on each platform? Videos, lives, blog articles, podcasts or billboards, leaflets, door talkers? Which types of Google ads, native ads, social media ads should be the best fit for you? What kind of earned channels could you benefit from? Communication mix answers these questions, for both short and long term. It is a comprehensive matrix table what I always put together and suggest to anybody else to do the same.
HR & Expertise (people)
Necessary values, competencies, skills, attitudes, responsibilities etc. Worthwhile to determine them in advance to see the actual status, the optional gaps and to build up your comm team or develop yourself accordingly. It helps you clearly see, in which cases you need an external support either from an agency, a consultant or a part-time freelancer, either in a project based or a long-term assignment format.
Process management & development
Clarifying your processes makes everybody’s work easier, and your customer journey much better. So, review and define your ways of working which are hand in hand with responsibilities listed above and which have such practical results like your content management or crisis management.
5. BUDGET & ROI
6. RISK ANALYZE
7. COMMUNICATION PLAN
8. ACTION PLAN
Read these last fours steps here.
Have you developed your brand communication strategy yet? What are your strategies? What are your focuses?
