Why Your Business Needs to Start with a Brand Strategy with Rachel Green
Episode 387: Show Notes
On the Strategy Hour Podcast today, we are joined by the wonderful and amazing Rachel Green! She is one of the first people we connected with when we were starting out in the online business world. She has been in business for the last seven years, helping hundreds of businesses grow and succeed. As a brand strategist, designer and educator, Rachel has generated over 5 million dollars in sales for her clients and her focus on empowering female business owners is truly inspiring!
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In this episode, we are breaking down what a brand strategy is, why it is important to start there and the questions that you need to ask when figuring this all out. Rachel offers some great thoughts to work through in order to help you make sure your story and brand are pushing you forward. She is all about progression, not just pretty branding and logos! We really respect Rachel's perspective on the strategic part of branding and we know you will all find it very useful. So buckle up and let's get into some strategy!
Rachel's Business and the Difference Between Brand Strategy and Design
Rachel's niche is helping business owners build a consistent and distinctive brand by bridging the gap between strategy and design. This can aid her clients in having more clarity and confidence and less overwhelm around their business. She started out doing invitations and stationery and then switched over to more branding and website work. She quickly fell in love with establishing brands and feels the solid foundation strategy provides for branding is so important! Rachel reminds us that your brand is not your logo, but the idea goes deeper than that. There are three parts to a brand - strategy, identity, and marketing. For Rachel, these all tie together and help you to know where you are going.
Where to Start When Laying Out a Brand Strategy
There are eleven components Rachel uses when working with clients. Market research, finding a target market, purpose statements, promise, structure, differentiation attributes and values, customer journey, positioning, voice and messaging! She reminds us that you do not have to address all of these immediately but it is a great framework for figuring out your branding and strategy. The first step is to figure out who you are helping and what their problem is. From there, you can start talking about how you will solve it. A good way to go about this is to consider what your skills are in this regard and what is marketable from these. Rachel recommends finding the sweet spot between what is needed and what you have to offer, that is where your business should be placed!
Solving Problems and The Promise of Results
Once you know who it is you are serving and the issue you are helping them solve, you can double back to your skills to figure out how you can help them achieve this result. People are looking for results and the easier the solution the more attractive your offer will be. Most people do not want to be bombarded with massive amounts of information and details from the beginning, that comes later. Connect the dots for them with your communication, you can always go back and refine your message and strategy as you go. Rachel does this in her own business every year! This means going through websites and platforms and assessing headlines and text to make sure it communicates your mission in the clearest and best way. Your work and business will naturally evolve over time and you need to communicate an up to date version as best you can.
Pieces that Often Get Overlooked
It is really important to write down and keep track of your strategy. Market research is vital in matching up your thoughts with the demand you are trying service. A great way to stay clear on all of this is your communication with your audience. You can set up customer feedback channels like surveys and questions on social media to see where they are at. It is also very important to know what you are trying to accomplish before you make any major decisions, think about your mission before you name a business or a project. A good amount of thought can go a long way and you will be thankful in the long run. Rachel implores us not to think about what is trending or looks sparkly, start small and strong with a good strategy rather than flashy branding and you already have a head start. All you need is enough to get going. If you can get some wheels on the roads you can start seeing what works and what does not and the pretty branding and logos can follow!
Quote This
If you don't have that strategy first, it's kinda hard to build a logo or anything without knowing where you are going with it.
—Rachel Green
Highlights
Rachel's Business and the Difference Between Brand Strategy and Design. [0:04:04.4]
Where to Start When Laying Out a Brand Strategy. [0:08:20.7]
Solving Problems and The Promise of Results. [0:13:42.2]
Pieces that Often Get Overlooked. [0:23:38.9]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:33:53.8]
Market Research.
Focus on One Problem!
Get Customer to their Results.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Rachel Green
Intentionally Designed
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Rachel Green is a brand strategist, designer, educator, and glass half full kind of gal dedicated to helping creative business owners build their brand with confidence and clarity. Through brand strategy and design, she helps purpose-filled business owners ditch overwhelm through clear and simple strategies they can use to build a more successful and sustainable business. For the last 7 years, she has helped build over 100 businesses and generate 5+ million in sales for those businesses. As a farmer’s wife and mother to 2 little ones, she actively balances educating and empowering other women to grow their business with taking care of her home and family.
KEY TOPICS
Branding, Strategy, Marketing, Design, Alignment
