“When you start a brand, there’s a perception people have about you and/or your business so why not be intentional about it and shape a narrative about it?” I heard this statement and it’s really stuck with me. I found it to be very true because if you think about any person or organisation right now, there’s something that immediately comes to mind, whether it’s positive or negative. The thought of them evokes a feeling, and that feeling can influence whether you want to be associated with them or not. A crucial step in intentionally building a strong brand, whether it’s for yourself or your business, is to define your brand goals clearly.
Establishing clear brand goals is essential for building a strong brand identity, increasing brand awareness, and driving overall success and growth. Brand goals are also important for your team, as they provide a clear roadmap and keep everyone focused and aligned with your objectives. Sadly, many people believe that branding is only for major players, but the truth is that you can’t become a major player in any industry without being intentional about branding. If you want to create a strong and recognisable brand for yourself or your business, you have to understand how to set effective brand goals.
Define your brand purpose
Before you begin to set goals, you need to define the purpose of your brand. Why do you and your business exist? What problem are you trying to solve? This is beyond profit-making. Yes, generating sales is great but the world has evolved past just buying and selling. You must understand the value your business is bringing to your customers, your employees and the community your business serves.
Know your target audience
Now that you’ve defined your brand purpose, you need to know whose problem you’re trying to solve. While it’s great to have a good product/service offering, what makes the value you offer great is if your customer considers it great. The way you can do this is to know the customer. Identify their needs, motivations, interests, and frustrations. A good way to do this is to define your customer persona and have conversations with them. Get to know them better. Listen to what they’re saying and not saying. What better way to know someone than through an interactive conversation? After taking this step, you’ll know what goals you need to set that’ll help your brand resonate better with your target audience.
Make them SMART
Remember to set SMART goals. This means making sure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Specific goals are well-defined and clear, measurable goals have criteria for tracking progress, achievable goals are realistic, relevant goals align with your brand’s purpose, and timely goals have a set timeline for achievement.
For instance, write down “boost brand awareness through social media engagement on LinkedIn by 50% within the next quarter of 2024.” When you write it out like this, it’s easier to understand and feels less overwhelming. Anyone who reads this knows what you’re trying to achieve.
Conduct a brand audit
It’s important to assess the current state of your brand to understand what you need to start, stop, and continue doing. Be honest when evaluating this with your team. A helpful method to try is conducting a SWOT analysis, which involves analysing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Don’t overlook this step, as the results will inform the strategies needed for improvement. Brand building requires flexibility, especially because it involves establishing an emotional connection with your target audience. Continuously track your progress, pay attention to what your target audience or market is saying about the brand (both negative and positive), and make necessary adjustments.
Setting effective brand goals is such a crucial part of building a strong brand. When you’re able to do this, other aspects of your business such as marketing, PR, and customer success will be able to thrive better and business success is inevitable. Set your brand goals, stay focused and keep improving.
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