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How to create a business plan: examples & free template.

This guide has been designed to help you create a winning plan that stands out in the ever-evolving marketplace. U sing real-world examples and a free downloadable template, it will walk you through each step of the process.

Table of Contents

How to Write a Business Plan

Executive summary.

The Executive Summary serves as the gateway to your business plan, offering a snapshot of your venture’s core aspects. This section should captivate and inform, succinctly summarizing the essence of your plan.

Example: EcoTech is a technology company specializing in eco-friendly and sustainable products designed to reduce energy consumption and minimize waste. Our mission is to create innovative solutions that contribute to a cleaner, greener environment.

Overview and Business Objectives

This part of the plan demonstrates to investors and stakeholders your vision for growth and the practical steps you’ll take to get there.

Company Description

Include information about the company’s founders, their expertise, and why they are suited to lead the business to success. This section should paint a vivid picture of your business, its values, and its place in the industry.

Define Your Target Market

Example: Our target market comprises environmentally conscious consumers and businesses looking for innovative solutions to reduce their carbon footprint. Our ideal customers are those who prioritize sustainability and are willing to invest in eco-friendly products.

Market Analysis

Our research indicates a gap in the market for high-quality, innovative eco-friendly technology products that cater to both individual and business clients.

SWOT Analysis

Competitive analysis.

In this section, you’ll analyze your competitors in-depth, examining their products, services, market positioning, and pricing strategies. Understanding your competition allows you to identify gaps in the market and tailor your offerings to outperform them.

Organization and Management Team

Example: EcoTech’s organizational structure comprises the following key roles: CEO, CTO, CFO, Sales Director, Marketing Director, and R&D Manager. Our management team has extensive experience in technology, sustainability, and business development, ensuring that we are well-equipped to execute our business plan successfully.

Products and Services Offered

Marketing and sales strategy.

Describe the nature of your advertising campaigns and promotional activities, explaining how they will capture the attention of your target audience and convey the value of your products or services. Outline your sales strategy, including your sales process, team structure, and sales targets.

Logistics and Operations Plan

Inventory control is another crucial aspect, where you explain strategies for inventory management to ensure efficiency and reduce wastage. The section should also describe your production processes, emphasizing scalability and adaptability to meet changing market demands.

Financial Projections Plan

In the Financial Projections Plan, lay out a clear and realistic financial future for your business. This should include detailed projections for revenue, costs, and profitability over the next three to five years.

Income Statement

The income statement , also known as the profit and loss statement, provides a summary of your company’s revenues and expenses over a specified period. It helps you track your business’s financial performance and identify trends, ensuring you stay on track to achieve your financial goals.

Cash Flow Statement

Tips on Writing a Business Plan

3. Set realistic goals: Your business plan should outline achievable objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Setting realistic goals demonstrates your understanding of the market and increases the likelihood of success.

FREE Business Plan Template

To help you get started on your business plan, we have created a template that includes all the essential components discussed in the “How to Write a Business Plan” section. This easy-to-use template will guide you through each step of the process, ensuring you don’t miss any critical details.

What is a Business Plan?

Why you should write a business plan, what are the different types of business plans.

In today’s fast-paced business world, having a well-structured roadmap is more important than ever. A traditional business plan provides a comprehensive overview of your company’s goals and strategies, helping you make informed decisions and achieve long-term success. There are various types of business plans, each designed to suit different needs and purposes. Let’s explore the main types:

Using Business Plan Software

Enloop is a robust business plan software that automatically generates a tailored plan based on your inputs. It provides industry-specific templates, financial forecasting, and a unique performance score that updates as you make changes to your plan. Enloop also offers a free version, making it accessible for businesses on a budget.

Business Plan FAQs

What is a good business plan, what are the 3 main purposes of a business plan, can i write a business plan by myself.

We also have examples for specific industries, including a using food truck business plan , salon business plan , farm business plan , daycare business plan , and restaurant business plan .

Is it possible to create a one-page business plan?

How long should a business plan be, what is a business plan outline, what are the 5 most common business plan mistakes, what questions should be asked in a business plan.

A business plan should address questions such as: What problem does the business solve? Who is the specific target market ? What is the unique selling proposition? What are the company’s objectives? How will it achieve those objectives?

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

How is business planning for a nonprofit different.

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How To Develop a Branding Plan (With Templates and Examples)

January 14, 2022 (Updated: May 4, 2023)

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What Is a Branding Plan?

Is branding important, branding plan vs. business plan, 6 types of branding, how to create a branding plan, 5 sources for branding plan templates and examples.

Branding is a way to set the foundation for a positive business reputation. Learning how to develop and market your brand can help sustain your company and grow your audience so you can do bigger things in the future. On average,  it takes five to seven impressions for people to remember your brand , so creating a branding plan can help make sure you execute certain steps to get as many people to notice your company as possible.

A branding plan is a document that lists the important aspects of your brand identity and how that affects the public perception of your company. It outlines your brand strategy and serves as the foundation and measurement for evaluating all marketing materials to see if they fit with the image you’re trying to make for your company. The branding plan includes not just the visual aspects of the brand like the logo and colors, but information like:

• A clear description of what your brand represents
• Consistent brand messaging for audience communication
• Attainable goals for brand reach and recognition
• Executable marketing strategies to use to reach your brand goals

Yes, creating a brand that’s consistent, unique, and authentic can separate your business from its competitors. It gives customers a way to connect with your organization beyond the surface level, especially if your brand values align with their personal ones. There are three core components to address when developing a branding plan and strategy. They include:

• Purpose:  Why your company exists and what services you provide
• Consistency:  What allows your brand to meet company standards every day
• Emotions:  What connects your brand to its customers and how you can improve that relationship as your brand grows

Branding plans and business plans can work together to create a roadmap and outlook for your company, but they do have some differences. Branding is all about your company’s reputation, so a branding plan is more concerned with how the public perceives your company. It cares about your messages, your aesthetic visuals, and your company values.

These things also factor into the business plan, but that one has more data about what you may consider traditional aspects of company planning, such as financial information, overall company goals, and staffing or location concerns. It’s difficult to have one type of plan without the other. You need the business plan to make sure the things you need to do in your branding plan are workable. You need the branding plan to execute what you’ve set out in the business plan.

Branding isn’t a single strategy or plan that you can follow and automatically get results. It’s a series of deliberate choices you make to portray your company to the world, and it all depends on your unique company. It’s important to learn about different branding you could engage with to see which one fits your purposes best. You may even find that a combination of some of them may work for your unique purpose. Branding you can use includes:

1. Personal Branding

You may use personal branding to market yourself. This is a popular choice for influencers, public speakers, or others who make their living from turning themselves or their skills into a service. Personal branding is then crafting your public persona for your services. Like other types of branding, it can include the visual aspects of choosing fonts, colors, and logos for your website and choosing ones that reflect who you are and what you do.

2. Product Branding

Similar to personal branding, product branding is marketing your product as unique from others in the market. Consider the potato chip aisle in the grocery store. Essentially, everything there is the same: fried snacks. So what influences your choice when shopping? Probably brand loyalty first, if you already have a favorite. But if they’re out of your favorite, how do you pick a substitute? This is where product branding works. Concepts like color psychology and consumer science may be helpful when engaging in product branding.

Related:   Can Science Affect Your Content Marketing Efforts?

3. Service Branding

Unlike product branding, which focuses more on looks and what’s visually appealing to the customer, service branding may put more attention on what a brand can do for the customers. Take air-condition repair companies, for example. They all do the same thing and there are probably many of them in the same area.

So how do people choose? Usually by what extras or benefits they can get. This is where you focus on what makes your company different from others. Do you offer free estimates? Maybe you work off hours for people that can’t be home during the day. Highlight these attributes in your service branding.

4. Retail Branding

This type of branding focuses on the aesthetics of a brick-and-mortar store. The key is the interior design of the building, from the layout, lighting, decor, music, and displays. The idea, especially for businesses with multiple locations, is to make every location look the same so you instantly know where you’re shopping or visiting when you step inside. This is popular for many retailers. For example, the preteen clothing store Limited Too used dim lighting, flowers, bold colors, and lots of glitter in its retail branding.

Image via  Sourcing Journal

5. Geographic Branding

Geographic branding is important if you can tie your business or cause to a geographic location. Pittsburgh brands, for example, use this type of branding to the fullest. All the major sports teams use the colors black and gold, which people associate with the city. The local amusement park,  Kennywood , also uses those colors in its logo. Steel and bridges are also two other popular branding concepts in the area. Geographic branding is important for tourism-type businesses and franchises that start in one location and expand to new ones.

Image via  Kennywood

6. Corporate Branding

Corporate branding is marketing the organization itself as a commodity. This is popular for many business institutions, like marketing agencies or banks. It aims to share the most important information about the organization, such as the mission and values, price point, and exclusivity for those who use or partner with the group.

Use these steps to create and develop your company’s branding plan:

1. Review the Essentials

Knowing some essential information about your company, brand, and customers can help you create the most effective and targeted plan. These areas include:

Why does your business exist? What do you want people to know about your company and brand? How can your brand influence people’s lives or help them solve problems? Understanding why your brand exists and where it fits into the market can give you important information to influence all your marketing decisions.

What are the core values of your company? What adjectives or attributes do you want your audience to associate with it? You can identify these from your mission statement or other company documents, such as the employee handbook.

Target Audience

Who’s buying from or engaging with your company? Why do they come to you over the competition? What can you learn about them that can influence your branding and marketing decisions? Understanding the people that make up your target audience as a collective and as individuals can help you make branding decisions.

2. Create Customer Personas

Customer personas or profiles are  fictitious representations of potential customers , those most likely to buy from your brand. Companies create personas to get a better understanding of the individuals who seek their products and services, on a more specific level than general demographic reports provide. They often target the “ideal” customers for a brand. Information to collect about your general audience to develop personas includes:

• Geographic location
• Household income
• Hobbies and interests
• Charity sympathies
• Reasons for purchasing your product or using your services
• Intentions for using your products or services
• Frequency of purchase or use
• Locations of online activity

3. Do Competitive Analysis

It’s important to learn who you’re going up against in the market to understand how to make your brand different, why people want to come to you, and what you can stress to make them realize it even more. Things to consider when conducting a competitor analysis include:

• Who are your direct competitors?
• What elements do they use in their branding, marketing, and advertising?
• What’s their messaging?
• Are there things your company offers that others don’t?
• What are their biggest areas of success and weakness?
• Who are their customers?
• What are their messages?
• What makes their company unique?

Answering these questions can tell you more about the state of the market and where you can fit. It can also show areas of market need where you could insert your company to better help customers. If you’re looking for help with competitor analysis, consider the tool we’ve created at  CopyPress  just for this purpose.

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4. Develop a Brand Mission Statement

A brand mission statement is a tagline that shares your brand values. It’s typically one sentence or not even a full sentence, but a catchy phrase. You can use the brand mission statement to help frame your branding strategy objectives. This type of mission statement may differ slightly from a company-wide mission statement. The brand statement may be shorter and may focus only on certain aspects of the company values that drive the brand reputation.

It typically summarizes the unique qualities you provide your customers and shares what your business is passionate about. The brand mission statement tells customers what they can trust about your company and what they can expect from it.

5. Establish the Value Proposition

A value proposition focuses on the aspects of what makes your brand unique from the competition. It’s a brief description of the qualities that should make your products or services more appealing than others in the same market. It’s important not just to focus on what makes you different, but how those differences benefit your target audience and how the things you provide can improve people’s lives. For example, Target’s value proposition is in the company’s tagline: expect more, pay less. Customers can expect more products and selections from the store than competitors, but also find affordable prices.

6. Choose Your Tone and Messaging

Brand voice is the way your company communicates with its audience and the public. You can establish a brand voice by your word choices, tone, and messaging. Depending on your audience and the type of industry you’re in, you may use a professional, casual, playful, or helpful brand voice. The one you choose may dictate your messaging, such as advertising copy, or the way your representatives respond to comments on social media.

It’s important to keep your brand voice consistent across all channels and departments. This helps to make your company feel cohesive to customers, even if they’re dealing with many representatives while communicating with your business.  Chick-Fil-A  does this with their messaging. When you order, whether at the drive-thru or the counter, all employees welcome guests, thank them for their service, and respond with phrases like “my pleasure” no matter which location you visit.

7. Design a Visual Identity

Branding isn’t just in your words. It’s visual, too. Elements like typography, photography, colors, logos, or design cues help customers get used to and associate certain tangible objects and feelings with a brand. You use your brand’s visual identity across almost all your online and offline channels. Places that may feature these elements include:

• Digital marketing
• Social media channels
• Press releases
• Storefronts
• Promotional swag
• Advertisements
• Emails and email signatures

Consider a store like Home Depot. You likely associate a square logo, the color orange, and a specific font with the brand. Well-established companies, like Home Depot, often have a brand book that sets specifications on how to keep the company’s visual identity consistent across channels. It may include things like the exact hex code shade for the brand color, specific font names, and the exact dimensions of a logo for use on different platforms.

If you need additional help to create your branding plan document, you may find inspiration from these sources with templates and examples:

• Canva :  A free graphic design and photo editing platform
• Etsy :  An online marketplace for artists and designers
• Examples.com :  An online hub of templates and design ideas
• SampleTemplates.com :  A template repository for documents in a variety of fields
• Template.net :  An online resource for fully customizable template files

A brand plan can help you develop an identity that tells customers exactly what they need to know about your company before they interact with your organization. Having one that you can follow and adjust as your brand grows over time gives you the tools necessary to show your best attributes to the public for years to come.

CopyPress writer

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Home > Business > Business Startup

How To Write a Business Plan

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Starting a business is a wild ride, and a solid business plan can be the key to keeping you on track. A business plan is essentially a roadmap for your business — outlining your goals, strategies, market analysis and financial projections. Not only will it guide your decision-making, a business plan can help you secure funding with a loan or from investors .

Writing a business plan can seem like a huge task, but taking it one step at a time can break the plan down into manageable milestones. Here is our step-by-step guide on how to write a business plan.

Table of contents

• Write your executive summary
• Do your market research homework
• Set your business goals and objectives
• Plan your business strategy
• Describe your product or service
• Crunch the numbers
• Finalize your business plan

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Step 1: Write your executive summary

Though this will be the first page of your business plan , we recommend you actually write the executive summary last. That’s because an executive summary highlights what’s to come in the business plan but in a more condensed fashion.

An executive summary gives stakeholders who are reading your business plan the key points quickly without having to comb through pages and pages. Be sure to cover each successive point in a concise manner, and include as much data as necessary to support your claims.

You’ll cover other things too, but answer these basic questions in your executive summary:

• Idea: What’s your business concept? What problem does your business solve? What are your business goals?
• Product: What’s your product/service and how is it different?
• Market: Who’s your audience? How will you reach customers?
• Finance: How much will your idea cost? And if you’re seeking funding, how much money do you need? How much do you expect to earn? If you’ve already started, where is your revenue at now?

Step 2: Do your market research homework

The next step in writing a business plan is to conduct market research . This involves gathering information about your target market (or customer persona), your competition, and the industry as a whole. You can use a variety of research methods such as surveys, focus groups, and online research to gather this information. Your method may be formal or more casual, just make sure that you’re getting good data back.

This research will help you to understand the needs of your target market and the potential demand for your product or service—essential aspects of starting and growing a successful business.

Step 3: Set your business goals and objectives

Once you’ve completed your market research, you can begin to define your business goals and objectives. What is the problem you want to solve? What’s your vision for the future? Where do you want to be in a year from now?

Use this step to decide what you want to achieve with your business, both in the short and long term. Try to set SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound benchmarks—that will help you to stay focused and motivated as you build your business.

Step 4: Plan your business strategy

Your business strategy is how you plan to reach your goals and objectives. This includes details on positioning your product or service, marketing and sales strategies, operational plans, and the organizational structure of your small business.

Make sure to include key roles and responsibilities for each team member if you’re in a business entity with multiple people.

Step 5: Describe your product or service

In this section, get into the nitty-gritty of your product or service. Go into depth regarding the features, benefits, target market, and any patents or proprietary tech you have. Make sure to paint a clear picture of what sets your product apart from the competition—and don’t forget to highlight any customer benefits.

Step 6: Crunch the numbers

Financial analysis is an essential part of your business plan. If you’re already in business that includes your profit and loss statement , cash flow statement and balance sheet .

These financial projections will give investors and lenders an understanding of the financial health of your business and the potential return on investment.

You may want to work with a financial professional to ensure your financial projections are realistic and accurate.

Step 7: Finalize your business plan

Once you’ve completed everything, it's time to finalize your business plan. This involves reviewing and editing your plan to ensure that it is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

You should also have someone else review your plan to get a fresh perspective and identify any areas that may need improvement. You could even work with a free SCORE mentor on your business plan or use a SCORE business plan template for more detailed guidance.

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The takeaway

Writing a business plan is an essential process for any forward-thinking entrepreneur or business owner. A business plan requires a lot of up-front research, planning, and attention to detail, but it’s worthwhile. Creating a comprehensive business plan can help you achieve your business goals and secure the funding you need.

Related content

• 5 Best Business Plan Software and Tools in 2023 for Your Small Business
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• What Is a Cash Flow Statement?

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Brand Strategy: The Ultimate Guide to Building a Powerful Brand

Discover your brand's unique character. Reveal the truth with our free quiz!

Are you starting a new business or scaling up? A brand strategy is your blueprint. It’s the plan that guides every brand decision you make.

What is brand strategy?

A brand strategy, often called a brand development strategy, is a long-term plan formulated to achieve a series of goals, leading to consumers' distinct identification and preference for your brand. It goes beyond mere visual elements; it's the very core of your brand, encompassing its values, mission, and the perception you aim to instill in the market.

With a robust brand strategy, you set the stage to captivate your audience and distinguish yourself from competitors.

Over the past fifteen years, I’ve worked closely with hundreds of entrepreneurs, marketers, and agencies to help them refine their brand strategies. The insights in this guide aren’t just from client projects but from engaging discussions at major conferences, webinars, and deep dives on our blog.

This guide distills our experience. Inside, you’ll find practical steps, insights, best practices, and advice to help you build a brand that stands out in today’s crowded market.

Brand Strategy: The Ultimate Guide

Why brand strategy is important, what happens without an effective brand strategy, the elements of a brand strategy, branding methods, phase 1: discovery, phase 2: brand identity, phase 3: execution, five critical rules for effective brand strategy execution, great examples of a successful brand strategy.

A brand strategy acts as your company’s DNA. Just as DNA defines every facet of a human being, a brand strategy intricately weaves the characteristics and direction of your business.

A brand without strategy is like a body without a blueprint—aimless and undefined.

Why does this matter? Here are ten reasons why it’s critical to have a robust brand strategy:

• Establishes trust. A consistent brand helps build trust. Customers are more likely to return when they recognize and can anticipate a brand’s qualities. For example, a local bakery that consistently uses high-quality ingredients and maintains a cozy ambiance will ensure, over time, that locals trust it for their daily bread and coffee. An e-commerce store that sells eco-friendly products and consistently communicates its sustainable practices can make itself a go-to for eco-conscious shoppers.
• Creates brand recognition. Unique branding elements increase brand awareness and make a business memorable. For example, a neighborhood bookstore with a distinctive blue cat logo can become the talk of the town. A digital design agency with vibrant animations on its website can differentiate from competitors.
• Drives business value. A strong brand often commands higher prices due to perceived value. A cafe with a known brand of organic coffee can charge a premium over a generic cafe. A branded online course platform can charge more than a non-branded peer.
• Guides marketing efforts. A clear brand strategy directs how, when, and where a business should advertise. A yoga studio focusing on mindfulness might choose local magazine ads with serene imagery. A tech startup could leverage targeted LinkedIn ads to reach professionals.
• Fosters customer loyalty. People love belonging to a “tribe.” A clear brand can create a community of loyal followers . A vintage clothing store can host monthly 90s-themed events, cultivating a regular clientele. A streaming service with exclusive fandom forums can make subscribers feel part of a community.
• Attracts talent. A recognizable brand can attract the right talent that aligns with the company’s vision. An eco-resort known for sustainable practices can attract employees passionate about the environment. A popular online magazine can attract writers who align with its edgy tone.
• Sets you apart from the competition. In crowded markets, branding can be the differentiator . A salon offering a unique “hair spa” experience stands out from standard hairdressers. A SaaS tool offering AI-based predictions differentiates itself from basic analytics tools.
• Encourages brand advocacy. Happy customers can become brand ambassadors. Patrons of a local organic juice bar often rave about it to friends and family. Users of a project management tool can refer to it in online forums due to its standout features.
• Informs product development. A brand’s identity can guide the development of new products or services that align with its ethos. A health-focused restaurant might expand into offering cooking classes (one of my favorite restaurants in Naples, Florida, did this and created a unique way to stay in touch with customers). A website builder platform could introduce new design templates based on its user-centric brand promise.
• Provides clear direction for growth. A robust brand strategy sets a clear path for scaling operations and entering new markets. An artisanal cheese producer known locally can use its brand to penetrate neighboring cities. An e-book platform with a clear brand can leverage it to introduce audiobooks and courses.

Imagine setting sail on a vast ocean without a map or compass, with waves pushing you in unpredictable directions.

Navigating the business world without an effective brand strategy can feel much the same: directionless and fraught with pitfalls.

While a strong brand strategy is a guiding light, its absence can steer your business toward choppy waters.

• Inconsistent brand image . Without a clear strategy, businesses can portray a patchy, inconsistent image that confuses customers. A restaurant switching themes and cuisines monthly may struggle to retain loyal patrons. An e-commerce store with constantly changing website designs can deter repeat visitors seeking familiarity.
• Diluted brand value. Without a strong brand foundation, businesses risk weakening their value proposition in the market. A boutique offering luxury and bargain items can confuse consumers about its positioning. A premium subscription-based content site that suddenly floods with ads can tarnish its upscale image.
• Missed marketing opportunities. Lack of a brand strategy can result in sporadic marketing, missing out on key audience segments . A gym not targeting local residents with special offers may miss a huge potential client base. A digital course platform neglecting SEO might miss out on organic growth opportunities.
• Reduced customer trust. Inconsistent branding can erode trust as customers prefer businesses they can predictably rely on. A coffee shop with fluctuating coffee quality can lose its regular morning crowd. An online retail shop with inconsistent shipping times can push customers towards more reliable competitors.
• Struggle to differentiate . Without a unique brand identity, businesses can fade into the background among competitors. Larger chain stores might overshadow a local craft store without unique offerings. A generic music streaming platform can struggle to stand out in a market dominated by giants like Spotify or Apple Music.
• Fluctuating target audience . Without a defined brand strategy, businesses might aimlessly target different demographics, leading to inefficient resource use. A toy store marketing to kids and corporate professionals can spread its resources thin and confuse its primary audience. A wellness blog oscillating between teen mindfulness and senior health might struggle to retain a consistent readership.
• Inefficient resource allocation. Without clear branding , businesses can waste resources on endeavors that don’t align with their core objectives. A theater spending equally on all genres might find musicals are their main revenue driver but waste funds on unpopular genres. An online shoe store investing in tech upgrades might overlook the primary demand for a wider shoe collection.
• Unclear company mission and vision. Internal teams can lack direction without a brand strategy, reducing motivation and alignment. Without a clear brand image, a bookstore might struggle to curate books that resonate with its community. A tech startup without a defined brand may have product teams developing features that don’t align with the company’s core mission .
• Decreased employee morale. Employees prefer working for a brand with a clear identity, and a lack of it can lead to reduced motivation. A hotel chain without a clear brand ethos might experience higher staff turnover due to a lack of brand pride. An online media company without a clear brand voice might see decreased writer enthusiasm and inconsistent content quality.
• Limited growth opportunities. Businesses with a poorly defined brand can struggle to recognize or capitalize on potential growth areas. A craft beer brewery without a defined brand might miss the chance to collaborate with local eateries or events. A digital design tool without clear branding might overlook partnership opportunities with online education platforms.

Here are fifteen essential elements of a brand strategy:

• Brand purpose. This explains why the brand exists beyond making profits. It’s the driving force and the difference the brand aims to make in the world or its customers’ lives. A local organic grocery store might exist to promote and provide healthy, locally sourced foods to foster community wellness. An e-commerce platform could have a purpose to make unique handcrafted items accessible globally, promoting artisans from remote areas.
• Brand Promise . The value or experience a brand commits to delivering consistently to its audience. It’s a brand’s commitment to its stakeholders. A cafe can promise to serve only ethically sourced coffee. A digital streaming service can promise ad-free viewing.
• Brand positioning . How the brand differentiates itself from competitors in the market. It’s the unique space the brand occupies in the minds of its target audience. A boutique hotel might position itself as a luxurious escape from the bustling city. A fitness app positions itself as a personal trainer in your pocket.
• Target audience. Clearly defined segments of the population that the brand seeks to serve. It includes deeply understanding their behaviors, needs, challenges, and aspirations. A skateboard shop might target teenagers and young adults interested in street culture. A subscription box service focuses on working professionals interested in gourmet home cooking.
• Brand personality . The set of human characteristics attributed to the brand. For example, a brand might be youthful, fun, serious, or trustworthy. A local bookstore can exude a calm, reflective, and knowledgeable personality. A finance management app might have an innovative, proactive, and confident personality.
• Brand voice . The consistent tone and style in which a brand communicates, both in written and spoken forms. It could be formal, casual, playful, or any other manner that aligns with the brand’s identity. A high-end jewelry store can use a sophisticated and elegant tone in its brochures and advertisements. A blog about sustainable living might adopt a friendly, informative, and encouraging tone.
• Visual identity . The visual elements that represent the brand, such as logo, typography, colors, and design principles. A craft beer brand can use rustic, earthy colors and hand-drawn illustrations on its labels. A cloud storage service can use a minimalist design with cool, airy colors to reflect the idea of ‘cloud.’
• Brand story . The narrative that connects the brand to its audience is often rooted in the brand’s history, mission, or values. A family-run bakery tells the story of recipes passed down through generations. A photography website shares its journey from a college project to a major platform for photographers worldwide.
• Brand touchpoints. All the platforms and mediums where the brand interacts with its audience, including websites, social media, advertising, packaging, and in-person interactions. A car dealership can offer branded merchandise, loyalty cards, and after-sales service touchpoints. An online retailer can introduce touchpoints like order confirmation emails , newsletter updates, and retargeting ads.
• Brand values. The core beliefs and principles that guide the brand’s behavior and decisions. A fashion boutique might value ethical sourcing, eco-friendliness, and timeless design. An online news portal could value transparency, inclusivity, and grassroots journalism.
• Brand experience. The sum of all customer experiences with a brand, from initial awareness to purchase and post-purchase interactions. A spa can ensure a serene ambiance, personalized treatments, and impeccable customer service for a holistic experience. A music streaming service can provide personalized playlists, high-quality audio, and easy device synchronization for a seamless experience.
• Brand loyalty strategies. Initiatives and programs designed to encourage repeat business and deepen the relationship between the brand and its customers. A restaurant can offer a loyalty card where frequent visits lead to a free meal. An e-book platform can offer a points system where reading leads to discounts on future purchases.
• Brand extensions. Ways in which a brand might diversify its product or service offerings, branching into new categories while leveraging its established brand reputation. A famous sneaker brand can introduce clothing and accessories to its product line. A job listing site can launch career counseling and resume writing services.
• Feedback mechanisms. Systems in place for collecting feedback from customers and stakeholders, allowing the brand to evolve and stay relevant. A gym can introduce a physical suggestion box and conduct monthly feedback sessions. An online gaming platform can include an in-app feedback feature and encourage reviews on app stores.
• Competitive analysis. Understanding and monitoring competitors helps a brand to differentiate and stay ahead in the market. A home decor store can survey competing stores to ensure its offerings are unique and competitively priced. A travel booking website can use tools to monitor the deals and features offered by competing sites.

All these elements work in tandem to form a cohesive brand strategy. When executed well, they help build a memorable brand that resonates deeply with its target audience and stands the test of time. We’ll cover each element in detail below.

While branding might seem like a modern marketing buzzword, it has been a cornerstone of successful enterprises for centuries.

Today’s businesses, whether they operate brick-and-mortar stores or digital platforms, employ various branding methods to distinguish themselves in saturated markets.

Each method has its unique approach and potential impact, tailored to fit specific business needs. Here are six fundamental branding methods:

Attitude branding

Attitude branding focuses on invoking a particular emotion, feeling, or attitude in the customer rather than emphasizing the product itself. It’s less about what the product does and more about how it makes the customer feel or the image it projects.

Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ slogan is quintessential attitude branding. In their stores and advertisements, Nike doesn’t just sell shoes; they sell the spirit of athleticism and the drive to overcome obstacles.

Nike’s digital campaigns often feature inspirational videos of everyday people pushing their limits, emphasizing the “Just Do It” attitude across their social media platforms.

A local gym might brand itself as the place where “Every workout makes a champion.” Customers feel like champions whenever they walk through the gym’s doors.

A digital fitness app could use a slogan like “Conquer Every Challenge!” encouraging users to view every completed exercise as a personal victory.

Individual branding

Here, different products or services under the umbrella of a larger company are given their unique brand identities. This allows each product to have its own market presence without being overshadowed by the parent company.

Unilever’s multiple product lines, such as Dove, Axe, and Lipton, each have distinct brand identities and marketing campaigns. Each brand under Unilever operates its social media channels and websites, catering to its target audience.

A family-owned conglomerate with diverse interests – from a bakery to a boutique hotel to a car repair shop – can each have a distinct brand identity even though the same entity owns them.

A digital consulting agency can have different brand names and websites for its SEO services, graphic design, and content creation. Each service operates and is marketed as its unique brand.

Product branding

This is about giving a distinct identity to a specific product through elements like logos , names, colors, and designs. It magnifies the product’s uniqueness and differentiates it from competitors.

Apple’s MacBook series, with specific branding like ‘Air’ and ‘Pro,’ signifies different product tiers in physical stores. Apple’s website and online advertisements highlight each MacBook variant’s unique features and design, tailoring the product’s digital presence.

A local craft beer brewery might have a signature pale ale, a stout, and an IPA, each with its name, logo, and packaging design.

A digital marketplace can sell unique software tools, each with distinct branding. For instance, one tool for graphic design, another for video editing, and a third for data analytics.

Co-branding

In co-branding, two or more brands collaborate to create a product or campaign that combines their strengths and market presence. This strategy leverages the reputation and customer base of each brand.

The collaboration between Nike and Michael Jordan resulted in the Air Jordan shoes available worldwide. Collaborative digital marketing campaigns or limited online releases, like the Air Jordan launch events, generate buzz on social media platforms.

A local coffee shop and a bookshop can collaborate to offer a special “Read & Relax” deal, wherein buying a book gives a discount on a coffee.

An online course platform can collaborate with an e-book distributor. Buying a course gives access to certain e-books for free, and vice versa.

Minimalist branding

As the name suggests, this approach focuses on simplicity and subtlety. It’s about stripping the brand to its essential elements, making it clean and easily recognizable.

Mastercard’s simple logo of two overlapping circles in red and yellow is instantly recognizable on credit cards or payment terminals. Mastercard’s digital advertisements often focus on the logo, emphasizing the brand’s global acceptability without cluttered design or content.

A boutique might opt for a simple, understated logo and a single-color theme throughout its store, exuding an aura of simplicity and elegance.

An e-commerce website could employ a clean, clutter-free design with lots of white space, using just one color for call-to-action buttons and a simple logo.

Brand extension

This strategy involves leveraging the reputation of a well-established brand to introduce a new product or service. It relies on the existing brand’s equity to foster trust and receptiveness in the new offering.

Initially known for its soap, Dove extended its brand to produce lotions, shampoos, and other personal care products. Dove’s digital campaigns might introduce a new product like a conditioner, highlighting the same core values of gentleness and skin nourishment that the original soap is known for.

A restaurant can launch a line of packaged gourmet products under the same brand, leveraging the restaurant’s reputation for quality.

A popular online fashion blog can launch a clothing line. They can use their brand name, relying on their established reputation in fashion commentary to market their products.

Arming yourself with a keen understanding of these branding methods can be pivotal in sculpturing a brand’s image, both in the tangible offline world and the expansive online domain.

Crafting an effective brand strategy: a step-by-step guide

You don’t need deep pockets to build a winning brand strategy but clarity, intention, and understanding.

A solid brand strategy is your competitive edge, impressing investors and partners while paving your path to success.

The roadmap to effective branding is a three-step journey: Discovery, Identity, and Execution. Let’s look at each phase in detail.

For those with a budding business idea , your slate is clean. There’s no past identity to decipher, letting you move swiftly to the Identity phase (Phase 2). However, if you’ve been in the game, don’t rush. Understand the foundation before you build upon it.

1. Revisit and reflect on your brand’s existing identity

Your brand’s DNA is encoded in its vision (its purpose), mission (its role), and values (its ethics). Some brands proudly display these on their walls or websites, while others might keep them implicit.

But over time, things change. Reflect on:

• Cultural resonance. Aspects of the company’s culture that now align (or misalign) with your vision, mission, or values.
• Outdated elements. Parts of your vision, mission, or values might have become obsolete or irrelevant in the present context. If this happens, you may need to evolve your brand and rebrand .
• Brand essence. The core essence or feeling your brand evokes now compared to its inception.
• Marketing consistency. Whether your present-day marketing efforts and campaigns align with your core identity.
• Customer perception. How your customers perceive your brand now, and if there’s been a shift in their opinions or feelings toward your products/services.
• Market evolution. How has your target market changed over time? Are there new trends, needs, or preferences you should know?
• Operational shifts. Changes within your company operations or business model might have indirectly influenced your brand’s identity.
• Competitive landscape. Have there been significant entrants or exits in your market space that have altered your competitive stance?
• Feedback loops. What kind of feedback have you received from customers, stakeholders, or partners that might provide insights into your brand’s strengths or weaknesses?
• Innovation and expansion. How have these moves impacted your overall brand identity if you’ve introduced new products and services or expanded to new regions?

2. Conduct market research and perform a competitor analysis

Dive deep into the current market scenarios and your standing in them. Among other things, consider the following:

• Customer behavior analysis. Understand how your customers interact with your brand . This includes their buying habits, feedback, and pain points. A retail store can conduct in-person surveys or observe how customers navigate their store. An online business can use analytics tools to understand customer journey maps on the website and see which pages or products have the highest engagement.
• Demand forecasting. Predict future customer demand to ensure you’re well-prepared. A restaurant might study reservation trends before significant local events. An e-commerce platform can analyze historical sales data to anticipate future product demand.
• Competitive analysis. Identify and evaluate your competition to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to your brand. A local bakery can check the offerings and pricing of other bakeries in the town. A digital service platform can use tools like SEMRush to analyze competitors’ online strengths.
• Market share analysis. Understand your brand’s share of the total market . A bookshop might assess its sales against total book sales in its city. A digital streaming service can compare its subscribers to the total number of digital streaming users globally.
• Pricing strategy assessment. Review your product or service pricing in relation to competitors and perceived value . A fitness gym might review its membership fees compared to other local gyms. A SaaS product can analyze its subscription pricing against similar online tools.
• Feedback and reviews. Regularly review customer feedback and ratings. A spa might keep a feedback register or conduct customer interviews at its exit. An online retailer can monitor product reviews and ratings on its platform.
• Market trends. Stay updated with the latest trends influencing your industry. A fashion retailer can attend trade shows or read industry magazines. A tech startup can keep track of the latest advancements through online tech news platforms and forums.
• Supplier relations. Understand the dynamics with suppliers and the potential risks or opportunities therein. A cafe can review its relationship with coffee bean suppliers for potential discounts or premium varieties. An e-commerce store can assess its dropshipping partners’ terms and delivery speeds.
• SWOT analysis . A structured planning method to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A hardware store can list these elements considering local demand, competition, and potential opportunities. An online learning platform can conduct a SWOT analysis considering its content quality, tech infrastructure, market demand, and online competitors.
• Brand image perception. Determine how your brand is perceived in the market. A boutique hotel can assess guest feedback and online reviews and get feedback from walk-in visitors. An online influencer platform can use social listening tools to monitor mentions and sentiment around its brand on social media.

If you’re looking for help on how you can understand your market better, watch the following video:

How to better understand your customers

The foundation of a solid brand strategy lies in truly understanding your customers. Their preferences, behaviors, and perceptions shape their interactions with your brand. Here’s how you can delve deep into their psyche:

Demographic insights

• Who are they? Is your target audience primarily male, female, or diverse? Are they Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, or Gen Z?
• Where are they from? Are you catering to locals, nationals, or a global audience?
• What do they do for a living? Understanding their professions can help you tailor marketing messages.

Purchasing behavior

• Why are they buying? Unearth the motivation behind their purchases.
• When are they buying? Identify seasons, times, or occasions that drive their purchases.
• What’s their budget? Tailor your offerings to match their spending power.

Perceptions & expectations

• What do they expect from brands? Speedy delivery, top-notch customer service, or eco-friendly packaging?
• How do they perceive your brand? Use feedback to identify strengths and areas of improvement.
• What’s their take on your competition? This insight can help you differentiate better.

Purchase channels

• How do they buy? Online, in-store, through apps, or maybe a mix?

Deep-dive questions for customer feedback

You should consistently converse with your customers to further refine your branding approach. Here are ten in-depth questions to consider:

• How likely would you be to recommend our service/company to others?
• How would you rate your last experience with us?
• If you could change one thing about our products/services, what would it be?
• What words come to mind when you think of our brand?
• Describe your ideal shopping/purchasing experience with us

What other options did you consider before choosing us?

• What makes us stand out from the competition?
• How can we make your next experience even better?
• Do you feel we truly understand your needs and preferences?
• Anything else you’d like us to know?

Acting on the feedback

It’s crucial not just to collect feedback but to act on it.

Whether refining your product range based on customer input or overhauling your after-sales service, every piece of feedback is an opportunity to enhance your brand strategy.

Feedback, both praise and criticism, is a goldmine. For instance, if multiple customers highlight delivery delays, consider revisiting your logistics partnerships or offering various delivery options.

Understanding customer sentiments

How likely would you be to recommend our service or company to others.

Often referred to as the Net Promoter Score (NPS) question, this is a pivotal gauge of customer loyalty and brand perception.

A recommendation, especially to close friends or family, is a powerful testament to your service quality. The willingness to recommend is directly linked to overall satisfaction and trust in the brand.

Ask in two stages for a comprehensive view:

• “Considering your latest purchase experience, would you recommend us to a friend?”
• “Reflecting on your entire journey with us, would you advocate for our brand?”

How would you rate your most recent experience with us?

Every interaction with a customer leaves an impression. Knowing whether it was positive or negative can be the difference between retaining or losing a customer to competitors.

A negative customer service experience spreads quickly and can tarnish your brand reputation. Conversely, understanding and amplifying positive experiences can drive brand loyalty.

Proactively seek feedback post-purchase or interaction:

• Send a brief survey or feedback request after a transaction.
• Use this opportunity to gauge satisfaction, rectify issues, and show customers they’re valued.

At crowdspring, every interaction is a learning opportunity. Whether it’s a simple customer question to our support team or a completed project, we actively ask for feedback. Such dedication to understanding the customer experience has resulted in a stellar satisfaction rate, ranging between 97 and 99%. Moreover, the proactive approach ensures we address issues before they escalate.

If you could change one aspect of our products/services, what would it be?

This question uncovers potential blind spots. You have your roadmap, but customers might see potential enhancements you haven’t considered. Remember, listening doesn’t equate to implementing every suggestion. It means being receptive and discerning about the feedback.

For example, crowdspring offers core design and naming services in many areas. This includes logo design, web design, print design, product design, packaging design, and business names.

When we started fifteen years ago, we asked only a few questions to help customers draft a creative brief to look for design help. For example, we initially asked some general questions in logo design projects.

However, the answers didn’t provide much direction to designers, and we received lots of feedback about our questionnaire.

This feedback was precious. We changed our questionnaire to be more specific and informative, and this improved the experience for everyone.

It was a win-win-win.

Whatever service or method you use, make sure you’re not only listening but responding, too.

No one likes feeling like they’re yelling into the void, and your customers are no different. Make your feedback process a conversation so your customers know their input is valued.

Customers will often take the time to give you input on ways to improve if you ask, but if the exchange feels one-sided to them, they may give up.

This helps identify unseen competitors or realize why some apparent competitors aren’t direct threats.

What makes us distinct from the competition?

This question delves into your unique selling proposition (USP) . Sometimes, the USP isn’t just a product feature but an emotional or thematic differentiator.

For example, Charles Revson of Revlon believed he sold hope, not just makeup.

Your goal is differentiation. Apple and Samsung, for instance, are distinct brands with loyal customer bases, not necessarily “better” than the other.

How do you perceive our brand identity?

Understanding if customers recognize and resonate with your brand’s visual and thematic elements can guide future marketing strategies.

Which aspect of our service/product do you value the most?

Pinpointing what customers love most helps reinforce those strengths in future offerings.

What would make you choose our competitors over us in the future?

A glimpse into potential vulnerabilities allows for pre-emptive strategies.

How do you view our growth and adaptability in the market?

Perceptions about your brand’s evolution can provide insights into future positioning strategies.

How has our product/service impacted your daily life or business?

This question can uncover intangible benefits and success stories you can share in marketing campaigns.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Leaving the floor open to unexpected responses or feedback is always good. You can’t ask every question, nor can you know in advance what might be top of mind for your customers.

Asking this question allows your customers to mention anything they feel is essential. It also gives you insight into what’s important to them.

And it gives your customer the last word and clarifies that you’re not just interested in your questions.

Ways to gather customer responses

There are many different ways to collect answers to these questions.

Which one you choose depends on your goals, who your customers are, and how you can reach them, but here are ten ideas to consider.

• Customer feedback surveys. Why it’s vital: A structured approach to gather specific insights. An online company can use platforms like SurveyMonkey , SurveyMonkey alternatives , or TypeForm to gather feedback on a new website feature. Make sure you keep surveys as short and easy to respond to as possible, and don’t forget to embed elements of your brand identity ( color palette , logo, etc.) in those surveys. Also, keep this important fact in mind: every question on a survey will reduce the number of people who respond to the survey. A restaurant can hand out feedback cards to diners in a restaurant to assess their dining experience.
• Email and customer feedback forms. Why it’s vital: It provides an accessible and consistent method for customers to provide convenient feedback. An online business can embed a feedback form on their e-commerce site. An offline business can place feedback boxes near the checkout counters in a retail store.
• Direct contact. Why it’s vital: It allows a deep, personal connection and understanding of context. An online business can host a video chat session with selected loyal online shoppers. An offline company can host a focus group session for regular patrons of a coffee shop.
• Usability tests. Why it’s vital: Directly evaluates user experience and functionality. You can use QA services to test these things and more (including elements of your brand identity). UserTesting.com is one of the better-known services that help companies run usability tests on their websites, and many companies specialize in testing how usable software or a site is. Once you identify friction points, you can tweak your web design to smooth out the process. An offline business can observe shoppers’ behaviors in a new store layout to identify potential bottlenecks.
• Social media engagements. Why it’s vital: Capitalizes on spontaneous feedback and reaches a broad audience quickly. An online business can run a Twitter poll to determine the most popular product color. An offline business can post a photo of two potential new dishes at a restaurant on Instagram and ask followers which one they want to try.
• Customer service interactions. Why it’s vital: Leverages existing touchpoints and gathers feedback during or after a service encounter. An online business can ask for feedback after an online chat session. An offline business can ask customers for feedback after an in-store consultation or service.
• In-app Feedback (for online businesses). Why it’s vital: Captures feedback at the point of interaction within digital tools or platforms. A company can use in-app prompts to ask users about their experience with a new feature.
• Comment cards (for offline businesses). Why it’s vital: Offers a traditional, straightforward method for customers to provide input. A restaurant can leave comment cards at tables.
• Online forums and communities. Why it’s vital: Taps into engaged user communities for detailed feedback. An online business can create a forum for customers to share product usage tips and feedback on its website. An offline company can host a community town hall to discuss services and gather public opinions.
• Review platforms and websites. Why it’s vital: Harnesses existing platforms where customers naturally leave feedback. An online business can monitor feedback on platforms like Trustpilot or Yelp. An offline business can encourage and monitor customer feedback on local business directories or Yelp.

No matter what method you use, ensure you’re engaging with your customers in a conversation. As we mentioned, let your customers know you’re talking with them, not just at them.

Analyze your competitors

To create a strong brand strategy, a competitive analysis is essential. This not only helps you understand your position but also highlights the brand identities of competitors. Here’s a step-by-step process:

• Define metrics. Establish relevant metrics (e.g., revenues, unique visitors). Be wary of choosing irrelevant metrics; they may mislead your analysis. If you’re an e-commerce platform, track metrics like conversion rates or average cart value.
• Look at recent trends. Understand the current happenings in your industry. For a newly opened cafe, check if the coffee trend in your area is leaning towards specialty brews.
• Evaluate historical trends. Review past data to predict future patterns. A fashion retailer should look at past seasons’ best-selling items.
• Track growth. Examine both monthly and yearly growth figures. If you run an online fitness program, track sign-ups when people have fitness resolutions after the new year.
• Challenge assumptions. Regularly re-evaluate your chosen metrics. Different perspectives can yield more holistic insights. Apart from tracking foot traffic in a store, assess the average spend per customer.
• Cross-reference sources. Use various sources to validate your data. For a skincare clinic, apart from online reviews, use social media sentiments and direct customer feedback.

Don’t settle for basic information. Look at all available information to confirm or disprove your conclusions. Use any or all of the following:

• SpyFu : This is a great way to discover keywords and Adwords your competition might use.
• Google Trends : Want to stay on top of the latest trends? Need to know where customers go after they leave your site? Try Google Trends.
• Google Alerts : Set up alerts so you know what customers are saying about your competition. Set one up for yourself and get easy access to the water cooler gossip on your business.

3. Develop personas for your target customers

Personas help you figure out the following:

• Who your customers are,
• What their goals and frustrations are,
• Where they spend their time,
• When they’re the most active or available,
• Why they make certain decisions, and
• How they interact with your product line or buy your services.

What is a user persona?

User personas, also called marketing personas or buyer personas, are made-up identities that provide a detailed description of your target customer. A well-thought-out, completely formed user persona should include plenty of personal information. It should include demographic information, career history, and hobbies.

To learn more about personas, read how to grow your business through persona-based marketing .

4. Evaluate how people perceive your brand

Understanding how people perceive your brand internally and externally is vital. Analyze the feedback and sentiments of both employees and customers. Positive, neutral, or negative reactions to your brand provide valuable insights that guide any necessary brand image enhancements.

The second phase focuses on establishing and refining your brand identity, ensuring that it aligns with your vision, mission, and values while setting you apart from competitors.

1. Define your core brand identity

Your brand pillars include vision (purpose), mission (actions), and values (beliefs).

An online eco-friendly store’s vision could be a sustainable future, its mission to provide green alternatives, and its values centered on ethical sourcing and transparency. A local organic cafe might have a vision of promoting healthy living, a mission of serving organic foods, and values emphasizing community well-being and sustainable farming.

2. Articulate your brand positioning

Highlight how you stand out from the competition.

An e-learning platform might position itself as the most interactive and community-driven platform. A boutique might position itself as the go-to destination for handcrafted, unique fashion items.

3. Articulate your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Your USP (also known as a unique value proposition)  represents what your brand embodies or offers that competitors don’t.

For example, you could say that Apple’s USP is found in “user experience.” The value proposition of everything Apple does is meant to have the user at its core. Google’s USP might be in the way they connect people with information. Amazon’s USP might provide whatever product you need efficiently and at as low a cost.

A digital magazine’s USP might be its focus on in-depth investigative journalism. A local bakery’s USP could be its century-old family recipes.

4. Develop brand identity design assets

Collaborate with designers to create visual representations of your brand, such as logos, packaging, and websites. An e-commerce site must have a user-friendly interface with brand colors and a memorable logo. We cover these issues in detail in our definitive brand identity guide . A restaurant might incorporate brand colors in the decor, menu design, and staff uniforms.

Develop your brand voice & communication

Maintain consistency in how you communicate about your brand across all platforms. A fintech app might adopt a professional and reassuring tone in its content and ads. A children’s toy store might use fun, playful, and engaging language in its promotions and in-store displays.

Can marketing psychology help you increase revenues?

After establishing your brand’s foundation, it’s time to communicate this identity to your target market actively.

Brand strategy lays the groundwork, while marketing strategy utilizes various channels to relay this identity effectively to the audience.

In the execution phase, your key focus is the actual representation of your brand in the market, ensuring the strategies outlined in the previous phases come to life consistently and effectively.

1. Align branding with business strategy

Ensure your branding supports your overarching business objectives. A luxury watch brand would not benefit from portraying itself as an affordable, everyday wear. A mismatch can confuse consumers and lead to reduced trust and brand loyalty.

2. Ensure brand consistency

Visual consistency.

A uniform visual presentation enhances brand recognition. Ensure synchrony in colors, styles, and fonts across all platforms. For example, Apple maintains consistent aesthetics across products, websites, and advertising campaigns.

Messaging consistency

You must ensure you present a unified brand narrative and identity. Inconsistencies can dilute the brand’s power and might indicate unreliability to consumers. A gym promoting wellness should consistently emphasize health, fitness, and well-being across all promotional materials.

Brand behavior

This helps guarantee that the brand delivers on its promises.

For example, Chipotle faced backlash for failing to consistently adhere to its non-GMO promise, tarnishing its brand image. Execute a quick Google search for “Chipotle admits to using GMOs,” and you’ll find a list of critical articles and lawsuits levied against the fast-food mega-chain. They’ve hit on a compelling branding position but failed to deliver it reliably. Their brand image has suffered.

Brand authenticity and follow-through are vital.

3. Resonate with your target audience

Ensure that the brand identity strikes a chord with your intended demographic. Utilize brand health metrics like branded impressions, internet search volume, branded keywords performance, and more.

Monitor social media interactions, online reviews, and feedback from customer service teams to gauge brand reception. A brand targeting Gen Z might track TikTok engagement or trends on platforms frequented by this demographic.

Once the brand’s health and resonance have been confirmed, it’s time to roll out marketing strategies, ensuring that every campaign and interaction bolsters the brand identity and connects with the intended audience.

Branding is more than just a logo or a catchy slogan; it’s a promise, an experience, and an emotional connective tissue that links customers to companies.

As you venture into the execution phase of your brand strategy, consider these five golden rules to make your brand’s presence stand out:

• Story over products. People resonate with stories. While quality products and services are essential, what sets top-tier companies apart is the power of their narrative. Consider brands like TOMS Shoes, which center their brand story on giving back.
• Embrace distinction. In a sea of competition, swimming in a different direction is vital. Merely being better might not cut it, but being different creates recall. An excellent example of this is Apple’s emphasis on user experience rather than product specifications.
• Craft consistent narratives. Amidst the clamor of countless brand messages, you might not always be the loudest. However, a consistent, resonating message will be remembered. Prioritize quality and consistency over quantity.
• Customer-centricity is key. Successful brands pivot their messaging around the benefits and successes of their customers rather than their achievements. CRM platforms like Salesforce highlight customer success stories as a testament to their product’s effectiveness.
• Step into your customer’s shoes – with empathy. Empathy differs from sympathy , requiring you to understand, resonate, and connect with your customer’s needs, desires, and pain points. Regular feedback sessions, surveys, and community engagement can help understand your audience’s needs and sentiments.

Nike’s branding, with its iconic “Just Do It” tagline, centers on inspiration, motivation, and empowerment. They have consistently framed their brand around the ethos of perseverance, determination, and achievement.

By collaborating with high-profile athletes, they further position themselves as the brand for champions.

Nike’s digital strategy emphasizes storytelling, focusing on athletes’ journeys and Nike products’ role in their success. Through this, they inspire their customers to see every hurdle as an opportunity, making them not just a sports brand but a lifestyle.

Airbnb differentiates itself from conventional accommodations by promoting a “home away from home” experience, allowing guests to immerse themselves in local neighborhoods.

Their brand strategy revolves around sharing real stories of hosts and guests across digital platforms. From interviews on YouTube to anecdotes on Instagram,

Airbnb underlines the unique and authentic experiences it offers. Tapping into actual stories fosters trust and creates an emotional connection with users. Their consistent red and white color palette further solidifies their brand identity, symbolizing warmth and belonging.

Apple’s brand is a testament to innovation, simplicity, and premium quality. Their strategy emphasizes a curated product lineup, targeting the high-end market, and ensuring profitability.

Apple evokes emotions, focusing on creativity, innovation, and user empowerment. Their minimalist design and user-centric approach have resulted in an intensely loyal customer base.

On the content front, Apple prioritizes high-quality, informative content highlighting the user experience, ensuring their brand remains synonymous with excellence and innovation.

The brand turned its very name into a synonym for soda. Coca-Cola’s branding is all about sharing joy and creating moments of happiness.

Their campaigns, such as “Share a Coke,” where individual names were printed on bottles, brought a personal touch to a massive global brand. By focusing on shared experiences and evoking feelings of nostalgia, they’ve established a timeless brand that resonates across generations.

Starbucks isn’t just about coffee; it’s about the experience. Their brand strategy revolves around creating a “third place” between work and home where people can relax, catch up, or work.

In the digital realm, their loyalty program and mobile app keep customers engaged, offering personalized deals and making the purchase process seamless. The green mermaid logo signifies a coffee cup and a whole ambiance.

Tesla, under Elon Musk’s direction, redefined electric cars. They aren’t just environmentally friendly; they’re luxury, performance vehicles. Tesla’s brand focuses on innovation, sustainability, and the future of driving.

They rarely spend on traditional advertising instead of relying on word-of-mouth, media coverage, and Musk’s influential online presence.

In music streaming, Spotify stands out with its personalized playlists, user-friendly interface, and platform for new artists.

Their brand strategy hinges on understanding individual listening habits and curating experiences. With features like “Discover Weekly” and “Wrapped,” they engage users by showing them insights into their behavior and tastes.

In luxury fashion, Gucci reigns supreme by balancing its rich heritage with contemporary pop culture.

Their strategy involves blending traditional Italian craftsmanship with modern designs and aesthetics. They engage younger audiences online by leveraging influencers, creating compelling digital campaigns, and even diving into the world of memes.

Originally a DVD delivery service, Netflix became the world’s top streaming platform by understanding changing consumer habits.

Their brand is about entertainment freedom—watching what you want, when you want. Investing in diverse, original content and catering to global audiences, they’ve created a brand that stands for innovative entertainment.

Lego’s brand strategy centers on fostering creativity and imagination. While they are toy bricks, Lego emphasizes the countless possibilities they offer.

Their marketing often showcases intricate Lego builds, emphasizing the limitless creativity the toy inspires. They’ve engaged users online with video content, games, and even movies that echo the same imaginative spirit.

Branding is an art and a science, intertwining emotions with strategy. By taking the time to craft and execute a robust brand strategy, companies set the foundation for sustainable growth, strong customer loyalty, and long-term profitability.

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Brand Plan Vs. Business Plan: Which One Matters More?

This article was written by one of our amazing contributors! Content may include promotional links.

You have a great small business idea. You’ve done lots of research, done competitor analysis, identified a target market, and convinced yourself it would be successful. Now, you just need to create a business plan that you can execute or even persuade investors to fund. Well, that works, but you’ll need to do more than just creating a business plan. 

Today’s small business market is highly competitive. Branding is an essential element in any business plan. Is one more important than the other? The fact is that you need both of them. Let’s have a look at how each serves its purpose and how they interact:

Why Branding is Crucial

Building a brand that is authentic, consistent, and distinct separates you from the competition. It allows your target customers to connect with you and your business on a more meaningful level. But building a brand is not easy. To stand out in a crowd, you need to clearly define your business plan to understand how best to present your brand.

Business plans are not just about who you are, the financials, and your goals, they’re part of the branding process. Your brand is your reputation, and because just about everyone Googles your business before they purchase anything, it’s easy to see why branding matters. Your brand message needs to be concise, consistent, and engaging.  

What Does a Branding Plan Include?

When creating your business plan, you need to include a branding strategy. Remember that a brand is more than just a logo. Who’s your target audience? Why is your service or product better than the competition? What makes you unique? What is your brand voice? All these questions come into play when creating a branding plan. 

You’ll also need to choose brand images, brand colors, and type styles for your brand. Branding is all about emotions and how your customers and clients feel about your brand, products, or services. These core elements define a comprehensive branding plan :

• A clear vision that describes what your brand represents
• Consistent brand message for your target audience and communication
• Goals that set what you want to achieve as a business
• Marketing strategies you’ll use to achieve your brand goals

Branding is Part of Business Planning

Business success depends on transparency, authenticity, and sincere actions. Startup brands that ignite enthusiasm in the market often benefit in many ways. So, why leave your branding to chance? Smart startup founders include branding in their overall business planning process. In fact, almost every step in your business plan touches on branding, including:

• Creating a business profile that will stand out
• Defining market analysis to understand your industry and competitors
• Describing the products or services that your business is based on
• Outlining your brand ideals
• Outlining your marketing plan strategies to reach your target audience
• Giving financial forecasts of your business (Good branding can give you a boost in funding)

The more effort, resources, and time you spend on branding as part of your initial and on-going business plan, the higher the chances of creating a sustainable brand that will resonate with your customer base, impact your bottom line, and grow your influence.   

Your branding plan and business plan can serve different purposes but support one another to help you achieve market relevance. Both can provide a roadmap that will help you achieve your goals. By conveying what your brand represents and defining the value that your brand brings to customers, you can work on promotional strategies that will encourage engagement and sales. 

Starting a small business is not easy. But with the right approach to business planning and branding, you can benefit from the tremendous opportunities available for entrepreneurs.

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Creating a Brand Strategy: 8 Essentials & Templates for 2024

Written by: Brian Nuckols

Taking the time to develop a winning brand strategy is a crucial objective to help improve your organization.

In this post, I’ve collected the essential steps you need to take to upgrade your brand strategy, as well as concrete tips you can utilize right away.

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

What is a brand strategy, a brand strategy template to help you get started, 4 types of branding strategies, essentials for a winning brand strategy, how to build a brand strategy in 8 steps, frequently asked questions (faqs).

• A brand strategy is an action plan that details how you'll build a successful brand.
• Four types of brand strategies are: brand extension, line extension, derived branding and individual branding.
• The essentials for winning a brand strategy are employee buy-in, consistency, leaning into emotional benefits and a flexible long-term approach.
• To build a brand strategy, you must establish your core values, create a strategic positioning statement, understand your ideal customer profile, craft a brand promise, have a visual identity, review crucial customer touchpoints, get clear on your brand’s voice and build a regular brand audit.
• Use the Visme whiteboard to help your team brainstorm and plan out a brand strategy in real time. Browse the wide variety of Visme templates to create a brand strategy document, infographic or presentation.

A brand strategy is an actionable plan that explains how a company will build rapport with customers, differentiate itself from competitors and create a strong brand identity.

It's a strategic plan for setting clear directions and achieving long-term goals as your organization evolves.

Branding is a way to bring your organization’s intangible aspects, like its authenticity, personality, reputation and unique selling proposition, into one neat concept.

You can understand strategy by comparing and contrasting it with a related concept, tactics.

Many people conflate tactics and strategies with each other. This conflation leads to confusing branding strategies with branding tactics.

A strategy is your map for achieving long-term goals that do not always need a discrete endpoint. A strategy is more like a process or a path that involves moving iteratively towards your goals.

Tactics are a far more concrete concept. They are essentially action steps taken to achieve the goals set in your branding strategy.

Some common branding tactics are to create a website, launch a new ad campaign or create visual content for a company blog .

Branding strategists may also use initiatives as a synonym for tactics because they typically have an objective time frame and discrete endpoint.

To craft an effective brand strategy, you must understand what your brand stands for and the extraordinary impact it hopes to make on the world.

Additionally, it is helpful to articulate any promises or guarantees you make to your customers. Expressing your brand’s personality conveys how communication with customers is a critical step in the brand strategy process.

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Ready to translate your branding ideas into a dynamic brand strategy document? Customize this winning brand strategy template and get started right away.

Do you wish to use a presentation format for your brand strategy instead? Take Visme’s AI Presentation Maker for a spin and generate a great first draft of a brand strategy deck.

Open up the templates library, select the Generate with AI option and use the chatbot to write the prompt. Your generated presentation will need only minimal customization before it's ready to be presented.

Now that we have explored an overview of brand strategy, we will move to the four most important types of branding strategies you need to know.

Here's an infographic to summarize the four branding strategies. Keep scrolling to read about each brand strategy in more detail.

Type #1: Brand Extension

The first type of brand strategy we will explore is a brand extension. When you use the brand extension strategy, you are expanding your existing brand into new product categories.

The strategy’s essence is to expand your reach by moving into new markets on your existing brand’s strength.

When you extend into new categories, they can be related and unrelated to your current category.

Nike is an excellent example of a company that expands its reach through brand extension. They have grown from shoes into products as diverse as sunglasses and golf balls.

Image Source

What is essential to keep in mind from a brand strategy perspective is to select new categories that match your brand mission statement and values.

Ultimately, the strategy you are using is to launch a new product underneath your established brand name in a new product category.

Although starting a new product seems like a daunting task, it is a viable strategy for brands of all sizes.

It is a viable strategy because you can ride the strength of your pre-existing brand, including all of the social proof and value that comes with it.

Even though the new product will be unfamiliar in the marketplace, the goodwill you have built up will create a greater likelihood of market penetration in the new category.

This success will help you reach a new audience and increase your overall brand strength.

Type #2: Line Extension

The second type of brand strategy we will explore is line extension.

In the brand extension strategy, you expand your brand’s presence in a new product category. The line extension strategy does something similar by increasing your reach inside your existing product category.

A great example of this takes place in the creation of new cell phone products. When a company like Apple creates a phone with a larger screen to appeal to a larger segment of customers, they use the line extension strategy.

When you use this strategy, it can help to win over customers who are choosing your competitors because they are looking for a product with specific features.

Instead of losing these customers, line extension can be a profitable way to increase your brand’s strength .

Ready to get started with translating your brand strategy ideas into an interactive presentation for your team? Use the digital branding and promotion template to get organizational buy-in!

Type #3: Derived Branding

The third brand strategy we will explore is the derived branding strategy.

While the first two strategies have covered how to expand your brand as a strategy of improvement, this strategy is about breaking things down.

Your product or service will likely include some key components that come together to deliver value for your customers. The derived branding strategy is when you isolate a particular feature and give it a separate branded identity.

An example of this is the consumer electronic company Intel. Their chips are in many PC products. Instead of branding Intel computers as a standalone entity, Dell chooses to give a component of the PC its own brand identity.

Type #4: Individual Branding

The fourth type of brand strategy we will explore is individual branding.

This strategy involves emphasizing personal characteristics, values and accomplishments that executives or team members have that highlight your brand’s mission.

It's beneficial for executives and leadership to use their platforms to amplify brand values. Plus, it's easier for people to connect with people.

Now that we have reviewed the four types of brand strategy you can use, we will discuss some essentials for creating a winning brand strategy.

Essential #1: Employee Buy-In

The first essential that is crucial for you to dial in with your branding strategy is employee buy-in. Having an authentic approach to branding is the most sustainable way to create an effective employee buy-in strategy.

One way to create more authenticity in your branding is to link your forward facing company culture with your outward facing brand voice.

The most critical step in reinforcing this link is clearly articulating the promises you make to customers and your company’s underlying values.

This clarity is a great way to make sure your employees feel aligned with your brand. If they resonate with your company’s values and mission statement, and you articulate the branding strategy’s importance, you are sure to be on the same page.

Whether you are already clear on your company values or need to do some work articulating them for your branding strategy, you can ask the following questions.

• Who is your ideal customer?
• How do you create value for them?
• What is your vision?
• What are your values?
• What does your company hope to be in the world?

Essential #2: Consistency

The second essential for winning brand strategy is brand consistency. Brand consistency is the regular delivery of content that aligns with your values and brand strategy over time.

This consistency means that your audience can expect exposure to your key messages and core offerings regularly. Brand consistency means you always deliver core messages with consistent visual branding and other regular brand elements.

Easy ways to achieve brand consistency include creating a brand style guide and ensuring you deliver messages in a similar tone across time. Another way to craft consistent branded content is to use custom dynamic fields that cover branded messages that you can use across different Visme projects.

When you achieve brand consistency, your customers will start to recognize your messages and build positive associations.

Essential #3: Lean into Emotional Benefits

Emotional branding is the process of creating a relationship between an audience and a brand by provoking their emotions. We can achieve this by creating a brand that appeals to your ideal customer’s emotional state and aspirations.

The work of Marc Gobé is a good reference point for emotional branding.

He created the emotional branding concept and detailed it in his book The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People .

The philosophy is based on the observation that connections occur on an emotional level in relationships between brands and people.

Emotional branding is powerful. It focuses on the audience and gives them the chance to control what type of content or product they get. They’re in charge. Wondering how to implement this in your brand?

You can see a great example from this company that offers simple meal planning . It allows the customer to customize a meal plan to their taste. They can include/exclude ingredients and choose a portion size that will suit the family, creating a deeper connection with their customer.

Essential #4: Take a Flexible Long-Term Approach

Getting the most out of your branding strategy means taking a long-term approach.

Do not be afraid of making efforts now that may take a while to materialize. Branding is a long-term investment that will pay dividends if you continue to improve.

There is an important balance to strike between long-term planning and short-term flexibility. It's crucial to leave space in your branding strategy to adjust to real world feedback as it arrives.

Now that we have reviewed some of the essentials, we can shift to some concrete tips. We will now move on to eight practical steps you can take to develop your brand strategy.

Step #1: Establish Your Core Values

The first step to build your brand strategy is to establish your core values. Core values are the beliefs you have about your brand that inform your actions.

Use this template to jot down the values that matter most to your brand.

These core values are why your company exists and are related to the specific problems you hope to solve for your customers.

Often, the company’s founding forged these values, and they are unlikely to shift much as your company grows. They are a foundational anchor of your brand strategy.

Use the Visme AI Writer to help you word your core values and brand story. Take your draft content and prompt the AI to condense and simplify. Once generated, you can use it as is, edit it or regenerate it for better results.

Step #2: Create a Strategic Positioning Statement

The next step to creating a brand strategy is to make a positioning statement. The positioning statement is a description of your product as well as your target market.

Its purpose is to show exactly how your product serves a particular need in a target market.

Here's an editable template you can use to craft your brand positioning statement and visualize its various elements.

You can use a positioning statement as a tool to make sure your marketing efforts are on the same page as your brand strategy.

You can also use the positioning statement to communicate your value proposition to your ideal customers by featuring your brand’s core characteristics.

Before crafting your positioning statement, you have to find clarity on the following aspects of your brand.

• Who do you serve?
• What do you offer them?
• How do you offer it to them?
• How does this compare to current offers?

Step #3: Understand Your Ideal Customer Profile

The third step to build a winning brand strategy is to understand your ideal customer profile.

An ideal customer profile is a description of the type of customer that would gain a lot of value from your product or service.

They are the easiest to sell, have the highest retention rates and love to refer others to your product.

In short, the ideal customer profile is a description of future customers that have the characteristics of your most important success stories.

Here's a buyer persona template you can customize to visualize and organize details about your ideal target market.

After you develop a thorough ICP , it will help you clarify the value you create for your customers. This will help you lay out your branding strategy, which is like a beacon for new customers and revenue.

Step #4: Craft a Brand Promise

The fourth step in building a winning brand strategy is to craft a brand promise. A compelling brand promise combines the brevity of a tagline with your unique selling proposition.

The more any brand delivers on the promises they make, the more effective their brand strategy becomes. Conversely, if you can not match your expectations, the brand strategy is failing.

This risk of not matching the brand promise is why it is vital to create a valuable brand promise that is both exciting and realistic.

At Visme, we help you design and share beautiful on-brand presentations, infographics and other visual communications . This statement is a brand promise.

It is an experience you can expect to receive when you interact with our design tools.

Step #5: Have a Visual Identity

The next step, when it comes to brand strategy, is to have a visual identity .

Now that we have explored various ways to find clarity on how you create value for your customers, we need to translate that into your customer facing communications.

Visual identity is the overarching description of the images and visible elements of your brand. The visual identity includes everything from your website to your business cards and social media accounts.

Use this template to define your visual identity elements, such as logo variations, brand color palette and brand typography.

The images you chose are a crucial form of communication when making an impression on your audience .

Your overarching visual identity will impact your ideal customers on an emotional level. Because of this impact, visual identity is an essential tool for building an effective brand strategy.

Conversely, if things go awry on this step, visual identity can become an obstacle to further growth.

A short description of the visual identity includes all of the imagery that expresses who your brand is and why you are different from everyone else.

A vital step in developing a brand strategy is to create and or review your brand style guide. A brand style guide will give you, and everyone on your team, instructions on creating a consistent visual identity.

Step #6: Review Crucial Customer Touchpoints

The sixth step in creating a brand strategy is to review crucial customer touchpoints.

Reviewing these touchpoints will help assure that your brand strategy is consistent in the most significant locations where people discover your brand.

A brand touchpoint is a point of contact between your audience and your brand. It includes things like your email newsletter, social media profiles and website.

Here's a template to help you visualize your customer touchpoints.

When you create a winning brand strategy, discovering the most crucial, revenue-generating touchpoints is a good step.

Understanding where your branding efforts make the most impact will help you prioritize any tweaks that can significantly impact your results.

Step #7: Get Clear On Your Brand’s Voice

The next step to building a winning brand strategy is to find clarity on your brand's voice . Defined simply, a brand voice is the standard way you communicate with your audience.

Here's a template you can customize to pinpoint your brand voice.

The ingredients of a brand voice are reasonably straightforward.

First, you must address the brand voice toward your ideal customer. Second, the brand voice should stay true to the brand values you described earlier in the brand strategy process.

If you include those two ingredients, an authentic style will emerge. For some brands, the voice takes a more authoritative tone. Additionally, for others, a more playful voice feels more authentic.

Step #8: Build a Regular Brand Audit

The final step for developing a winning brand strategy is to schedule a regular brand audit.

A brand audit is a thorough review that describes how your brand strategy performs compared to the goals we articulated during the brand strategy creation.

You should schedule these audits quarterly. Block out 1-2 hours to review your visual identity. Ask yourself these open ended questions.

• How well is our visual identity representing our core values?
• What tweaks or improvements can we make to improve our brand strategy?
• Are the critical customer touchpoints speaking to the ideal customer most effectively?
• What small experiments can we make with our brand voice to more accurately reflect our mission?

You can also take advantage of our brand audit template below.

There are many benefits to schedule a regular tempo of brand audits. First, you establish standard performance benchmarks. Additionally, you create a routine of incrementally improving your brand strategy.

Now that we’ve explored the best strategies to create a brand strategy, we will share how to use Visme templates to enhance your efforts.

However, if you’re not entirely sure how Visme can help, please check out our short video on tips for marketing plans like your branding strategy.

Ready To Start Developing Your Brand Strategy?

A winning brand strategy will help you reach your goals. While integrating theoretical knowledge is a good start, using Visme to incorporate professional design into your brand strategy is the next step.

With Visme, you get an all-in-one tool to create, share and manage your brand assets, content marketing visuals, presentations, reports and more.

When you are ready to take your design to the next level, get started with a free Visme account and take it for a test drive for as long as you want.

Now that you are ready to use Visme to help develop your brand voice, I would like to address the eight most common frequently asked questions about the process.

Q1. What is a brand strategy in marketing?

The definition of brand strategy is a long term and organization wide initiative for your brand to achieve concrete, measurable goals. Designing strategies to work across the entire organization is a mark of winning brand strategy.

Brand strategy helps you improve customer experiences, increase revenue and become more competitive in the marketplace.

Q2. How much does brand strategy cost?

Creating involves understanding the essence of your company. Additionally, it consists of understanding how your product fits within that mission and the marketplace.

Understanding these types of questions takes investments in your time and energy as a leader or employee in the company. It will be a variable cost depending on the value of your time.

Alternatively, you can hire a designing agency. Check out this helpful guide from TechCrunch on the varying costs of startup branding.

However, suppose you want to try branding on your own.

In that case, you can pick up the following two book suggestions designers commonly recommend: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout and Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler.

You can also use Visme to get professional design without needing high professional design costs.

Q3. How to build an employer brand strategy?

The best way to build a strong employer brand strategy is to understand your organization’s needs.

When you understand your business’s short and long term needs, you can craft an effective strategy. Understanding your needs will help you find clarity on everything you want to accomplish.

This clarity will help you align your goals with existing skill sets in the labor market.

When you do this, you can craft an employer strategy to attract the skills that will move your company forward.

To gain even more clarity on this issue, you can ask questions like:

• What objectives will the business pursue over the next 12-36 months?
• What new products and services are in the pipeline?
• What talent gaps exist that could prevent us from meeting our obligations?

Q4. How to create a brand strategy roadmap?

Creating a brand strategy roadmap is an important step to take when developing a winning brand strategy.

There are four elements that you should include in your brand strategy road map. These include vision, brand purpose, values and goals.

The vision component in the brand strategy roadmap will discuss the direction your brand is traveling. It defines an ideal outcome your brand is hoping to create in the world.

The purpose component asks the question, why is this vision important? What is the motivation underneath your ideal outcome? What makes it essential to the world?

Next, the value section helps you define what your brand stands for. What are your standards for operating as a company? How does this shape your strategy?

The goals section is where you get more concrete with your brand strategy roadmap.

What exactly do you hope to achieve? Make sure to include the specific metrics that track your results.

Q5. What does a brand strategy look like?

A great metaphor to help guide your brand strategy is to look at brand strategy like storytelling.

Our favorite stories transcend their medium. They are more than books, shows or movies. They are a lived emotional experience.

Stories achieve this experience with a simple structure. They have a beginning, a middle and an end. Additionally, they always have some kind of transformation or change involved.

When you build your brand strategy, make sure it communicates how your product or service creates a change in the world. Include language about where the customer starts, what it is like using your product and where they end up.

A good story is not just something to read on a page — it’s an experience. And for something to be an experience, it needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end. At the end of the story, there must be some kind of change from the start.

In practical terms, what a brand strategy looks like depends on your team’s preference. As long as it’s well-structured and aligned with your organization’s visual guidelines, you can put together a brand strategy presentation , infographic or document.

Q6. What does a director of brand strategy do?

A director of brand strategy is typically responsible for managing various brand strategy projects for multiple clients. Often, they collaborate with marketing and design teams to meet organizational goals to increase brand awareness within the market.

Q7. What is a brand strategy document?

A brand strategy document can include several different brand strategy templates that your team will use to improve their work. It may include details on your value proposition, brand narrative, customer personas and positioning statements.

Easily create a first draft brand strategy document with the help of Visme’s AI Document Generator . Using a text prompt, the AI can build a pre-designed document with all the sections, visuals and text you need to get started. With minimal customization, you’ve got a brand strategy document in no time.

Q8. Why is brand strategy important?

Brand strategy is important because it helps you cultivate a strong presence in the market. It gives you a definition that your customers will recognize.

Additionally, it gives you concrete benchmarks to track your progress. Without a brand strategy, you will find yourself unable to judge your branding efforts’ progress accurately.

Create beautifully branded content for your business.

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About the Author

Brian Nuckols is a writer working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He enjoys communicating visionary ideas in clear, action oriented language. When he’s not working on content for a transformative company you can find him analyzing dreams, creating music, and writing poetry.

What is a Business Plan? Definition, Tips, and Templates

Published: June 07, 2023

In an era where more than 20% of small enterprises fail in their first year, having a clear, defined, and well-thought-out business plan is a crucial first step for setting up a business for long-term success.

Business plans are a required tool for all entrepreneurs, business owners, business acquirers, and even business school students. But … what exactly is a business plan?

In this post, we'll explain what a business plan is, the reasons why you'd need one, identify different types of business plans, and what you should include in yours.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a documented strategy for a business that highlights its goals and its plans for achieving them. It outlines a company's go-to-market plan, financial projections, market research, business purpose, and mission statement. Key staff who are responsible for achieving the goals may also be included in the business plan along with a timeline.

The business plan is an undeniably critical component to getting any company off the ground. It's key to securing financing, documenting your business model, outlining your financial projections, and turning that nugget of a business idea into a reality.

What is a business plan used for?

The purpose of a business plan is three-fold: It summarizes the organization’s strategy in order to execute it long term, secures financing from investors, and helps forecast future business demands.

Business Plan Template [ Download Now ]

Working on your business plan? Try using our Business Plan Template . Pre-filled with the sections a great business plan needs, the template will give aspiring entrepreneurs a feel for what a business plan is, what should be in it, and how it can be used to establish and grow a business from the ground up.

Purposes of a Business Plan

Chances are, someone drafting a business plan will be doing so for one or more of the following reasons:

1. Securing financing from investors.

Since its contents revolve around how businesses succeed, break even, and turn a profit, a business plan is used as a tool for sourcing capital. This document is an entrepreneur's way of showing potential investors or lenders how their capital will be put to work and how it will help the business thrive.

All banks, investors, and venture capital firms will want to see a business plan before handing over their money, and investors typically expect a 10% ROI or more from the capital they invest in a business.

Therefore, these investors need to know if — and when — they'll be making their money back (and then some). Additionally, they'll want to read about the process and strategy for how the business will reach those financial goals, which is where the context provided by sales, marketing, and operations plans come into play.

2. Documenting a company's strategy and goals.

A business plan should leave no stone unturned.

Business plans can span dozens or even hundreds of pages, affording their drafters the opportunity to explain what a business' goals are and how the business will achieve them.

To show potential investors that they've addressed every question and thought through every possible scenario, entrepreneurs should thoroughly explain their marketing, sales, and operations strategies — from acquiring a physical location for the business to explaining a tactical approach for marketing penetration.

These explanations should ultimately lead to a business' break-even point supported by a sales forecast and financial projections, with the business plan writer being able to speak to the why behind anything outlined in the plan.

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Fill out the form to access your free business plan., 3. legitimizing a business idea..

Everyone's got a great idea for a company — until they put pen to paper and realize that it's not exactly feasible.

A business plan is an aspiring entrepreneur's way to prove that a business idea is actually worth pursuing.

As entrepreneurs document their go-to-market process, capital needs, and expected return on investment, entrepreneurs likely come across a few hiccups that will make them second guess their strategies and metrics — and that's exactly what the business plan is for.

It ensures an entrepreneur's ducks are in a row before bringing their business idea to the world and reassures the readers that whoever wrote the plan is serious about the idea, having put hours into thinking of the business idea, fleshing out growth tactics, and calculating financial projections.

4. Getting an A in your business class.

Speaking from personal experience, there's a chance you're here to get business plan ideas for your Business 101 class project.

If that's the case, might we suggest checking out this post on How to Write a Business Plan — providing a section-by-section guide on creating your plan?

What does a business plan need to include?

• Business Plan Subtitle
• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• The Business Opportunity
• Competitive Analysis
• Target Market
• Marketing Plan
• Financial Summary
• Funding Requirements

1. Business Plan Subtitle

Every great business plan starts with a captivating title and subtitle. You’ll want to make it clear that the document is, in fact, a business plan, but the subtitle can help tell the story of your business in just a short sentence.

2. Executive Summary

Although this is the last part of the business plan that you’ll write, it’s the first section (and maybe the only section) that stakeholders will read. The executive summary of a business plan sets the stage for the rest of the document. It includes your company’s mission or vision statement, value proposition, and long-term goals.

3. Company Description

This brief part of your business plan will detail your business name, years in operation, key offerings, and positioning statement. You might even add core values or a short history of the company. The company description’s role in a business plan is to introduce your business to the reader in a compelling and concise way.

4. The Business Opportunity

The business opportunity should convince investors that your organization meets the needs of the market in a way that no other company can. This section explains the specific problem your business solves within the marketplace and how it solves them. It will include your value proposition as well as some high-level information about your target market.

5. Competitive Analysis

Just about every industry has more than one player in the market. Even if your business owns the majority of the market share in your industry or your business concept is the first of its kind, you still have competition. In the competitive analysis section, you’ll take an objective look at the industry landscape to determine where your business fits. A SWOT analysis is an organized way to format this section.

6. Target Market

Who are the core customers of your business and why? The target market portion of your business plan outlines this in detail. The target market should explain the demographics, psychographics, behavioristics, and geographics of the ideal customer.

7. Marketing Plan

Marketing is expansive, and it’ll be tempting to cover every type of marketing possible, but a brief overview of how you’ll market your unique value proposition to your target audience, followed by a tactical plan will suffice.

Think broadly and narrow down from there: Will you focus on a slow-and-steady play where you make an upfront investment in organic customer acquisition? Or will you generate lots of quick customers using a pay-to-play advertising strategy? This kind of information should guide the marketing plan section of your business plan.

8. Financial Summary

Money doesn’t grow on trees and even the most digital, sustainable businesses have expenses. Outlining a financial summary of where your business is currently and where you’d like it to be in the future will substantiate this section. Consider including any monetary information that will give potential investors a glimpse into the financial health of your business. Assets, liabilities, expenses, debt, investments, revenue, and more are all useful adds here.

So, you’ve outlined some great goals, the business opportunity is valid, and the industry is ready for what you have to offer. Who’s responsible for turning all this high-level talk into results? The "team" section of your business plan answers that question by providing an overview of the roles responsible for each goal. Don’t worry if you don’t have every team member on board yet, knowing what roles to hire for is helpful as you seek funding from investors.

10. Funding Requirements

Remember that one of the goals of a business plan is to secure funding from investors, so you’ll need to include funding requirements you’d like them to fulfill. The amount your business needs, for what reasons, and for how long will meet the requirement for this section.

Types of Business Plans

• Startup Business Plan
• Feasibility Business Plan
• Internal Business Plan
• Strategic Business Plan
• Business Acquisition Plan
• Business Repositioning Plan
• Expansion or Growth Business Plan

There’s no one size fits all business plan as there are several types of businesses in the market today. From startups with just one founder to historic household names that need to stay competitive, every type of business needs a business plan that’s tailored to its needs. Below are a few of the most common types of business plans.

For even more examples, check out these sample business plans to help you write your own .

1. Startup Business Plan

As one of the most common types of business plans, a startup business plan is for new business ideas. This plan lays the foundation for the eventual success of a business.

The biggest challenge with the startup business plan is that it’s written completely from scratch. Startup business plans often reference existing industry data. They also explain unique business strategies and go-to-market plans.

Because startup business plans expand on an original idea, the contents will vary by the top priority goals.

For example, say a startup is looking for funding. If capital is a priority, this business plan might focus more on financial projections than marketing or company culture.

2. Feasibility Business Plan

This type of business plan focuses on a single essential aspect of the business — the product or service. It may be part of a startup business plan or a standalone plan for an existing organization. This comprehensive plan may include:

• A detailed product description
• Market analysis
• Technology needs
• Production needs
• Financial sources
• Production operations

According to CBInsights research, 35% of startups fail because of a lack of market need. Another 10% fail because of mistimed products.

Some businesses will complete a feasibility study to explore ideas and narrow product plans to the best choice. They conduct these studies before completing the feasibility business plan. Then the feasibility plan centers on that one product or service.

3. Internal Business Plan

Internal business plans help leaders communicate company goals, strategy, and performance. This helps the business align and work toward objectives more effectively.

Besides the typical elements in a startup business plan, an internal business plan may also include:

• Department-specific budgets
• Target demographic analysis
• Market size and share of voice analysis
• Action plans
• Sustainability plans

Most external-facing business plans focus on raising capital and support for a business. But an internal business plan helps keep the business mission consistent in the face of change.

4. Strategic Business Plan

Strategic business plans focus on long-term objectives for your business. They usually cover the first three to five years of operations. This is different from the typical startup business plan which focuses on the first one to three years. The audience for this plan is also primarily internal stakeholders.

These types of business plans may include:

• Relevant data and analysis
• Assessments of company resources
• Vision and mission statements

It's important to remember that, while many businesses create a strategic plan before launching, some business owners just jump in. So, this business plan can add value by outlining how your business plans to reach specific goals. This type of planning can also help a business anticipate future challenges.

5. Business Acquisition Plan

Investors use business plans to acquire existing businesses, too — not just new businesses.

A business acquisition plan may include costs, schedules, or management requirements. This data will come from an acquisition strategy.

A business plan for an existing company will explain:

• How an acquisition will change its operating model
• What will stay the same under new ownership
• Why things will change or stay the same
• Acquisition planning documentation
• Timelines for acquisition

Additionally, the business plan should speak to the current state of the business and why it's up for sale.

For example, if someone is purchasing a failing business, the business plan should explain why the business is being purchased. It should also include:

• What the new owner will do to turn the business around
• Historic business metrics
• Sales projections after the acquisition
• Justification for those projections

6. Business Repositioning Plan

When a business wants to avoid acquisition, reposition its brand, or try something new, CEOs or owners will develop a business repositioning plan.

This plan will:

• Acknowledge the current state of the company.
• State a vision for the future of the company.
• Explain why the business needs to reposition itself.
• Outline a process for how the company will adjust.

Companies planning for a business reposition often do so — proactively or retroactively — due to a shift in market trends and customer needs.

For example, shoe brand AllBirds plans to refocus its brand on core customers and shift its go-to-market strategy. These decisions are a reaction to lackluster sales following product changes and other missteps.

7. Expansion or Growth Business Plan

When your business is ready to expand, a growth business plan creates a useful structure for reaching specific targets.

For example, a successful business expanding into another location can use a growth business plan. This is because it may also mean the business needs to focus on a new target market or generate more capital.

This type of plan usually covers the next year or two of growth. It often references current sales, revenue, and successes. It may also include:

• SWOT analysis
• Growth opportunity studies
• Financial goals and plans
• Marketing plans
• Capability planning

These types of business plans will vary by business, but they can help businesses quickly rally around new priorities to drive growth.

Getting Started With Your Business Plan

At the end of the day, a business plan is simply an explanation of a business idea and why it will be successful. The more detail and thought you put into it, the more successful your plan — and the business it outlines — will be.

When writing your business plan, you’ll benefit from extensive research, feedback from your team or board of directors, and a solid template to organize your thoughts. If you need one of these, download HubSpot's Free Business Plan Template below to get started.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Creating a Brand: How To Build a Brand From Scratch Every business needs good branding to succeed. Discover the basics and key tips to building a successful brand in this detailed guide.

By John Williams

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

"Brand" is more than a catchphrase or a company's style choice. It's the collective imagery, feeling, and reputation of a company that follows it everywhere. When built properly, your brand can help your company reach new heights of success. But when built improperly, your brand might push customers away and make turning a profit nearly impossible.

That's why it's important to have a good marketing strategy and a solid grasp of brand management: what do you need for the branding process, and how does your brand image impact the customer experience?

This article will cover some branding guidelines and strategies for new entrepreneurs at the beginning of their journeys.

Related: Six Reasons Branding Is More Important Than Ever Before

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does "branding" mean? How does it affect a small business like yours?

Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer . It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors'. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Are you the innovative maverick in your industry? Or the experienced, reliable one? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can't be both, and you can't be all things to all people. Who you are should be based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be.

The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials--all of which should integrate your logo--communicate your brand.

Brand Strategy & Equity

Your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages. Where you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you communicate visually and verbally are part of your brand strategy, too.

Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company's products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command. The most obvious example of this is Coke vs. a generic soda. Because Coca-Cola has built a powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product--and customers will pay that higher price.

The added value intrinsic to brand equity frequently comes in the form of perceived quality or emotional attachment. For example, Nike associates its products with star athletes, hoping customers will transfer their emotional attachment from the athlete to the product. For Nike, it's not just the shoe's features that sell the shoe.

Defining Your Brand

Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:

• What is your company's mission?
• What are the benefits and features of your products or services?
• What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?
• What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?

Do your research. Learn the needs, habits and desires of your current and prospective customers. And don't rely on what you think they think. Know what they think.

Your target audience is essentially the group of customers most likely to buy something from your brand. You can determine your target audience by understanding its key attributes, like sex, age, location, and more.

Do some market research and figure out your potential customer demographics. The more you learn about your target audience, the better you'll be able to market to them, and the better you'll be able to meet their needs in the long term.

Because defining your brand and developing a brand strategy can be complex, consider leveraging the expertise of a nonprofit small-business advisory group or a Small Business Development Center .

Once you've defined your brand, how do you get the word out? Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:

• Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.
• Write down your brand messaging. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.
• Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business--how you answer your phones, what you or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, everything.
• Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the gist.
• Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.
• Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don't need to be fancy, just consistent.
• Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise.
• Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can't do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.

Designing Your Brand's Style

The visual identity of your brand can significantly increase your brand recognition, so having an interesting but clear brand style is important. Let's dive a little deeper into some of the things touched on above.

For example, your brand's logo should be unique, iconic, and related to your brand's mission or what it produces. Try to incorporate some aesthetic or stylistic element of what your brand does into the logo; don't be afraid to hire a good graphic designer to create a stellar logo from scratch.

You only get one chance to make a logo that sticks in the minds of your target audience. If it's a good one, your brand will grow that much more successfully. Logo design can help you capture new customers and convince your target market/customer base to give your company a shot. Plus, it'll serve as effective branding on product packaging!

Related: Branding Is More Than an Accessory: It's the Foundation of Any Business

Similarly, you should choose your brand's color, text fonts, and other stylistic elements carefully. A specific color or text font can draw people to your brand or push them away, depending on your industry. For instance, if you want to make a line of power tools for women, a red or violet color could be just the ticket, while pink might be considered a little too classically feminine for your target audience.

You should also consider how your brand's voice fits into your brand's overall style. If, for instance, you run a B2B company and advertise and sell primarily to others in your industry, you shouldn't speak down to them or use a lot of catchphrases.

Instead, you should use highly technical, informative language that proves your brand's authority and knowledge in its niche. The reverse is true if you advertise and sell to the public; the simpler and more understandable your copy and content is, the better.

Spreading the Word – Ensuring Brand Continuity

Designing a good brand style is just the start. You then need to make sure that you maintain brand continuity in all marketing materials you put out, including the materials made by freelancers or third parties.

To that end, it might be wise to create a style guide for your brand . The style guide should include breakdowns of all the information above, including how your logo looks, the colors to use for marketing materials, and the brand voice to use for copy text.

Send out the style guide to every marketing expert or professional working with your company. This includes social media typography and messages, especially since you'll communicate to your loyal customers on social media in many cases.

The style guide must be adhered to at all times, including by individuals in your organization. Why?

The more consistent your brand feels in the minds of your consumers, the easier it will stick in their minds and the more memorable it will be overall. If your brand feels chaotic or disorganized, people will be less likely to remember the name, let alone the purpose, of your brand when they need a product that you sell. They may even think you're rebranding or your brand values are changing when they aren't.

If you do this right, your brand will become ubiquitous with the services you offer or the products you make.

Wrapping Things Up

Ultimately, building a brand requires practice, experience, and patience. Keep iterating on your brand identity and theme; as you learn more about your customers and what they desire, you can tweak your brand over and over until it is the ideal version for profitability. Good luck!

Looking for more resources to build your business? Explore Entrepreneur's library of informational articles here

John Williams is the founder and president of LogoYes.com , the world's first do-it-yourself logo design website. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

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Simple Business Plan Template (2024)

Updated: May 4, 2024, 4:37pm

Table of Contents

Why business plans are vital, get your free simple business plan template, how to write an effective business plan in 6 steps, frequently asked questions.

While taking many forms and serving many purposes, they all have one thing in common: business plans help you establish your goals and define the means for achieving them. Our simple business plan template covers everything you need to consider when launching a side gig, solo operation or small business. By following this step-by-step process, you might even uncover a few alternate routes to success.

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Whether you’re a first-time solopreneur or a seasoned business owner, the planning process challenges you to examine the costs and tasks involved in bringing a product or service to market. The process can also help you spot new income opportunities and hone in on the most profitable business models.

Though vital, business planning doesn’t have to be a chore. Business plans for lean startups and solopreneurs can simply outline the business concept, sales proposition, target customers and sketch out a plan of action to bring the product or service to market. However, if you’re seeking startup funding or partnership opportunities, you’ll need a write a business plan that details market research, operating costs and revenue forecasting. Whichever startup category you fall into, if you’re at square one, our simple business plan template will point you down the right path.

Copy our free simple business plan template so you can fill in the blanks as we explore each element of your business plan. Need help getting your ideas flowing? You’ll also find several startup scenario examples below.

Download free template as .docx

Whether you need a quick-launch overview or an in-depth plan for investors, any business plan should cover the six key elements outlined in our free template and explained below. The main difference in starting a small business versus an investor-funded business is the market research and operational and financial details needed to support the concept.

1. Your Mission or Vision

Start by declaring a “dream statement” for your business. You can call this your executive summary, vision statement or mission. Whatever the name, the first part of your business plan summarizes your idea by answering five questions. Keep it brief, such as an elevator pitch. You’ll expand these answers in the following sections of the simple business plan template.

• What does your business do? Are you selling products, services, information or a combination?
• Where does this happen? Will you conduct business online, in-store, via mobile means or in a specific location or environment?
• Who does your business benefit? Who is your target market and ideal customer for your concept?
• Why would potential customers care? What would make your ideal customers take notice of your business?
• How do your products and/or services outshine the competition? What would make your ideal customers choose you over a competitor?

These answers come easily if you have a solid concept for your business, but don’t worry if you get stuck. Use the rest of your plan template to brainstorm ideas and tactics. You’ll quickly find these answers and possibly new directions as you explore your ideas and options.

2. Offer and Value Proposition

This is where you detail your offer, such as selling products, providing services or both, and why anyone would care. That’s the value proposition. Specifically, you’ll expand on your answers to the first and fourth bullets from your mission/vision.

As you complete this section, you might find that exploring value propositions uncovers marketable business opportunities that you hadn’t yet considered. So spend some time brainstorming the possibilities in this section.

For example, a cottage baker startup specializing in gluten-free or keto-friendly products might be a value proposition that certain audiences care deeply about. Plus, you could expand on that value proposition by offering wedding and other special-occasion cakes that incorporate gluten-free, keto-friendly and traditional cake elements that all guests can enjoy.

3. Audience and Ideal Customer

Here is where you explore bullet point number three, who your business will benefit. Identifying your ideal customer and exploring a broader audience for your goods or services is essential in defining your sales and marketing strategies, plus it helps fine-tune what you offer.

There are many ways to research potential audiences, but a shortcut is to simply identify a problem that people have that your product or service can solve. If you start from the position of being a problem solver, it’s easy to define your audience and describe the wants and needs of your ideal customer for marketing efforts.

Using the cottage baker startup example, a problem people might have is finding fresh-baked gluten-free or keto-friendly sweets. Examining the wants and needs of these people might reveal a target audience that is health-conscious or possibly dealing with health issues and willing to spend more for hard-to-find items.

However, it’s essential to have a customer base that can support your business. You can be too specialized. For example, our baker startup can attract a broader audience and boost revenue by offering a wider selection of traditional baked goods alongside its gluten-free and keto-focused specialties.

4. Revenue Streams, Sales Channels and Marketing

Thanks to our internet-driven economy, startups have many revenue opportunities and can connect with target audiences through various channels. Revenue streams and sales channels also serve as marketing vehicles, so you can cover all three in this section.

Revenue Streams

Revenue streams are the many ways you can make money in your business. In your plan template, list how you’ll make money upon launch, plus include ideas for future expansion. The income possibilities just might surprise you.

For example, our cottage baker startup might consider these revenue streams:

• Product sales : Online, pop-up shops , wholesale and (future) in-store sales
• Affiliate income : Monetize blog and social media posts with affiliate links
• Advertising income : Reserve website space for advertising
• E-book sales : (future) Publish recipe e-books targeting gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
• Video income : (future) Monetize a YouTube channel featuring how-to videos for the gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
• Webinars and online classes : (future) Monetize coaching-style webinars and online classes covering specialty baking tips and techniques
• Members-only content : (future) Monetize a members-only section of the website for specialty content to complement webinars and online classes
• Franchise : (future) Monetize a specialty cottage bakery concept and sell to franchise entrepreneurs

Sales Channels

Sales channels put your revenue streams into action. This section also answers the “where will this happen” question in the second bullet of your vision.

The product sales channels for our cottage bakery example can include:

• Mobile point-of-sale (POS) : A mobile platform such as Shopify or Square POS for managing in-person sales at local farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals
• E-commerce platform : An online store such as Shopify, Square or WooCommerce for online retail sales and wholesale sales orders
• Social media channels : Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest shoppable posts and pins for online sales via social media channels
• Brick-and-mortar location : For in-store sales , once the business has grown to a point that it can support a physical location

Channels that support other income streams might include:

• Affiliate income : Blog section on the e-commerce website and affiliate partner accounts
• Advertising income : Reserved advertising spaces on the e-commerce website
• E-book sales : Amazon e-book sales via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
• Video income : YouTube channel with ad monetization
• Webinars and online classes : Online class and webinar platforms that support member accounts, recordings and playback
• Members-only content : Password-protected website content using membership apps such as MemberPress

Nowadays, the line between marketing and sales channels is blurred. Social media outlets, e-books, websites, blogs and videos serve as both marketing tools and income opportunities. Since most are free and those with advertising options are extremely economical, these are ideal marketing outlets for lean startups.

However, many businesses still find value in traditional advertising such as local radio, television, direct mail, newspapers and magazines. You can include these advertising costs in your simple business plan template to help build a marketing plan and budget.

5. Structure, Suppliers and Operations

This section of your simple business plan template explores how to structure and operate your business. Details include the type of business organization your startup will take, roles and responsibilities, supplier logistics and day-to-day operations. Also, include any certifications or permits needed to launch your enterprise in this section.

Our cottage baker example might use a structure and startup plan such as this:

• Business structure : Sole proprietorship with a “doing business as” (DBA) .
• Permits and certifications : County-issued food handling permit and state cottage food certification for home-based food production. Option, check into certified commercial kitchen rentals.
• Roles and responsibilities : Solopreneur, all roles and responsibilities with the owner.
• Supply chain : Bulk ingredients and food packaging via Sam’s Club, Costco, Amazon Prime with annual membership costs. Uline for shipping supplies; no membership needed.
• Day-to-day operations : Source ingredients and bake three days per week to fulfill local and online orders. Reserve time for specialty sales, wholesale partner orders and market events as needed. Ship online orders on alternating days. Update website and create marketing and affiliate blog posts on non-shipping days.

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6. Financial Forecasts

Your final task is to list forecasted business startup and ongoing costs and profit projections in your simple business plan template. Thanks to free business tools such as Square and free marketing on social media, lean startups can launch with few upfront costs. In many cases, cost of goods, shipping and packaging, business permits and printing for business cards are your only out-of-pocket expenses.

Cost Forecast

Our cottage baker’s forecasted lean startup costs might include:

Gross Profit Projections

This helps you determine the retail prices and sales volume required to keep your business running and, hopefully, earn income for yourself. Use product research to spot target retail prices for your goods, then subtract your cost of goods, such as hourly rate, raw goods and supplier costs. The total amount is your gross profit per item or service.

Here are some examples of projected gross profits for our cottage baker:

Bottom Line

Putting careful thought and detail in a business plan is always beneficial, but don’t get so bogged down in planning that you never hit the start button to launch your business . Also, remember that business plans aren’t set in stone. Markets, audiences and technologies change, and so will your goals and means of achieving them. Think of your business plan as a living document and regularly revisit, expand and restructure it as market opportunities and business growth demand.

Is there a template for a business plan?

You can copy our free business plan template and fill in the blanks or customize it in Google Docs, Microsoft Word or another word processing app. This free business plan template includes the six key elements that any entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a new business.

What does a simple business plan include?

A simple business plan is a one- to two-page overview covering six key elements that any budding entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a startup. These include your vision or mission, product or service offering, target audience, revenue streams and sales channels, structure and operations, and financial forecasts.

How can I create a free business plan template?

Start with our free business plan template that covers the six essential elements of a startup. Once downloaded, you can edit this document in Google Docs or another word processing app and add new sections or subsections to your plan template to meet your specific business plan needs.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business,  an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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Krista Fabregas is a seasoned eCommerce and online content pro sharing more than 20 years of hands-on know-how with those looking to launch and grow tech-forward businesses. Her expertise includes eCommerce startups and growth, SMB operations and logistics, website platforms, payment systems, side-gig and affiliate income, and multichannel marketing. Krista holds a bachelor's degree in English from The University of Texas at Austin and held senior positions at NASA, a Fortune 100 company, and several online startups.

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What Is a Marketing Plan and How To Write One (+ Template)

Learn the key elements of a marketing plan, access templates to get started, and get tips on how to write an effective plan.

No matter how much you stick to a plan, things go wrong. As the famous quote by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower goes: “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

When it comes to ecommerce, consumer trends shift, circumstances change, and initial experiments don’t always go as planned. All of these things impact your marketing plan. 

Research shows that marketers who proactively write a marketing plan are 356% more likely to report success. So, what does a realistic ecommerce marketing plan look like? And how do you handle unexpected obstacles and overestimations that threaten your company’s marketing strategy? This guide shares the answers.

What is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is the strategy a business uses to get its products or services in front of its target customer. It includes who the target market is, the channels used to reach them, and the messaging that will help the business sell its products. 

The purpose of a marketing plan isn’t to create a step-by-step, never-fail manual. Rather, it’s a roadmap to help you accomplish the best-case scenario, while also maintaining realistic expectations for your marketing initiatives and establishing backup plans if something doesn’t work.

Marketing plan vs. business plan

A business plan paints a bigger picture of how you plan to run your business. It includes a mission statement, products you’ll launch, and market research. A marketing plan, on the other hand, is a specific document that details how you plan to achieve these wider goals through marketing . 

Marketing plan vs marketing strategy

An overarching marketing strategy details how marketing will drive business results. A marketing plan is the route you’ll use to get there. It’s more specific than a strategy and includes a practical roadmap on how you’ll put your marketing activities into play. 

Free marketing plan template to help you get started

Creating your own marketing plan is no small job. You put hours into customer and competitor research to find the channels likely to have the biggest impact on your marketing goals. You can check out marketing plan examples , but when it comes to creating your own, you can save time with a template.

Ditch the intimidating blank screen by building a marketing plan using Shopify’s free marketing plan template. Use it to guide your marketing strategy, tweaking the template to meet your business needs.

Download the template now

Types of marketing plans

Digital marketing plan.

A digital marketing plan is a specific type of marketing plan that revolves solely around online channels like social media, email, and search engines. It doesn’t include offline channels like billboards or radio ads.

Social media marketing plan

A social media marketing plan focuses specifically on how a business will use social media to reach its target market. It gives you a framework of which channels you’ll use, the types of content you’ll create, whether you’ll invest in social media ads, and how you’ll drive product sales. This can take place either through your online store or a social media storefront such as Facebook and Instagram Shops .

Content marketing plan 

A content marketing plan details how you’ll produce content that turns people into paying customers. This can span multiple formats, including an email newsletter, infographics, product documentation, and user-generated content (such as social media posts). 

Alongside the more traditional elements of a marketing plan, a content-marketing-specific strategy would include:

• Keywords you plan to target
• Who you’ll use to create the content (e.g., freelancers or in-house marketers)
• How you’ll promote and repurpose your content

Offline marketing plan

An offline marketing plan details how a business will reach its target market without using digital channels. This might include billboards, radio ads, direct mail, event sponsorships, and outdoor advertising. 

How to write a marketing plan

Detail your unique value proposition, outline your buyer personas, run a swot analysis, detail product features and benefits, set key performance indicators, outline your marketing funnel.

• Define your marketing channels

Decide on your content formats

• Plan your marketing resources

Create a measurement and optimization plan

A unique value proposition underlines your entire marketing plan. Regardless of the channels and formats you plan to use, consistency is key. Mixed messages on what you sell and what your brand stands for will only confuse potential customers.

A simple way to refine your messaging is to focus on your unique selling point. Costco, for example, is cheaper than its competitors. Harper Wilde’s products are comfier than any other bra retailer. Find the marketing channels each retailer uses and you’ll see messaging centered around its adjective.

Consult your customers if you’re unsure what your value proposition adjective should be. Research is the biggest part of any copywriting process . Survey people who’ve already bought from you, run an Instagram poll to discover why people follow your brand, and see where your competitors’ weaknesses lie. Look for adjectives that crop up frequently during the process.

What overarching goal are you trying to accomplish with the business? Why does it exist? Summarize it in one sentence, and you’ll have a mission statement to inform everything you do, which includes your marketing strategies .

Going overboard with assumptions is a common mistake among marketers. The end result is a marketing plan that doesn’t actually result in revenue.

While data won’t give you a foolproof plan, every assumption is one more bit of uncertainty you’re folding into your marketing goals . If an amazing plan has a 40% chance of holding up to real-world scenarios, one without much rigor—and lots of assumptions—might hold up 10% of the time.

Consult your customer segments and buyer personas to get as much information as you can about the person buying your products, such as: 

• Demographic data (location, age, and income level) 
• Interests, goals, and challenges 
• Channels they use to discover new products

Be careful not to confuse this with your target audience . Children would be the target audience of a toy brand; parents are the buyer persona. The latter is who you’ll be reaching out to with your marketing plan. 

A SWOT analysis helps uncover your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relative to your competitors. It’s useful to include one as part of your marketing plan because it can help anticipate problems you might encounter, make more data-driven decisions, and spot areas where you can get ahead of your competitors. 

Dive deep into the data you already have about your customer base by investigating marketing analytics , social media audiences, and customer surveys . It reiterates who you’re trying to reach—and more importantly, the triggers that would make them buy your product over a competitor’s.

Remind yourself of your unique selling proposition (USP) throughout this process. Tailor your marketing plan around key takeaways from these. 

Include any special features, competitive advantages, or customer favorites your marketing plan will lean on.

You could have the best mattress in the world—one made with 100 springs and cotton stitching, vigorously tested by sleep experts. But you’d struggle to market it if you lean too heavily on product features. A customer cares more about getting a peaceful night’s sleep than detailed product specifications.

“Every great marketing plan needs one thing first: a product that is 10 times better than the next,” says Nick Saltarelli, co-founder of Mid-Day Squares . “Once you have that, marketing is about deep human connections.”

Nick says, “It felt obvious that there was a sweet spot somewhere in between: people who wanted to follow along, and a true behind-the-scenes look into building a massive chocolate business from the ground up.”

As a result, the Mid-Day Squares marketing plan doesn’t prioritize product promotion. The brand instead “focuses on getting people to fall in love with us, the founders, to scale the human connection,” Nick says.

What are you trying to achieve with your marketing plan? Create both short- and long-term business goals that relate to financial metrics like revenue growth, retention , or new customers .

Most marketers measure success using return on investment (ROI) —the revenue you expect to generate after spending your marketing budget. It’s every marketer’s dream to get $100,000 in sales from $1,000 in marketing spend. While that isn’t the most realistic expectation, knowing your target ROI will prevent overspending. If your ROI is hurtling beyond your predictions, you can better allocate that budget to be spent elsewhere.

But there’s more to marketing measurement than dollar returns. Revenue isn’t always the end goal. Brand awareness, website traffic, and social media followers are short-term marketing objectives that aim to get new people into your marketing funnel. Nail them early on and you set your business up for success later down the road.

Not everyone will see your products and convert into a customer instantly. Most people progress through a sales funnel. Content that will make someone progress to the next stage depends on the one they’re currently in. 

If you were to use Facebook ads to sell your products to a generic audience modeled on your buyer persona, for example, you might not get the highest conversion rate. These people don’t know who you are, what you stand for, or why they should choose you over a competitor. 

But if you used Facebook ads to specifically target people at the bottom of your marketing funnel, you could use retargeting ads to show items someone had in their shopping cart. You’re bound to get a better return on your investment with this strategy because you’re only investing money into reaching people who just need a final nudge to convert. 

Let’s break down how you might outline your marketing funnel in a marketing plan. 

Top of the funnel (TOFU)

People at the top of your marketing funnel don’t understand who you are or what you sell. Social media, podcasts, and video content play huge roles here. Each channel is used by potential customers looking to learn or be inspired.

For this stage, prioritize metrics that give insight into how people are engaging with your top-funnel content, such as:

• Video views
• Website clicks
• Click-through rate (CTR)
• Cost per click (CPC)

Middle of the funnel (MOFU)

People reach the middle of the funnel when they know they have a problem that needs to be solved. Look at the marketing channels and formats you’re using to target these people. Most often, it’s search engines and retargeted ads.

Google Analytics is your best bet here. While the dashboard can feel overwhelming for a lot of people, you don’t need to look at every report. Use the following metrics to see how people engage with your middle-funnel content:

• Bounce rate
• Pages per session 
• Users by traffic source
• Email subscriber conversion rate 

To track the data above, especially for advertising campaigns, add the Meta pixel to all pages of your store.

Bottom of the funnel (BOFU)

Going for the hard sell? For marketing messages where the only goal is to convert your audience into paying customers, consult the back end of your ecommerce store. It’s home to sales and product-related data that helps you understand whether your marketing plan is successful, such as:

• Added to cart conversion rate
• Average order value (AOV)
• Number of orders
• Reached checkout conversion rate
• Sales conversion rate

Post-funnel and retention

Planning to build a steady stream of paying customers off the back of your ecommerce marketing plan? It's easy to assume revenue growth comes from audience growth. But oftentimes, the easiest way to grow your revenue is by focusing on the people we forget about: existing customers.

Resist the temptation to focus on flashy metrics like social media followers and YouTube subscribers. Instead, involve existing customers in your marketing plan. Use them as a source of testimonials and word-of-mouth referrals.

“Happy customers have been powerful word-of-mouth catalysts for our brand, and it has made sense to keep them engaged,” says Chris Campbell, partner at The Charming Bench Company . “We’ve been getting a steady stream of five-star ratings on websites and social media, which we then share on our Facebook, X [formerly known as Twitter], Pinterest, and Instagram profiles. It’s a great alternative to pushing loud sales messages that don’t always work.”

Define your marketing channels 

Channels are the platforms you’ll use as part of your marketing plan. Go back to your market research and uncover the online and offline channels your target audience is using to shop and get entertained or inspired.

Some of the most popular channels for ecommerce businesses include:

• Social media . Social media is used by more than six out of 10 people . Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are free to use (on the whole) and help brands reach their target audience. 
• Search engines . Some 44% of online shoppers start their product research on search engines. By making search engine optimization (SEO) part of your marketing plan, you can generate new business by reaching people when they’re actively looking for your products or services.
• Email marketing  and  SMS marketing . Email and text message inboxes are two of the most sacred places for a marketer to reach. A phone number or email address gives you a direct line of communication with your target customers, if they opt in to hear from you.
• Podcasts . Record conversations you have with your team, customers, or experts in the industry and share them with your audience. By establishing yourself or your brand as a thought leader in your industry, you’ll inspire confidence that in turn builds trust in your products.
• Offline channels. While digital marketing is vital in today’s world, offline and in-person marketing efforts can be equally powerful. Get in front of people when they’re not online, using channels like word-of-mouth recommendations , radio, billboards and outdoor advertising , or TV marketing campaigns.

There’s a sweet spot to how many channels your marketing plan should include. Go too wide and you burn resources on channels with poor returns. But become too reliant on one channel and you’re at risk.

Algorithms power most digital marketing channels. They’re praised as the type of technology that delivers personalized experiences for their users, but any changes to an algorithm can make marketing plans utterly useless overnight.

“If you rely on SEO, then any algorithm updates could potentially cut your revenue for months before you recover,” explains Marquis Matson, VP of Growth at Sozy . “If you rely on paid ads, then any changes to privacy policies can cut your revenue. If you rely on email marketing, then any ESP  [email service provider]  policy changes can cut your revenue. Diversifying your acquisition is crucial in a fast-paced digital marketing world.”

Footwear brand Hippy Feet is one ecommerce brand that failed to diversify channels. “The original marketing plan was to drive traffic to our Shopify store through ads—relying heavily on paid Facebook and Instagram traffic,” says Sam Harper, Hippy Feet’s co-founder and CEO. “While this is still a major component of our marketing strategy, the decreasing effectiveness of these ads has forced us to expand our marketing efforts.

“A diverse media strategy is crucial to helping an ecommerce business survive in this highly-dynamic market. By driving traffic through SEO, email, and media coverage, we’re more resilient and less impacted by a single tech platform changing their algorithm.”

For each channel, define which content formats you’ll use to capture attention and drive website traffic. That could include:

• Audio. Reach podcast and radio listeners with audio content. 
• Images. Capture visual learners and shoppers on visually dominant social media sites with infographics, GIFs, and memes.
• Video. Get listed on YouTube , the world's second largest search engine, with explainer videos and product demonstrations. Many social media platforms— Instagram and TikTok included—are also evolving to prioritize video content. 
• Written content. Most search engine results retrieve links to optimized written content, such as blogs , transcripts, or landing pages .

Content marketing is a beast that constantly needs to be fed. Customers want newer, fresher, more exciting content on a regular basis. That’s demanding for a small business to keep up with.

If this sounds unsustainable, consider a content marketing strategy that collects user-generated content (UGC) from existing customers. The more they share their experiences with others, the more content you have to repurpose on each channel. It’s an effective route to scale your content marketing plan and stretch your editorial calendar if your marketing department has limited resources. Don’t have time to invest in promoting the content you create? Partner with popular influencers in your niche—those whose loyal audience overlaps with your target market .

Your marketing budget is the dollar amount you expect to spend executing your marketing plan. If you’re bootstrapped, you can run a marketing plan on a tight budget .

As part of your own marketing plan, state whether you intend to use each channel organically or boost it with advertising. Most channels allow businesses to run sponsored content, which is guaranteed to reach your target market across online and offline channels, like door-to-door sales , social media, TV, billboards, and radio.

“I apply for any competitions, press opportunities, and awards to get my small business out there at any given opportunity,” says Terri-Anne Turton, founder of The Tur-Shirt Company . 

The strategy has worked: The Tur-Shirt Company has won a Junior Design Award for best fashion newcomer and a shoutout from media entrepreneur Steven Bartlett after entering his #DeserveToBeFound competition with Facebook.

“I focus on those my target market knows of to build credibility,” says Terri-Anne. “Plus, most of the awards I enter are free or low-cost; they just need some time investment and creativity to take part. It proves my USP to my target market—that my kids’ clothing products are unique—without investing thousands into advertising.”

While you can run a strategy with little to no budget, this section of your marketing plan needs to account for more than any planned advertising spend. Time is a resource that needs to be managed and accounted for. Be sure to detail how much time you plan to spend executing your marketing strategy.

If you have a designated marketing team, it’s also worth noting who will be responsible for each element of your marketing plan. Who’s responsible for this marketing plan? Which team members are executing it? What experience do they have with marketing?

More importantly, detail what you expect from the resources you’re putting into your marketing plan. If you plan to spend $40,000 throughout the coming year, how much revenue will you get in return? If you’re producing a marketing plan for a large or public company, this is what stakeholders really want to see.

Go back to the KPIs (key performance indicators) you set in the earlier section of your marketing plan. How will you determine whether you’ve met these KPIs? What happens if you’re exceeding or falling short of your target? It’s good to have a plan of action for either case.

Let’s put that into practice and say you expected to increase sales by 20% through your social media marketing plan. Detail exactly how you’d measure this, for example, you could say, “we’ll look at our Shopify sales report once per month and analyze which channel is meeting this KPI. If a channel falls behind, we’ll evaluate why and either adjust our marketing plan or deprioritize it in favor of more effective channels.” 

The best marketers approach their plans with an open mind. The hypothesis you started with might be proven wrong. Don’t take that as a negative. You just got closer to finding what will work. 

Tips for creating your marketing plan

Set conservative expectations.

While it’s good to approach your marketing goals with confidence, high expectations often lead to disappointment when we fail to meet them. That disappointment is magnified in a marketing plan, as stakeholders or founders will have already bought into unrealistic predictions and business objectives.

Start small

Don’t overwhelm yourself and your team by trying to generate results with all marketing tactics at once: running Facebook ads, tweeting like crazy, writing daily blog posts for SEO, and making constant changes to site and content strategy to improve your conversion rate.

If you’re very lucky, one of these tactics will bring you consistent traffic and sales. But more often than not, trying everything at once will make you extremely busy without anything to show for it.

Take it from Jameela Ghann, owner of Alora : “When we first started Alora, 10 years ago, our marketing plan was unrealistic. We were just a couple of people making plans that were good on paper but almost impossible to execute with a small team.” 

Originally, Jameela’s team planned to invest in several marketing channels—online and offline advertising, PR, trade shows, influencer marketing, and blogging included. However, the team changed its marketing plan. They went deep on one channel instead of spreading resources too thin by trying to be everywhere at once.

“We stuck to one course of action that was where our customers were, and ready to buy, and easiest for us to see a good ROI,” Jameela says. “What really worked for us was focusing on a handful of channels that we knew we could do well.”

Go back to your audience research and identify three channels your target audience uses most often. Put most of your energy into perfecting those before overcomplicating things with a more comprehensive marketing plan.

Use historical data as a guide

Past performance can help you temper your expectations for your marketing plan. If you know your click-through rate (CTR) for Facebook ads is 0.1%, don’t stray too far from that baseline with your social media marketing .

The same goes for website content optimized for search : If you’re currently getting 10,000 visitors per month from Google, scaling your traffic up to a million is a tough battle. Instead, 50,000 visitors is a more achievable goal.

Allow for flexibility

The purpose of a marketing plan isn’t to create a never-fail manual. Whether your marketing team has fallen victim to completion bias or focused too heavily on one channel, sticking rigidly to your original plan can be a big mistake.

Imine Martinez, assistant manager at Rainbowly , says: “Our regular campaigns targeting mainly birthday celebrations and anniversaries offered poor return on ad spend and inconsistent results over the months.

“That said, during festive seasons, such as Christmas or New Year’s, our targeted campaigns were particularly profitable, achieving five times return on ad spend with much cheaper cost per click and impression.”

Continuing with the same marketing strategies despite this data would only have resulted in heartbreak. Rainbowly would be pouring money down the drain on ads that wouldn’t perform, just because its marketing plan said to do so.

Creating a marketing plan is the first step

A lot of hard work goes into a successful marketing plan. To create an attainable one, you’ll need to spend hours diving into competitive research, audience data, and channels your target market consults when researching new products.

Most importantly, know that marketing is unpredictable. There are thousands of scenarios that fundamentally change the marketing strategy that’s best for your business. Global pandemics, PR crises, and the emergence of new social media platforms are unpredictable.

Treat your marketing plan like the best-case scenario. Plan SMART goals and strategies but remember to be flexible to give your marketing the best chance of success.

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Marketing plan FAQ

How much does a marketing plan cost, how often should a marketing plan be reviewed, what are the 4 steps of a marketing plan.

• Conduct market research
• Outline your marketing channels and formats
• Create goals and measure performance

Why is marketing plan important?

What are some marketing plan mistakes.

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Updated May 1, 2024.

It takes time to build a marketing plan and it will change anyway, right? 100%. But creating your digital marketing plan is worth every minute of your time. If you build a business without a marketing plan, it’s like constructing a house without a blueprint. And you need a really good marketing plan template to get you on the right track.

Before we give out all the information and knowledge you need to create your winning marketing plan, let's start by giving you a FREE Digital Marketing Plan Template for 2024 . This is a great example of a great marketing plan that looks snazzy, too 😉.

Click on the image below, and make your own copy or download it to start using this template today.

Now that you have your marketing plan template, let's go over some basics before diving into more advanced aspects of marketing planning.

What is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a document that details how you're going to execute your strategy. It's written for a specific period of time and explains both your current situation and your future plans.

What’s the difference between a marketing plan and a business plan?

A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. A solid online marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, without a sound strategic foundation, it is of little use to a business. It has to have a set of concrete tasks and marketing tactics to follow.

Why do you need a marketing plan?

There are a ton of reasons why every brand and marketing team needs a good marketing plan.

Here are the top 3 reasons:

Create better goals

When you have specific goals to achieve you can plan your way to achieve them. Having too general goals like "growing my business" VS. measurable KPIs like "I want to grow my revenue by $600K, and to do that I need 1,000 new customers" is different.

Actual KPIs can help you plan exactly what will get you there. We recommend you set up some SMART goals - which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-framed.

Improve your focus

Marketing without focus can be very messy and super ineffective. Have you ever tried to run a company meeting without an agenda? Just like meetings, marketing needs focus.

The best tip we can give you is to focus on specific activities and have them done well. A digital marketing plan will help you focus on exactly the tasks that will impact your success.

Of course, things will change and your plan will change as well. But as long as you are using a good marketing plan outline you will have your next month’s tasks written down and your work will become that much more effective.

Stay consistent

The purpose of a marketing plan is to ensure that marketing activities are relevant and timely to achieve the organization's business objectives. It's a plan defining a sustainable competitive position and defining the resources necessary to achieve it.

Now that you know what a marketing plan is and what’s used for let’s talk about the key components that it’s built out of.

How do you make a good marketing plan?

A good marketing plan should have the following parts -

• Executive Summary
• Mission statement
• Market Analysis (SWOT)
• Competitor Analysis
• Target market & buyer personas
• Marketing objectives and KPIs
• Pricing strategy
• Growth strategy
• Marketing channels

And as a bonus we’ve added two more sections:

11. BONUS: How to assemble the right marketing team 12. BONUS: Top tools for marketing plan creation & design

Each of these key elements is vital for the right execution of your marketing strategy and I promise you it’s not as difficult as it looks.

Let’s dive in.

1. Create an executive summary

This might seem a little too formal for some marketers out there but it’s essential and I’ll explain why.

Marketing plans tend to get really long so it’s better to create a quick summary and highlight some of the key points of every aspect of your plan right at the beginning. This becomes the foundation of your marketing plan.

There is no set length for an executive summary but it should cover all of the main elements of your marketing plan. It should also quickly tell your story and highlight what you are trying to achieve. Add your KPIs, marketing channels, market strategy, and budget.

A good executive summary should give a quick taste of the entire plan and entice the reader (investor, upper management, CEO, etc) to read the rest.

Here’s a great 2-minute video from Hubspot that shows how to write an executive summary from start to finish.

The next section of the marketing plan has to do with your “why”.

2. Create a mission statement

A good mission should have 3 critical components -

• An overall mission or vision of the company
• The company’s core values
• The goals and marketing objectives

The key is to keep it precise, short, and powerful. Don’t write a long essay, don’t just throw a bunch of jargon around, and do get some input from the employees at the company.

Employee feedback on this is critical because marketing and sales activities have to align with the mission of the company so all the various teams in the business have to be in agreement on the general mission.

The worst thing you can do is have a mission that has no direct correlation to the actual activities or tasks. Such a mission won’t help you grow your business .

What’s the difference between the company vision and its mission?

The vision is like the why, the overarching goal and foundation of the company. The company’s mission includes the vision and adds to it the actions and activities that the company will do to help advance its vision. Here’s a great video by Simon Sinek that explains this concept.

Now let’s talk about how you are going to go about achieving that mission.

The first step is to understand the market and your particular industry.

3. Market analysis

Have you ever seen the TV show Shark Tank?

The first part of any pitch is a personal story and a quick description of the founders’ “why”. This is where you can find the vision and mission of the company.

Next, they almost always mention the size of the market and they quantify the opportunity that they are presenting to the sharks.

This is exactly what a market analysis is.

A market analysis is a quantitative and qualitative assessment of a market. It looks at the size of the market in terms of the value ($) and volume (quantity of product sold) and often highlights some of the latest trends or environmental conditions that define the opportunity cost.

So how do we do this?

A great way to structure this is by using the SWOT analysis technique.

What is a SWOT analysis?

A common marketing framework that can help you create a good marketing analysis is called the SWOT framework . It stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats .

Strengths - what is your company really good at? what makes you unique? what unique advantages do you have over your competition? What is your value proposition? What are some of the key resources, processes, and capabilities that your company has?

Weaknesses - what are the weakest points of the business? What are some of the areas in which you could improve on? What is your company lacking compared to your competitors?

Opportunities - what are the biggest trends in the market that could give your company an edge or an advantage? These could be demographic patterns, lifestyle choices, population dynamics, or governmental regulatory policies.

Threats - what are some of the external factors in the market that could negatively impact your business? What are some environmental factors that you should be aware of? What are some possible changes that could threaten your business performance and success?

Pro tip: Want to do your own SWOT analysis? Get our Marketing SWOT Analysis Template .

4. Competitive analysis

The next vital step is to understand your competition and what the competitive landscape looks like in your industry or niche.

The main questions your competitive analysis should answer are:

• Who are the competitors?
• What marketing strategies are they employing?
• And how are they going about achieving their goals?

Here’s one of my favorite competitive analysis frameworks from the renowned Myk Pono:

Now that you’ve completed your competitive analysis it’s time to zero in on your ideal customer.

5. Define your target market and buyer personas

The best way to create target personas for any brand is by creating a customer journey map. A customer journey map is a visual representation of all the various touchpoints that your brand has with a prospective customer.

This is a critical part of creating your marketing strategy.

Google introduced the moment of truth concept and this really relates to our discussion of marketing channels but it’s important to mention here as well.

Shoppers can find and interact with your brand through hundreds of channels, both online and brick-and-mortar. The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) concepts represents that stage of the buyer’s journey that leads them to find your product or solution for their problem.

Identifying the specific problem that the customer is looking to solve is critical. This is how you define your persona and this is what ultimately affects the rest of your marketing decisions.

Here's a great buyer persona template from Hubspot to help you create better audience personas.

6. Define your goals and KPIs

The first step when building a marketing plan is to understand and define which business goals are the plan aiming to achieve. Business and marketing should always go hand-in-hand - remember that. Questions you should answer are:

• What are the business goals I need to achieve?
• What KPIs will get me to achieve my goals?
• What does my marketing funnel look like?

Pricing is often part of the market and competitive analysis sections but sometimes brands discuss it separately. It depends on how important price considerations are for your business and how competitive your market is. For example, if a major advantage in your business is that your product is priced significantly lower than your competition then a pricing strategy will play a key role in your marketing plan.

On the other hand, if you are a brand like Apple that is trading on the quality and its other features more than a price comparison, then your focus will be less on price.

There are 5 common pricing strategies:

1. Cost-based pricing

This is when the price is solely based on the costs of the products. The company simply takes the cost it takes to produce the product or service and adds a markup.

2. Value-based pricing

This strategy is based on the perceived value of your product. So a great example here is a company like Apple that prices its products significantly higher than its competitors because of the perceived value they provide.

3. Competitive pricing

This is when a company sets a price based on what the competition is charging. A great example here is gas stations. Each gas station competes with the other stations on the block, trying to outbid the other.

4. Price skimming

This strategy involves setting a high price and then lowering it as the market evolves. A lot of tech products have a high price when they first launch in order to maximize profit and increased their perceived value.

5. Penetration pricing

Penetration pricing is the exact opposite of price skimming. It involves pricing a product really low at first in order to enter a competitive market, and then increasing the price slowly over time.

Fit your pricing strategy to your target customers

It's important to fit your pricing strategy to the specific customer segment that you are trying to reach. If you are markeing to the early adopters then price skimming will work. If you want to be adopted by the early or late majority then you may have to try penetration pricing.

You can always use customer feedback to get more data on this and make a better decision.

As you can see, there are a lot of different pricing strategies out there. Picking the right one for your business will depend on the previous steps in your marketing plan - the customer (or buyer) pain point, the market analysis, and the competitive analysis.

8. Define your marketing budget

Your marketing budget plan depends on your business stage

Much like marketing goals and KPIs, your budget planning depends on your business lifecycle stage (are you a startup or an established brand). Normally, startups invest more in gaining market share and acquiring new customers, whereas established brands would invest more in retention and reputation.

Your niche is also a factor

Each industry has a different marketing structure and consumer behavior, so your niche defines your marketing budget allocation as well. eCommerce in a competitive niche like fashion, for example, will need ways to lower its CAC (customer-acquisition-cost) and upsell.

Spending tipping point

You can't expect that if you invested $20,000 and got 1,000 leads to keep the same proportion at $200. Every channel should have a different amount allocated to it based on the return on investment (ROI) and your profit margins.

So make sure you invest enough into each channel to move the needle. You can benchmark with other businesses in your niche, or use a rule-of-thumb by which at least 20% of your expected revenue should be invested in marketing.

Lead generation and branding

Start planning your budget.

The first step when planning your marketing budget is to understand what are the growth channels that have worked for you so far and are part of your digital marketing strategy for the next year. According to each channel's effectiveness and cost, you can start allocating your monthly and yearly spend.

Questions you should answer for that are:

• What are the most effective growth channels I have so far?
• Are there more growth channels I want to test next year?
• Does seasonality affect my sales?
• Align your budget with your KPIs (!)

Now that you’ve identified what and how to spend your marketing dollars, it’s time to pick the marketing channels that you will be using to grow your business.

9. Define your marketing channels

It's important to decide on the specific marketing mix that is best for your business. Social media platforms and other marketing channels have absolutely exploded in the last decade so you have a ton of channels to choose from.

Now, remember to have an authentic brand presence on every channel and only expand to ones that fit your brand strategy . Here are some of the top ones that you should consider for your marketing plan template:

Content marketing

Content marketing is very powerful for inbound marketing. Studies show that 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content per day and the year-over-year growth in traffic is 7.8X higher for content leaders.

Companies like Capterra and Quuu attribute their success to really good content.

Now, remember, content is a long-term game, short-term wins are very rare. You should create, design, and post content consistently and continue to optimize.

Social Media

Social media is another powerful marketing aspect of any brand’s marketing strategy. It provides an opportunity for you to present your brand in a visual way through images and videos.

Studies show that 90.4% of Millennials, 77.5% of Generation X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers are active social media users, so don’t ignore these platforms if your brand isn’t “sexy” enough.

The marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk has always said that brands in the construction or plumbing industries should absolutely post content and interact with their audience on social media. If you bring people value you will generate leads that will eventually convert into sales .

>> Want to get more engagement and traffic from social?

Email marketing

Email marketing has the highest ROI of any marketing channel. Studies show that marketers make $44 for every $1 they spend on email marketing. It’s 40X more effective than using social media to generate sales.

If you are a B2C company then this is an absolute must. You should be sending out weekly or biweekly campaigns, you should set up some automatic welcome and cart abandonment flows, and you should definitely set up some email automation for the customers that convert through a popup.

If you are primarily B2B you might think that email marketing is not as powerful for you but that is absolutely not the case. According to WordStream , 59% of B2B marketers say that this is the most effective way to generate sales.

Another great way to use this channel is for branding. For example, a lot of companies leveraged the global COVID pandemic to engage in new ways with their target customers. They used really creative ways to send really helpful and cheerful emails that helped lift people’s spirits.

Advertising

Last but not least, there’s advertising. This is our specialty here at Mayple . We have over 1,500 talented ads experts that we match with the brands that we work with. Advertising is an important aspect of your marketing strategy that you should absolutely have on your digital marketing plan template.

There are several ways you could utilize advertising as a marketing channel .

First, there is social advertising. You could advertise on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Quora. Then there are Google Ads that come in the form of PPC or you could use a tool like Taboola or Outbrain to leverage Google’s Display Network.

You could also retarget your site visitors using ads on any of these networks. This type of advertising is particularly effective and we recommend it to all the brands that we work with.

Now let’s talk about your marketing or growth strategy.

10. Define your growth strategy

After you’ve set your marketing goals, KPIs, and budget, it's time to plan your marketing activities for this year! Ready? 💪

What to consider when planning your marketing?

After you figured out what are the channels you're going to invest in, the marketing plan should show all the activities you're going to run under each growth channel.

Here are some examples you can use:

Paid media marketing campaigns

To plan and design your paid campaigns correctly you should know what are the most effective channels you are going to start using and to build a marketing funnel that shows you when are you going to advertise to "first-touch" prospects (people that don't know you yet) and what will remarketing prospects will want to see in order to be persuaded to take the next move.

Now, plan the marketing activities for each of your marketing funnel stages (from the awareness stage to the decision stage) and prospects' journeys from the setup stage to the live campaign stage. You can also add special events and design seasonal promotions in your paid campaigns such as sales season and other special occasions.

Content strategy & distribution

Content marketing is all about connecting with your customer base and potential buyers at every level of the funnel. An effective content distribution strategy should take into consideration the types of content you want to publish and the ideal distribution channels for your potential customers at each stage of the marketing funnel.

Another important thing to remember about content is consistency.

Don't plan your content on social channels if you won't have the resources to be consistent with your posting. It's better to focus on fewer things and do them well. Content can include any valuable engagement you have with your audience, whether it's on your Facebook, on a blog post, or in your email marketing .

Some of your content efforts will be ongoing (for example, SEO) and some will be building assets for future use (for example, Video).

Offline / Local

Ok, so we’ve covered all the aspects of an effective marketing plan.

Now let’s talk about the type of expertise you will need to assemble to execute your strategy.

11. BONUS: How do you build the perfect marketing team?

As we all know, marketing management can be lonely (at every size of business by the way), so a crucial factor in your marketing success is building a good team to execute your marketing plan. It can be an in-house team, a team of experts you hire, or as in most cases, a hybrid of in-house employees combined with marketing service providers ( agencies or freelancers).

3 Fundamentals of a good marketing team:

Here are the three top elements of a really effective marketing team.

I'll start by saying a good marketing team depends first and foremost on its leader (Yeah, that's you!). When you choose the right people and know how to manage them right, your success rates are already good. At the end of the day, good marketing starts with a good strategy, continues with a reasonable plan, and depends on great execution.

Expertise blend

Your strategy and plan require specific human capabilities so they will be executed well. If you're planning on running paid media campaigns, you better start your year with an expert on your team that knows the job and that you can count on to deliver on your expectations.

To decide whether to hire an in-house employee or a service provider, you should consider two things:

• What is more important for you - flexibility or control?
• Do you have access to

In my experience, experienced marketing professionals either demand very high salaries or work independently / in small agencies (for example ecommerce SEO agencies ).

Measurement and performance

We're back talking about your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and so should you in every marketing decision you make. After you made sure you have all the needed resources in terms of human talent to get your plan running, you'll need to keep tracking, measuring, and motivating them to be focused on achieving your goals and KPIs.

Not an easy task, especially when you need to measure both in-house employees and service providers. It’s important to understand what KPIs are relevant to each of your team members, and how to run these tracking sessions in a way that will bring everyone together to achieving better results for your business.

Questions to ask a

Questions to assess their experience, with respect to your unique business requirements:

• What industry-relevant experience do you possess?
• What kinds of campaigns have you previously managed?
• Can you show me some examples?

Questions that assess their ability to build the campaign strategy you need:

• How do you plan a campaign?
• How do you decide on each campaign’s distribution?
• Do you A/B test different campaign messages?

Questions about reporting and KPIs - clear expectations!

• Which KPIs do you think are relevant to us?
• Which KPIs do you expect to reach?
• Which reporting format do you use?
• What would be the frequency of the reports you generate?

Excellent. You now know how to assemble your marketing team.

And you might be asking yourself, how do I write this marketing plan? It’s going to take me ages! There is so much research that goes into it, do I have to do it all manually?

The answer is no way! There are a ton of marketing tools & software that can help you create your actionable marketing plan way faster.

Here are a few.

12. BONUS: What are the best tools to use to create a marketing plan?

Here are some of the top marketing tools to use to create your marketing plan.

Tools for research

There are numerous tools to use to obtain all the market research and business analytics for your marketing plan.

Alexa is a great tool to get insights into your market and your competitors. It has some really great advanced features that can show you your site demographics, where your traffic comes from, and the traffic sources of your competitors.

Similarweb is another great tool for research. It’s like Alexa in that it has some very similar features but has more reporting capability, and has other metrics like geography, referring sites, and SEO metrics.

Ahrefs is one of the top SEO tools out there. It can give you some of the most sophisticated information about the types of backlinks you or your competitors have, search engine rankings, and much more.

Tools for collaboration

Basecamp is a great tool for team collaboration. You can use it to message your team, store and organize project files efficiently, and work better with your team. There are so many data points to gather for your marketing plan and you will need to collaborate with multiple teams in your company.

Slack is another great tool for team collaboration. Though it’s more focused on communication it does provide a great way to store information and collaborate with co-workers (and it has a slick design and an easy-to-use interface).

Speaking of design, let’s talk about visual design tools and software for your marketing plan.

Tools for charts and presentations

This is a great design tool for making charts. They have a really easy-to-use drag and drop design interface that allows you to create fancy charts and diagrams for your marketing plan in minutes.

Canva is a great design tool for all kinds of design projects. It has a wide range of features that you could use to design amazing graphics and download them for your marketing plan.

13. BONUS: Top marketing plan examples

There are so many areas of digital marketing and if you want to be really efficient you should make a plan for each one. The best way to learn is from the experts so let’s look at some of the best sample marketing plans. You can download any of these or save a copy for yourself.

Content Marketing Strategy Template - by Buffer

This is a really great plan for your content. It breaks down every process from discovering your ideal customers, to creating their buyer persona, finding the main challenges that your content could solve, and so on. This is a really in-depth guide designed for any content marketing out there.

Simple Marketing Plan - from Cengage

Here’s another really great marketing plan example. This one looks really old school, so if you are a visual learner this one is probably not for you. But if you want to see a really well-written explanation of every section of a traditional marketing plan, you will get a lot of this example. Download it and fill it out, you will get a lot of value out of it.

One Page Marketing Plan Template - from SmartSheet

Ok, if that wasn’t simple enough for you, here’s a quick one-page cheat sheet that you can use to quickly summarize your entire marketing plan. This one is really useful for a quick brainstorming session, especially when working with a remote team.

Marketing Strategy Template for Increasing Blog Traffic - from Sumo

Sumo has some incredible marketing plan templates. I used one of their templates to grow an Instagram account from 0-30k subscribers in 18 months. And here they strike again with a super-specific template & strategy on how to take your blog traffic to 10,000 visits in just 12 weeks.

Marketing plan infographic for specific projects - from Visme

Speaking of content, let’s talk about video.

Creating a video strategy for a brand can be a pretty complex task. You have a bunch of teams, a variety of factors to consider, and it can become a big mess pretty quickly. So, if you want to create a strategic marketing plan template for a specific project like that, then use this infographic template from Visme to display everything and make it all really easy for the whole team to follow.

This format is especially powerful when you’ve hired a digital marketing consultant because that’s when things can get a little unclear. So organizing every project into a quick infographic can provide a really great way to keep everyone organized.

Email List Marketing Strategy Template

An email list is one of the most powerful tools any business has. It’s really hard to grow your list and keep subscribers engaged. Here’s a great marketing plan example for growing a list to over 1,500 new subscribers in 12 weeks.

Email Marketing Plan Template - from Hubspot

Here’s a great email marketing planning template from Hubspot that helps you create better emails. Hubspot is an incredible software product for any brand and they make incredible templates and guides on virtually every aspect of digital marketing. This template in particular has 3 parts - email planning, analytics, and A/B testing.

Ecommerce Marketing Plan Template - from Sumo

We’ve been focusing more and more on eCommerce businesses recently, and you can learn all about it in our eCommerce marketing guide . Here’s an example of a marketing plan that takes you through all the steps of growing your eCommerce revenue in 12 weeks.

eCommerce Marketing Plan Example - from Drip

Here’s another great marketing plan example from Drip. This one is a broad overview of each section and has some additional tracking info to fill out, that the other plans didn’t cover. It’s a quick and easy one.

14. How to Create a Social Media Marketing Template

This is something that we get asked often. Sometimes a marketing manager or brand owner doesn’t want to design a whole new marketing plan from scratch, but only wants to focus on their social media.

How do you go about creating a social media marketing plan ?

Here’s a high-level overview of how to go about it.

1. Choose your SMART Goals.

We’ve spoken about this at the beginning of this article, and it’s super crucial that any kind of plan starts with some goals that make sense.

SMART stands for -

Here’s an example of a vague goal:

-We will increase our blog traffic to 100k monthly uniques.

Here’s how you turn that into a SMART goal:

- We will increase our blog traffic by 10% each month for the next 12 months by increasing all of our posts to 3,000 words and optimizing on-page content.

Did you notice how I set a deadline on that SMART goal?

T stands for time-bound and deadlines are absolutely crucial.

2. Define your target audience

It’s time to narrow down who your ideal customer is.

First, start by looking at your data on Google Analytics or any other tool you’re using. Find out as much information on your audience as you can.

This could include:

• Average income
• Shopping habits

3. Look at your competitors

4. analyze your social data.

Now that you know what your competitors are doing, compare that to where you are holding with your current marketing efforts.

Look at the following things on each channel:

• How many followers do you have
• How much engagement (likes & comments) you get
• Which types of posts are most successful
• Days of the week and times your account gets the most engagement
• Best times to post

5. Decide on accounts & channels

Next, choose the right social media platforms for your business. Decide which ones you want to use and for what purposes. It could be that one channel you could use for impressions, and on the other one, you really care about the engagement.

Here’s what we do at Mayple:

• Facebook - Organic impressions + ads to get new brands and marketing experts signed up -> lead generation and sales
• Instagram - Organic impressions + engagement aimed at marketers
• LinkedIn - Organic engagement + traffic for brand growth

You might find that Pinterest is a perfect platform to get traffic, while Instagram is primarily for sales. It totally depends on the industry, design, content format, and type of business you have.

6. Get some inspiration

Now that you’ve decided on the channels you’re going after, look at some of the best social media posts for your niche and make an inspiration wall for yourself.

Look for posts or videos that catch your eye, designs, color schemes & messaging that would work well for your content.

7. Decide on post types and formats

Next, decide on the exact types and formats of your posts.

Here are a few post formats you could pick from:

• Carousel posts
• Instagram Stories
• Short-form content
• Long-form content

I recommend deciding on 4-5 formats and testing them out for a few weeks.

8. Create a social media calendar

Now it’s time to put it all together into one calendar.

Use a scheduling app like eClincher , Sendible , CoSchedule , or Later .

They all have different features, so find something that fits your needs and budget.

Once you upload all of your posts into one calendar you can see it all visually, and see your post frequency for each platform.

9. Test for 30-60 days and re-evaluate

Are you excited? It’s time to launch this thing!

Launch your posts for the next 1-2 months and see how they do. After 2 months, re-evaluate your progress, and double down on the posts that did really well.

Take out the posts that didn’t do so well.

Continue optimizing as you go along.

Top Social Media Plan Templates

Here are a few of our favorite social media plan templates. You can use these to plan your calendar, to better optimize your strategy, and to rock out like the top brands out there.

Social Media Audit Template by Hootsuite

This template is a really great general for all of your needs. They have a separate tab for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Each tab is divided into a grid for all your accounts, performance, audience, goals, and even a SWOT analysis. These guys cover it all!

Get it ->

We’ve covered pretty much everything you need to know about how to plan, create, and design your digital marketing plan. Your plan should be the basis for all of the marketing initiatives of your marketing department. It should serve as the guideline for creative marketing material, setting up your campaigns, and your plan of action.

We’ve already created a really effective marketing plan template, which you can get - here .

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Brand Marketing Strategy: The Full Story

Laura Kloot

Branding, marketing, brand marketing? Confused? That’s understandable.

For companies to compete off and online and among target audiences overloaded with ads and information. It’s vital to grasp the differences and overlaps between branding and marketing, and how brand marketing stands on its own. From there, you can build the foundations for a strong brand marketing strategy.

So let’s start at the beginning with a deep dive into the full story of brand marketing. Also, we’ll focus on what it is, how it differs from branding and marketing, and how to do it for your company.

What is Branding?

Branding is who you are, your company’s identity, personality, and values. Branding should be reflected in everything you do, from product development to marketing, employee relations to office design. In order to determine who your brand is, you need to ask yourself several questions. These are an excellent place to begin:

• What are your core principles and values?
• What is your mission statement?
• What inspired you to build your business?
• Why do you want to offer your products or services to your target audience?
• What makes you unique?
• What is your internal company culture?
• What is your professional sense of style?
• What are your communication characteristics?
• What do you want to come to mind when someone hears your business name?
• How do you want people to feel when they think of your business?
• How do you want customers to describe you as a company?

Answering these questions will help you to craft a full sense of your brand and what you want it to reflect. Make sure to dig deep. Bounce them off your colleagues and professional mentors. You’ll probably notice that all of the questions are related to your internal culture and operations. Branding is what you build on the inside, and that is what will emanate externally to the market and target audience.

Remember, branding is not an overnight process. Businesses can spend significant time and resources in developing and fleshing out their brand. Many turn to specialized branding agencies to help them through the process. But here’s why it is so important, and how it connects to marketing: Your branding cultivates what your customers will come to expect of you, and what they experience when interacting with your business or products. And your brand will be the base for all your marketing efforts, and every way you connect with customers. 

What is Branding in Marketing?

While branding is your identity, marketing is all the tactics and goals used to communicate that identity, build relationships with customers, and drive sales.

Marketing is continually changing and evolving, as new tools and channels arise, along with the changes in your offerings to customers, like updated products or expanded services. Marketing tactics and campaigns can and should be adapted for targeting different segments of your audience, but at the same time, supports the core values and identity of your brand. That never changes.

Marketing encompasses a broad mix of methods and channels, both online and offline, including:

• Content strategy
• Social media 
• Email marketing
• Paid Advertising 
• Mobile marketing
• Native advertising
• Video marketing
• Holiday marketing
• OOH (Out of Home): ie, billboards

Branding vs Marketing

Have you ever considered the difference between branding and marketing? If so, you are not alone. You may even wonder why you need to worry about branding at all if you are deep into marketing, or vice versa. The thing is, branding and marketing are connected, but also separate. In today’s competitive marketplace, you need to differentiate your business and products from all the others. And to do that, you need both strong branding and strong marketing.

When it comes to branding vs. marketing, think of it like this: branding is who you are, while marketing is how you draw consumers to you. While marketing methods come and go, and may even change from year-to-year, or season to season, your brand will always remain constant.

There’s another way that marketing and branding are different, and that is conversions. Marketing is mostly measurable and attributable, and typically demands the use of KPIs to prove its performance and value. The power of branding is generally harder to quantify and measure, and it is therefore not so strongly connected to KPIs. (Even so, branding is becoming more measurable via various online tools and methods. Take a look at how Karcher vacuum cleaner brand was able to measure an 81% lift in brand recognition via Outbrain native ads).

Brandformance Marketing: The New Frontier

Recently, a new concept has emerged in digital marketing, called ‘brandformance marketing’ . Brandformance is a merging of the more fluid, qualitative process of branding with the measurable, quantitative approach of performance marketing. 

Performance marketing is usually associated with hard, defined campaign goals, such as conversions and purchases; these are bottom-funnel campaigns. Brandformance takes the typical performance or PPC campaign and adapts it for brand awareness and other top-funnel and mid-funnel goals. 

Brandformance is becoming popular on platforms like TikTok, where video KPIs can be applied to brand campaigns. Onyx by Outbrain™ is a dedicated branding and performance platform that is already working with some of the world’s leading brands, and gaining impressive results in measuring and increasing attention metrics – the level of attention that the audience pays to online advertisements. In a recent Onyx branding campaign, Toyota saw an increase of over 40% in attention compared to the benchmark. 

What is Brand Marketing?

Ok, so now we have established what is branding, what is marketing, and how they are different, let’s add more fuel to the fire and introduce the concept of brand marketing.

Brand marketing focuses on marketing a business or product via its brand, so it could be regarded as a subset of the wider arena of marketing, or a blend of both branding and marketing. Here are a few points about brand marketing to create a clearer understanding:

Brand marketing is a long-term strategy.

Brand marketing is not like a PPC campaign or week-long sale that tries to create an immediate return on investment. It is a slow-and-steady strategic activity, based on the company’s very essence and authenticity, so it should be seen as a long game.

Brand marketing takes time to reap fruit.

A brand is not built overnight. Just like it takes time to get to know a new friend, so it will take time for consumers to get familiar with a brand. Brand marketing must reinforce the brand with every campaign or opportunity for exposure. The results will start to roll in and gain momentum only after a few months or even years of activity.

Brand marketing is ongoing and can take many forms.

Because brand marketing works in the long term, it must be practiced continually and should encompass different methods and tactics. There is no one way to build brand awareness – that’s why marketers tend to use several different tactics and channels that are suitable for the goals of brand marketing, such as video advertising, native advertising, or community sponsorships. 

The overarching goal of brand marketing is to grow the business.

Although there are many ways to do brand marketing, and many goals that you might want to achieve (ie. build brand awareness, increase views of a branding video on social media), the ultimate purpose of brand marketing is to get exposure, stand out in the marketplace, gain customers, and grow the business. So while brand marketing might seem grand and broad, don’t forget its purpose is very concrete (and part of the overall marketing strategy).

Because it is so tightly bound to a business’s identity and authenticity, brand marketing is vital to building trust and loyalty among consumers. That’s why brand marketing is an invaluable part of a company’s overall marketing strategy and efforts to acquire and retain customers, even if it takes time, and even if the results are not instantly measurable. Fact is, you can’t put a price on positive consumer sentiment, and that’s what brand marketing is all about.

Brand Marketing Strategy

Every marketing activity requires a strategy in order to get the best possible results. This means devising a goal and a plan, executing it, and measuring the results to optimize for the future. Brand marketing is no different. Let’s take a deeper look at brand marketing strategy and how to do it.

What is a brand marketing strategy?

Brand marketing strategy is a long-term plan whose purpose is to increase a brand’s position and positive perception in the market. The strategy can include several media channels, campaign types, and a variety of tactics to reach its goals. These may include paid ads, native ads, social media marketing, video marketing, SEO, and search marketing, among others. A solid brand marketing strategy will gather momentum, building on past results to increase its power and influence among the target audiences as time goes on.

How to build a brand marketing strategy?

Here is a basic breakdown of the steps you should follow to build out your brand marketing strategy.

• First, craft your brand. Before diving into brand marketing campaigns, it is essential to define and craft your brand down to the finest detail. This means deciding on your mission, values, brand character, tone of voice, and look and feel. This is the time to develop a brand book if you are planning to have one, which serves as a guide to all the design and creative elements of your branding activities.
• Identify your audiences. A brand can mean different things to different audience segments. For example, a baby equipment brand is perceived differently by new parents than by new grandparents. A brand marketing strategy should consider all the various audience segments, and what the brand messaging should look like for each, all while staying aligned with the brand’s overall vision and values.
• Create marketing messages and assets. Once your brand and audiences are defined, it’s time to develop assets for your brand marketing campaigns. It is always a good idea to diversify your marketing channels. Don’t just run social media ads. Mix it up with other channels, such as native ads, YouTube marketing, or local advertising channels, if you are a local-based business. Start with 2 or 3 campaigns on different channels, and build up from there. Once you’ve decided what campaigns to run with, you can craft the messages, images, and copy as required and according to the specifications of various advertising and social platforms. 
• Run, test, and analyze campaigns. Now it’s time to launch the campaigns. Digital campaigns can and should be closely monitored, and their performance analyzed in comparison to the targets you set and industry benchmarks. It’s also a great idea to test campaigns so you can know what is working and what is not. Check out these tips for A/B testing success.
• Optimize your successes and build on them. When you have a clear picture of your campaign performance, you can decide what to pursue to advance your brand marketing even further. For example, if you get good traction on a brand video, then you know the message is working. Then you can create a follow-up video in the same tone. Always check in to make sure you are sticking to your brand identity. It’s the only way to support a solid brand marketing strategy that will have a strong impact in the long term.

How Social Media Impacts Brand Marketing

One of the most powerful impacts on brand marketing is certainly the social media arena. Social networks are where consumers spend a good deal of time connecting with friends and family, getting recommendations for products and services, and engaging with brands. Did you know that 85% of Gen Zers say that social media impacts their purchasing choices ? With stats like these, brands can’t afford to not use social media as part of their brand marketing strategy.

Brand marketing on social media is not just about promoting posts or videos. It is an opportunity to interact with customers and to boost brand image by creating positive experiences. As per a survey – 71% of users say they would recommend a brand to family and friends after a positive interaction on social media. For example, responding to messages or comments quickly and effectively makes customers feel appreciated and cared for, and there is no more powerful marketing tactic than that. Think of social media as a two-way communication tool between your brand and customers. You will ensure it has the most positive and uplifting impact on your brand marketing.

Brand Marketing Examples

Crocs: tiktok advertising.

The crocodile-inspired footwear brand has frequent success stories on its TikTok channel, with posts regularly gaining millions of views. The brand has got marketing down to a T, with a wide range of video styles and stories that communicate the Crocs vibe while speaking the language of the target audience. Check out this TikTok short promoting the Croc western boot – “sometimes you wanna be a cowboy, but you wanna be comfortable while doin’ it” . The ironic and humorous video has over 6 million views to date.

@crocs It’s the Croc that won the west, partner #Croctober2023 #CrocStars #croctok ♬ original sound – Crocs

BMW: Video advertising

This video ad by BMW is an incredible example of how to communicate the sense of a brand in a smart, cheeky, and unforgettable way. When the long-standing CEO of Mercedes Dieter Zetsche retired, BMW produced an ad featuring a lookalike of Zetsche, showing him saying goodbye on his last day and returning home via a chauffeur-driven Mercedes. Then, he is shown starting his new life of freedom, powering out of the garage in a sleek BMW vehicle. The ad ends with the words “Thank you, Dieter Zetsche, for so many years of inspiring competition.” This ad is unafraid to engage the competition to explore their brand identity and communicate their strength and confidence. Genius brand marketing!

Ferrero Rocher: Brand affinity 

This Ferrero Rocher native advertising campaign was specifically aimed at boosting the Ferrero brand around the end-of-year holiday season. The campaign promoted a range of DIY holiday entertaining tips via native placements targeted to relevant audiences. This branded content was highly useful and informative to readers, leading to a significant boost in brand affinity – the emotional connection customers have towards a brand. The campaign resulted in over 100K visits to the Ferrero site, and +8 points average boost to retention rate. This indicates a content-based native campaign for brand marketing can strengthen brand perception for marketing.

Brand Marketing: A Roundup

Hopefully, you now understand the concept of brand marketing, its importance, and how to begin. Sure, we had to go back to basics and start off with a refreshed definition of branding and marketing in order to understand how they work together in brand marketing. With that knowledge, you’ll be ready to embark on a long-term brand marketing strategy that will grow over time and make your brand a shining star.

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