9 Brand Strategy Problems You Can’t Afford to Ignore — Learn How to Respond Now!

Just like strands of DNA, no two brands are alike. That’s why a solution for one of your clients may not work for the other. After all, each brand faces its unique challenges.

Let’s continue with the DNA analogy. Any two human beings are 99.9 percent identical. The genetic differences among human beings are minute. Likewise, the strategic problems that brands face are comparable.

Based on our experience, there are nine common brand strategy problems. Here is how you can respond to them.

1. There is a new brand.

Every year, roughly 600,000 new businesses open and 30,000 new products are introduced. Every one of those clients needs to create a brand, which means they need a brand strategy. First, you must build its brand platform, which defines its purpose, promise, and personality.

2. There is intense competition.

Brands don’t exist in a vacuum. Instead, they compete with each other. Like great empires, brands rise and fall. They grow when they exploit a niche in the market; they lose momentum when their once-untapped market matures. Successful distinctions, in time, are eroded by imitation. Exceptions become norms. In such cases, you should help your clients radically differentiate their brands.

3. There is a new breed of demanding customers

Today’s customers are growing more demanding and impatient. Access to information and social media have created a short-attention-span customer that brands have increasing difficulty satisfying. The truth is we ignore most of what happened and focus instead on a few particular moments. That means you should create customer experiences that have an extraordinary impact.

4. There is price pressure.

The pandemic forced people to change their buying behaviours regarding price sensitivity and perceived quality. Today, most of us are more price-sensitive. That puts tremendous pressure on the margins of your client. At this point, however, remember the famous saying:

“Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

Price and perceived value are not the same. The former is one of the many components of the latter. So, if your clients are struggling under price pressure, help them unlock different value types.

5. There is a drop in market share.

If differentiation brings a brand to the table, relevance completes the sale. Some brands are great at capturing attention. But if they have no power to build relevance, they are doomed to stay as an intriguing option. To convert their potential into results, they need to develop clear relevance. Healthy differentiation can help a brand regain its market share.

6. There is a merger.

As the saying goes, “nothing is certain except for death and taxes.” Well, corporate mergers might be a close third. Last year alone, almost 50 thousand merger and acquisition transactions took place worldwide. Anytime an organization goes through a merger or a divestiture, repositioning becomes necessary. Moreover, a merger creates a plethora of other branding needs: brand architecture, identity design, naming, persuasive messaging, and stakeholder communications, to name a few.

7. There is a need for organic growth.

The business world is obsessed with growth. At one point, your clients will face pressure to grow their brand. However, in reality, growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell. So instead, you should advise them to focus on development. Show them how to develop their brand and advance their story by entering new markets, meaningful line extensions, and win-win co-branding opportunities.

8. There is an issue with shareholders.

While shareholder value is no longer everything, it is still a huge deal. That’s why investor communications are vital for a company’s success. You can help your client communicate clearly to stakeholders with consistent, well-branded shareholder communications at every touchpoint: printed annual report, annual review design, online shareholder centre, and general yearly meeting event production.

9. There is a productivity problem

Especially for service or experience companies, their internal audience is as influential as their external one. Regarding employees, the most critical factor is their level of engagement. Strikingly, research shows only 13 percent of worldwide employees are engaged. Suppose your client is suffering from disengaged employees. In that case, you can offer internal branding services to improve their recruitment, onboarding, culture-building, and career-planning efforts.

While brands come in all shapes and forms, their strategic problems mostly overlap. Here is a business development exercise for you:

• Make a list of all your clients.
• Next, right down their most significant business issue. Don’t focus on the solution — instead, zero in on the pain point.
• Finally, use this article as a rapid diagnostic tool to identify the most appropriate services you can offer them.

Your clients are looking to you to help them navigate the challenges and opportunities they face in the market. By understanding the nine most common brand strategy problems, you can be better prepared to offer solutions that will help your clients succeed. Use this article as a guide, and take the time to identify your client's pain points. With the right strategies, you can help them build strong, resilient brands that will stand the test of time.

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