What business problems does a brand strategy solve?

I get asked all the time what business problems does a brand strategy help solve for? My answer is pretty much everything, but when that doesn't suffice, I drop this Top 10! 🥁

Let me know what you think and what am i missing? 🧐

Ⅰ - UNCLEAR BRAND POSITION
Audiences don’t know how to perceive you – in other words, they don’t know what to think of you, what you stand for or what you offer. Clear positioning at the center of your brand strategy provides that clarity.

Ⅱ - LACK OF MARKETPLACE DIFFERENTIATION
Audiences can’t tell you apart from the competition – you are living in a ‘sea of sameness’ and you can’t find your sweet spot. A big part of a brand strategy is defining how you can stand out distinctively from the pack.

Ⅲ - WEAK BRAND RECOGNITION & RELEVANCY
Audiences don’t remember who you are or what you offer. If they can’t remember you, how can you hope to even be relevant to them? No relevancy = no business and a brand strategy defines how you will strive to be relevant.

Ⅳ - OUTDATED AND ‘LEGACY’ BRAND
You might’ve been relevant in the past however audiences don’t connect with you now – a strategic brand refresh or rebranding may be necessary to revitalize your relevance in their lives. Before you change a thing however, you start with a strategy.

Ⅴ - INCONSISTENT IMAGE
There is no consistency across all your customer touchpoints creating disjointed brand and buying experiences - Think Apple from ads to unboxing to store visits. A brand strategy provides the mandate and guide posts to unify all.

Ⅵ - STALE VISUAL IDENTITY AND CREATIVE
The brand feels, looks and sounds stodgy and doesn’t have that spark that connects to the hearts of audiences. You are stuck in stale and need to inspire creativity - your brand strategy serves as your brief.

Ⅶ - REPUTATION HAS TAKEN A HIT
As Mike Tyson so poignantly put it, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Everything was seemingly working, but isht hit the fan and now you have no clear path to turnaround your brand’s reputation. Ahem, brand strategy.

Ⅷ - NEW CHALLENGER TO A CATEGORY OR MARKET
You need to quickly establish a presence, gain trust with audiences and overcome the advantages entrenched incumbents have. Not easy, but a brand blueprint can get you there.

Ⅸ - [PERFORMANCE] ADS DON’T WORK LIKE THEY USED TO
You’ve devalued your brand by constantly giving discounts and selling to an algorithm. Turn it around by focusing on value-led tactics with engaging content at the forefront defined by your brand strategy.

And last, but not least... 😮‍💨

Ⅹ - LIMITED AND SHORT-LIVED GROWTH
A reliance on short-term marketing tactics has led to quick growth bursts with little impact on creating sustainable revenue streams and increasing future demand. A brand strategy helps you create a balanced marketing plan ensuring value, purpose and positioning are embedded throughout the customer funnel (or loop).

But wait, you get a bonus! 🎉

Ⅺ- VALUE PROP CLARITY

Too often brands try and be ‘everything for everyone’. Simplicity and clarity in the value prop is a critical output of a brand strategy and an important articulation of the promise a brand makeo to audiences.