An Inside Peek at my Brand Strategy Process

One of the first courses I bought when I started my business was a course on how to set up your design process. 

I felt so caught up in making sure that I delivered the best experience for my clients, if I were to leave them happy & satisfied. But, I ended up spending way too much time honing my process (more than I’m willing to admit 🙈), when it wasn’t actually the thing that got me clients.

Because what did get me clients was showing up and engaging with those who might actually need my services not hiding & fixating on creating the perfect client experience (there’s no such thing, by the way!)

That’s why today, I wanted to share with you a glimpse of my brand strategy process to show you that it’s a lot simpler than most people put it out to be, and you might even be surprised to find out that you’re already doing some form of it. ✨

Step 01: Discovery Questionnaire 

To prepare clients to start thinking about their brand and get into the right headspace before the strategy session, I ask them to fill out a preliminary discovery questionnaire that covers: 

• who they serve
• what they value
• what makes them different
• the benefits they provide
• how they want to be perceived

Step 02: Brand Strategy Session

After reviewing their questionnaire, we’d hop on a 2 to 3-hour call where we dive deeper into their brand, their vision, and their goals. This is the part where we collaborate and brainstorm on possible short-term and long-term creative solutions that will support their growth.

Step 03: Brand Strategy Development

I’d then take all of the information from the strategy session and piece together patterns, thoughts, and insights that will inform the brand strategy. From here, I’ll map out the following:

• brand mission, vision, values
• audience profile
• customer journey
• competitive analysis
• differentiating factor
• brand message
• brand personality & voice
• creative direction

Step 04: Brand Strategy Presentation

For the client to fully appreciate the strategy, a video recording of the strategy document will be sent to them for review. Instead of reading the document word per word, I’d simply guide them through the purpose of each section and what they can expect as they look through it. The brand strategy presentation also serves as a great transition into presenting your proposed creative direction because you can simply reference the strategy when explaining your design decisions

Step 05: Design Development

When the client is happy with the strategy and has chosen a creative direction, the fun part begins! Designing a brand comes easier when you’ve gone through a brand strategy process before developing the visuals. You won’t have to second guess yourself, and you’re assured that what you’re about to present is already something that you and your client have agreed on.

While I have a structure that I follow, do know that it always changes with every project. I’m the type of person who works around my energy and capacity. Inevitably, there are times when I can sit through a 2-hour workshop, and there are times when 45 minutes is my max. There’s no hard and fast rule for how brand strategy should be done – especially since we all have different personalities, working styles, and client types. So keep in mind that you have full permission to tweak things as your business ebbs and flows. Because that’s where you can see sustainable results and actually enjoy the journey throughout.

If you want to dive deeper into each step of the brand strategy and land on a process that feels good to you, sign up for the waitlist to my Brand Strategy Course launching in November! Be the first to know when it opens and get exclusive access to waitlist discounts!