THE TEVAO BLOG

6 Key Questions To Clarify Your Brand

Noise is your biggest enemy––our physical and digital worlds are packed with flashy noise-makers and distractions you must rise above to gain traction and recognition as a brand.

But your brand has zero chance of breaking through that external noise if you haven’t tackled the cling-clang-rattle-bing-bang coming from within. (Triple-points if you just had a nostalgic moment for your Robert Munsch-filled childhood like I just did …)

You can’t control environmental noise. But what if you could be that crystal-clear, noiseless space for a frazzled consumer seeking a solution to a problem your brand solves? Just like a cold glass of perfectly balanced lemonade on a hot, sticky day when they’re dying of thirst…

Clarity is that 20/20 focus that cuts through the fog and lets you stand out from the noise. Clarity fuels effective marketing and selling.

Steve Woodruff, Clarity Wins: Get Heard. Get Referred

We’ve talked about brand vs branding in a previous blog (check it out here if you missed that one) but if you want to inspire your audience to think and feel a certain way about your brand, you need to dial in your messaging.

Here are 6 questions your brand needs to answer so you can power up your branding strategy:

1. Who do you want to attract as a brand, and who do you want to repel?

Wait, what? Who does our brand want to repel? Yes. That was the question. Identifying your ideal audience will, by nature, exclude certain audiences. It’s beneficial to repel certain audiences if they aren’t a good fit for your brand anyway. A company selling eco-friendly feminine hygiene products doesn’t typically market to people who don’t have uteruses. By tuning in your ideal audience, you can refine your messaging. The beauty is, your net will not only catch more of the big fish you’re targeting, but also several other fish you’re not specifically aiming for. The fish you don’t catch won’t bother you because your net is always full with the kind you’re really looking for. (And no, people aren’t fish. People are people but I got on a roll and went with it.)

2. What makes your brand different?

This is a really close re-examination of your value proposition. What do you do that other solutions like yours don’t? How do you break the mold and how does this serve your target market? Your differentiator doesn’t have to be ground-breaking stuff but there is something about your solution or product that’s different from anyone else’s––what is it?

3. What do you want to be known for, and as?

This is where a company that does many things needs to find the common thread among all their services and products and put that on a pedestal. Overcome the fear of “we do ‘a’ but we also do ‘b’ ‘c’ ‘d and ‘e’ and we don’t want to lose anyone by not letting them know we do all these other things!”

Confused people don’t click. They leave. You must find the underlying value prop that clarifies your brand and drives people to find out more, get invested and get value from what you offer.

4. How do you define your Circle of Why?

The Circle of Why comes from Simon Sinek and it’s a brilliant way to cut through internal brand noise and get down to the guts of why your brand exists. Start with answering the “what”––what is it your brand makes or offers? Then move to the “how”––how do you deliver or create that product or service? Once you have these defined, you can move onto the “why” that drives your brand. And that’s what you market.

5. What does your brand stand for, above all else?

Part of a consistent and cohesive brand voice is how you define your values as a brand and how you weave those values into every aspect of your products (including manufacturing and distribution), your services, your marketing efforts and your internal communication. Gen Z and Alpha’s are digging way deeper into brand values than any previous generation so get clear on what you stand for, why and how.

6. What’s the biggest problem your brand’s solution solves?

This is calling back to what you want to be known for, but it’s so important that I’m putting it in here twice. What is the one biggest challenge you help people solve, resolve or overcome? No solution is one dimensional, but your messaging must be clear on the Big One so people are driven to learn more about your brand and all the other problems it can solve as well.

TEVAO: WE SEE YOU. WE GET YOU. WE GOT YOU.

I’m Not A Wordsmith … I’m A Word-Sleuth.

ROBYN STUBBS Conversion Copywriter & Brand Strategist