Harnessing a brand essence statement with heart

A brand isn’t just a great name or a compelling product portfolio.

If you want any hope of succeeding in today’s competitive marketplace, then you’ll need to start by building genuine emotional connections with your audience.

When you convince your customers to fall in love with what your business does and what it stands for, you cultivate the kind of loyalty that keeps them coming back for more, regardless of the price of your items or what your competitors may be doing elsewhere.

The truth is that your customers buy into the unseen aspects of your company, such as the experiences that you offer, the personality that you convey, and the values that you hold close to heart.

Your #BrandEssence statement is what combines those intangible characteristics into a simple and useful compass for your business.

Why do you need a brand essence statement?

When it comes to emotional and highly complex concepts like brand essence, it pays to have a statement in place that ensures everyone inside and outside of your team is on the same page.

Your #BrandStatement for essence makes sure that people know who you are, where you came from, and what you aim to achieve. Used correctly, this simple document can become a valuable guiding star for your organization, helping you to make the decisions that are most lucrative to your future.

• Your brand essence statement will help you to highlight:
• Your USP or what differentiates you from competitors
• Your values and goals as an organisation
• The emotional experiences you create for your audience
• Your plan for consistency

With just a few words, your #BrandMantra tells customers, shareholders, and employees what drives your company, leading the way for better brand awareness, recognition and loyalty.

How to create a brand essence statement: questions to ask

One of the most important things you can do when it comes to creating your brand essence statements is get to know your company. Ultimately, this document will highlight the “why” of your business, showing you where you came from, where you hope to go, and how you’re going to get there.

The more you understand about the heart and soul of your organization, the easier it will be to generate emotional messages and marketing campaigns that speak to your audience and inspire their commitment. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you get started.

1. What does the business do?

As the leader of your company, you should know what your company does on a basic level. For instance, maybe you sell healthy salads or cutting-edge motorbikes. When you’re searching for brand essence, you need to take this “what” question to the next level, by asking yourself how the things that you do or the products that you offer make you special. To get the information you need, look at:

• Mission and vision statements
• Customer surveys and testimonials
• Conversations with stakeholders
• Competitor analysis
• Team brainstorming sessions

2. How do you deliver value?

Once you know what your company offers and why it’s important, you’ll need to think about the processes that you use to deliver value. What are the values that guide your decisions? How do you make important choices about your future? Use the following data to get more insight into this question:

• SWOT analyses
• Brand equity — where do you deliver value to the industry?
• Personality traits — how do you connect with your audience?
• Your points of differentiation
• Your brand values and purpose

3. Why should people choose you?

Finally, now that you know what makes your company different and valuable, it’s time to think about why your customers should pick you over the various competitors that offer something similar. This means digging down into the emotional influence you have over your audience, and why they feel an affinity with your brand. Look at:

• Your personality and tone of voice
• The experiences you can offer
• Your identity
• Your brand niche or positioning
• Your brand promise

Case study: Apple’s incredible brand essence

Once you’ve built your #BrandWheel and you know what your company stands for, you can use your essence statement to guide everything you do and maintain consistency in your interactions with customers. For a great example of a company that does this well, look at Apple — the brand best-known for its technology innovations.

Apple’s brand essence focuses on three distinct ideas: Innovation, Difference, and Simplicity. Over the years the Apple company has become one of the best-known and most valuable organisations in the world. One of the ways that Apple sets itself apart from other phone and device manufacturers is by holding themselves to the standards in their brand essence statement.

For instance, Apple always invests in the latest technology systems like AI and facial recognition, but they also maintain simplicity by making sure that anyone can use these innovations. At the same time, Apple positions itself as “different” and exclusive by taking unique approaches to design, hosting inspiring product launch events and more.

The Apple brand essence is one of the reasons why customers will sleep on the pavement overnight just for a chance to get their hands on the latest iPhone first.

Discover your personal brand essence

The most iconic brands the world has to offer are unforgettable for a reason.

These companies don’t just offer the best products or services. They deliver incredible experiences to their audience, based on an underlying #BrandEssenceStatement that dictates their personality, their values, and their behavior.

With a brand essence statement, companies can appeal to their customers on an emotional level, establishing connections that turn everyday consumers into advocates and ambassadors for their brand. After all, every purchasing decision made today comes from an internal desire within your ideal customer. Your brand essence statement is your chance to show your customers that you can give them what they need on an emotional level, as well as a logical one.

To learn more about finding and nurturing your brand essence, check out our latest guide. Alternatively, contact the branding experts at Fabrik for help developing the ultimate identity.

Don’t underestimate the power of a brand with heart.