Brand Strategy and Business Strategy — What’s the difference?

You just had a great idea. You know that no one else has made it happen before. You know how to make that work for your future clients, but somehow, when it comes to actually putting yourself out there and starting the business, you have no idea where to start.

Some people tell you to invest in brand strategy, while others tell you to make a business plan, and in the midst of all this information, you now have more doubts than before. Let me start by saying that, wherever you choose to start from, it’s ok.

The truth is that your business model is going to be adjusted and changed many times down the road, so do your best now but don’t think about it being set in stone forever. That being said, investing in a solid brand strategy is going to give you more clarity to refine your idea and increase your chances of success, and even make easier for you to find investors, should you need them.

So what’s the difference between a business plan and a brand strategy?

TL;DR: Brand strategy is focused on how to build a brand in order to grow a business, while a business plan describes how said business is going to make money.

Brand Strategy

By creating a comprehensive brand strategy, you identify what you want consumers to think about your company and how you can influence their minds to perceive you in that way.

Speaking directly to the needs of your potential customers, you encourage them to invest their money in your services, either because they perceive you as being more valuable than the competition, or because they identify themselves with your values/story/core message.

You will notice that many items in your brand strategy overlap into your business plan, but your brand strategy should be a separate document, so you and your contributors can refer to it whenever a decision on design, positioning, or content needs to be made.

A brand strategy will include items like:

• Brand Story
• Brand Purpose
• Mission Statement
• Brand Promise
• Brand Persona (or Ideal Customer)
• Reasons to Believe
• Frame of Reference

Among others…

Business Plan

A business plan includes financial plans (loans, investments, expenses, income predictions by month, year…), marketing plans (including how much money will be invested in marketing for a certain period of time), how many people will be on a team, what each of those employees would do, and the overall operations of the company.

Business plans can be very broad and long, and they often include a lot of details about the business. they are usually developed by the founder of the company, an investor, or a hired professional strategist.

It includes things like:

• Promotion
• Pricing
• Distribution
• Marketing
• Business model
• Expected Income
• Scalability Plan

Among others…

An easy way to see it, is to think about the brand strategy as the direction you compass tells you to go, and the business plan as the toolbox with the things that will help you get there.

So if you don’t know where to start with your business, start with a brand strategy and a business plan. Once you have both these documents, your journey will become much easier and much clearer.

Questions? Feel free to reach out to me via Linkedin :)