101. Brand Strategy 101: Positioning Your Food Brand to Stand Out

After episode 100, Katie’s daughter suggested that she “start over,” and it only seemed fitting that episode 101 should be a brand strategy 101—an intro-level class, so to speak.

Today on episode 101 of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva goes over the five W’s of how Brand Strategy can help you go from making a great product to building a strong brand that is well-positioned to stand out: WHAT, WHERE, WHO, WHEN & WHY.

What

Brand Strategy is about more than just establishing a visual brand. It’s the North Star that makes your brand stand out, and the common thread that should run through everything you do, on both the front and back end of your business. It’s how you rally your team around your vision so they know the brand story they are a part of, and it’s how you know what tactical plans fit with your brand — and what doesn’t fit.

Why

When you’re selling a great product you’re talking about features, but when you’re building a brand you’re selling a mix of both features and benefits. There might be a lot of reasons that your product is great, but if you don’t contextualize it in a way that explains why should matter to your consumer, you won’t be as persuasive. Put in the work to understand why someone should buy your product as well as buy into the brand. What needs can you meet that your competitors either can’t or won’t?

Where

It becomes hard to keep track of all of your ideas if they’re not documented somewhere. Katie is a big fan of putting things down on paper in order to connect the dots and synthesize your thoughts as you recognize gaps and opportunities. And even if you do remember, something special happens when you have to select words to turn your thoughts into sentences. You solidify your ideas, or your team’s ideas, as well as connect dots between those ideas in a way that is easier than if they are all floating around in your head.

The Brand Strategy Streamlined on-demand program features a customizable step-by-step workbook to make all of this easier but no matter what, write things down!

Who

Translating your vision into action almost always involves bringing more people on board to execute on the details. In order to do that effectively, it’s critical that everyone knows where they’re going and what role they play in getting there. That means that you need to be clear on what you want. At the end of the day, the who is you! But as the leader of your brand and the hub at the center of the wheel, it becomes so much more efficient and effective to delegate work to other team members or contractors when you can communicate with clarity and confidence.

When everyone is rowing in the same direction (i.e. cohesiveness across efforts) your boat will go farther, faster!

When

It’s never too early or too late to get started with brand strategy or rethink whether you really know where you’re headed. The process can take anywhere from a few days to a few months, depending how much time you have to dedicate.

Milestone projects like website overhauls, packaging redesigns, and new product introductions are an especially great time to take some time to look at the big picture and make sure that you have clarity on what you’re working to achieve through your food business. When you offer your partner insight on your ideal consumer, how your brand is positioned to stand out, and your brand story you can tap into their expertise to bring your brand to life. It can cause delays (and be expensive!) if you don’t have at least a “phase 1” of your brand strategy figured out ahead of time. Your partners will thank you for it.

Katie is always happy to answer questions to help make brand strategy accessible, whether you’re interested in one of her programs or are working with an agency on a project and just have a quick question about something that isn’t clear.

You can contact Katie here to email a question, or to set up a free 30-minute call if you are interested in talking through ways she can help you position your brand to stand out.

Now, let’s go shake up shopping carts!

Quotes:

“This process helps take food business owners from feeling uncertain about how to articulate that magic about their brand that they know is right beneath the surface and weaves a story that invites people to be a part of it in a way they can’t ignore.” – Katie Mleziva

“When you know where you’re going and the benefit your brand offers people in a way your competitors can’t, or won’t, you can position your brand to stand out in a way that only you can do.” – Katie Mleziva

“Consistency is not boring—it’s brand building!” – Katie Mleziva

“This is one of your most important roles as a founder — to translate your vision into action and determine how you’ll position your brand to stand out so you can align your team around it.” – Katie Mleziva

In This Episode:

The winners of the 100th episode giveaway!
Why it’s always a good idea to go back to branding basics before starting a big project.
What Brand Strategy is all about.
Why you need to be the hub at the center of the wheel.
Why consistency is not boring.
Where you should document your brand strategy.
Why it’s never too early or too late to look at your Brand Strategy.
Why milestones are a great time to clarify your strategy to align your tactics to the big picture.

Resources: