What are the essential communication skills for developing a strong brand strategy?

Communication is a two way street. We try to complicate brand communication. But simplicity would be my key strategy. Depending on audience I am targeting. If its mainstream be as clear as possible. Amplify your offering. However, for premium products/services. Amplify the experience. People who are willing to pay a little more do not want offers. For example they would prefer Sous chef experience over buy two get one free meals. Understanding your customer and their expectations is the core of brand communication strategy.

Just like your favourite book or movie, your brand story needs compelling characters and and engaging plot, contrast and a little drama. People don't buy products and services, they buy an outcome; a world where they see themselves different than they are now. Your Brand story positions your product or service as the bridge to that new world. But remember, you and your product are not the hero, the customer is. You are their guide, illuminating the pathand showing them the way. Humanize your brand. Think of it like a person. How do they walk, talk. What would they wear. What's their personality like. Give them a voice; are they funny and playful, or stoic and irreverent. This brings your brand to life through the story.

To make your brand messaging stronger, focus more on the customer and their need states than on your brand or talking about the product. Using "you" language in your copy helps to personalize the message and make your customers feel seen. Audit your copy by highlighting how many times it talks about you (your brand or company) versus how many times it talks about them (your customer and their pain points).

Once you've identified your key value proposition – the way that you can help your customers like no one else can – you need to turn this into concrete messages that resonate. One of the most important points here is to avoid mentioning "features" like the plague: Follow the FAB framework to take your product or service Features, find out what Advantages they unlock and then focus on what Benefit the customer actually derives. The latter is where your brand messaging should live – addressing the problems, worries and needs of your customer.

Listening is one of the most underrated skills when it comes to communication. With social media and the internet, you can tap directly into the frustrations that your target audience is dealing with, and speak direrectly to how your product or service can help solve their problems. Research and listening is time consuming but well worth the effort when it brings clarity to what your people are actually dealing with and how they're feeling.

Developing a strong brand strategy requires a regular assessment of how your brand is performing. This will inform your strategy going forward, and show you where to go in order to move from strength to strength: Maybe it's time for brand evolution, or time develop a brand house because your portfolio is huge now. Whatever it is, being agile and adaptable is key to becoming a brand that lasts.