Brand Strategy Map: The brand strategy model you need.
- Carolina Trevizo
- 7 days ago
- 6 min read
Unify customer insights with your value proposition to align your teams under a single strategic vision.
In a professional services company, the marketing team wanted to implement an advertising campaign where the brand would be shown as more modern and “young,” since the way it currently communicated to the end client was somewhat old-fashioned and made it seem outdated, causing losses of new prospects. The sales team disagreed; showing the brand as young invisibleized the more than 30 years of experience they had in the market; the focus should be on showing the company as one with a great track record but up-to-date with the latest technology trends to face the challenges of current businesses. Nothing “modern,” the route, they said, should be “solid and experienced.”
The Commercial Directorate asked them for alignment, so they dug into documents that they might be able to use to support their proposals:
They found that, for example, the company had a “Brand Platform” document, but it was only a statement of intent, and it ignored the active role of the brand in front of the customer.
On the other hand, a while ago, a consulting firm had charged them a lot of money for a document called “Brand DNA,” but that only mentioned the brand’s purpose and promise, as well as the mission, vision, and values, yet there was no clarity on actionable steps for the customer.
They also had a “Brand Brief” that they sent to the agencies they worked with, but that one only talked about the visual identity and the brand voice.
They had a market and competitor study that was very descriptive, but lacked true insights.
The “fragmentation” of brand documents with partial information, and the lack of involvement of the sales and marketing teams in their preparation, caused a lack of alignment: They couldn't agree and made the brand inconsistent, and worst of all, their customer perceived a brand that it was not.
Does that sound familiar?
The good news is that there is a brand strategy model that not only unifies its most important elements with your client's insights, but also makes sales, marketing, and other teams that have to project the brand to the customer, finally aligned.
What is a Brand Strategy Map?
A Brand Strategy Map is a brand strategy model that unifies the customer and your offering in a single document, centering the role your brand plays in meeting the needs of your consumers.
Other models forget the benefits perceived by the customer, do not consider the active role that brands have in front of their clients, or are temporary, not strategic or permanent.
Unlike them, a Brand Strategy Map seeks to be a document that sets the standard for how the brand comes to life in the different channels where it has a presence, in the way it serves its customers, and by providing a compass to guide the actions of the teams that make it possible.
The 5 Pillars of the Brand Strategy Map
This brand strategy model is built around the definition of 5 fundamental pillars:
The Target Customer
I won't tire of saying it: Knowing your customer and who they really are is gold for your business. It's not just about knowing demographics, but truly intersectionally understanding what they value, what they are not interested in, what factors lead them to purchase, among other specific details that help you better understand their logic and actions. In this way, this brand strategy model gives you actionable insights to implement in your brand and its relationship with its consumers.
Product or Service Benefits
Many people fall into the trap of only highlighting the functional benefits of the product or service behind the brand. For example, if they sell a laptop brand, they highlight things like: RAM level, screen type, processor, size, weight, etc. And they forget that beyond the functional benefits, the customer also perceives products in an emotional and social way. So this pillar of the Brand Strategy Map does just that: define the functional, emotional, and social benefits to create true differentiations from the competition.
Reasons to Believe
This pillar refers to the reasons why your customer should believe what you tell them. Basically, these are the arguments that tell them why you aren't selling “smoke.” Just think about it! In current times, there are many fraudulent products or services, and consumer distrust is greater than ever. What arguments, data, or proof do you have that your product is the “best,” the “fastest,” the “most effective,” etc.?
Personality and Voice
If your brand were a person, what kind of person would it be? How would it speak? What values would it have? Defining all that helps to understand how it will relate to its environment: in its advertising, in communication on digital channels, in its customer service, in its after-sales service, etc. Having the sales, marketing, and customer service teams aligned under the same understanding helps to strengthen your Integrated Marketing Communication Plan.
The Role and Essence of the Brand
The role your brand plays is the bridge between the client's problem and your solution. It is its reason for being and existing. Having a clear understanding of this, during the application of this brand strategy model, helps us reach the core that ties everything together: The brand essence. And be careful, the essence is NOT a slogan, nor is it a phrase that is created and saved only to be forgotten in a drawer. The essence of a brand is what defines it in a few words. It is not fleeting, it is the foundation upon which everything is built and upon which decisions are made.
Hidden benefits of the brand strategy model: Brand Strategy Map
Beyond having a document that includes the pillars of a Brand Strategy Map, implementing this brand strategy methodology in your business brings much deeper benefits.
Because the methodology involves the most important people in the organization—those who deeply know the customer and the product/service, as well as those who are, by nature of their functions, decision-makers regarding the brand—it is easier to achieve organizational alignment across teams.
The process of creating the Map, let's say, “forces” the areas (such as sales, product, management, marketing, customer service, or others) to “sit at the same table” and, without friction, contribute to the construction of the brand cooperatively.
It is easier to agree with something I helped build than to agree with something for which I wasn't even asked my opinion. Even more so when I have so much to contribute!
For our agency, Werko Marketing Solutions, this model is not just a deliverable; it is a team management tool because when finished, everyone “speaks the same language.”
Finally, what I want you to take away is that the Brand Strategy Map is a methodology that large companies like Heineken, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and many more apply, but which Werko Marketing Solutions has designed a way to make much more accessible, while maintaining its quality.
Success examples of Brand Strategy Map implementation
Some of the brands that have entrusted us with the responsibility of building their Brand Strategy Map are:
Euro Water Technologies
Sintec Consulting
Fundación FEMSA
ALINEA Group
AcadeME
Formando Emprendedores Sociales
Terra Regia
and... ourselves, Werko Marketing Solutions (we practice what we preach).
"I loved the whole project. Werko helped us find our brand's compass and map. Plus, the website they created finally reflects what we've wanted for a long time."
Cecilia Garza
Marketing Director of Terra Regia
"Top-notch service, focused and friendly. Very professional, their experience is evident and they inspire confidence at all times. Thank you for supporting us in our process of improving our communication and image for our clients."
Rafael Lobo Niembro
Partner of Alinea
Un Brand Strategy Map is not only an exercise with a deliverable document that puts an end to chaos, but it is the difference between spending on advertising and investing in advertising, in knowing what to do and what to take action on, or being lost trying to hit the target.
About the author
Carolina Trevizo
Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions with extensive and varied experience of over 18 years in B2B companies, specializing in strategic marketing, project management, data analysis for advertising management, audiovisual production, and graphic design.
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