Brand vs. Branding Goals: How to Handle Both

Let’s define the word: Brand. Sure, you could say it's any named business venture. But a brand is far more than a product.

According to the semi-omniscient Merriam-Webster, a brand is "a public image, reputation, or identity…to be marketed or promoted; a characteristic or distinctive kind."

Distinctive. Reputation. Identity. Great branding ties these elements tightly to a business name. So, how do you define your brand? It's straightforward: set clear brand goals.

Setting Your Branding Goals

Your company's identity must encompass what your business stands for. It's about defining your mission, values, and culture so customers, employees, and investors know exactly what to expect from you. The aim here is to build a positive and consistent image that people can relate to and trust.

Setting branding goals, on the other hand, means defining specific objectives that guide your branding efforts. These goals give you a clear roadmap for what you want to achieve with your branding and help measure your progress.

First, we’ll take a look at what you need to define and hone in on your brand. Next, we’ll dig into how to set clear, defined branding goals to align with your business objectives.

Identify Your Target Audience

You need to know who you’re selling to before you dive into any branding goals. So start by identifying your target audience. 

Try this simple exercise: Think up a hypothetical customer. They should represent a member of your ideal audience. For example, a company selling tropical-flavored seltzers might aim to sell to an outside, summer crowd. 

Imagine your customer’s appearance, name, occupation, hometown, and hobbies. How many pets do they have? How do they spend their weekends? Invent as many minute details as possible to get a comprehensive understanding of the persona you want to target with your brand strategy. For that hypothetical seltzer brand, this might be Jessica, a 25-year-old dental hygienist who lives in Florida and visits her local beach to suntan with friends on the weekends. 

Next, consider the bigger questions: What does this person need and want? Perhaps Jessica wants an affordable, refreshing cocktail to share with friends. So she may need a seltzer that’s aesthetically pleasing, inexpensive, and with an alcohol content that boosts socializing without utterly incapacitating those who imbibe on a hot summer day. 

These customer personas are invaluable to creating and executing brand strategies. If the ideal customer you came up with is beach-going Jessica, your approach will likely be different than for Jeff, a Midwest-born accountant with two kids and an arthritic golden retriever. Jeff hates sand and he’s afraid of sharks, but he enjoys an afternoon drink at the pool; unfortunately, his wife has insisted he consume less beer, so Jeff needs a healthier day drink that won’t look too childish in front of his golf friends. 

Once you identify your target audience, you can adjust your branding goals to meet their unique wants and needs. Your customer personas will guide you to identifying your overall demographics, streamlining and increasing profitability for your marketing and branding goals.

Check Your Competitors

The real reason for competitor research: Learn what not to do.

Okay, so that’s a bit simplistic. After all, your competitors are successful for a reason–they must be doing something right. But don’t use your competitor analysis to copy the methods of others in your field. Instead, use your competitor research to stand out, not to blend in.

To be memorable, you need to be different. Study your competitors’ strategies and branding without falling into imitation. Look beyond the surface to understand how they connect with their audience. Replicate what works, but use your brand bible to replicate those successes in your brand’s own way.

Once you know what your competition is doing, use the knowledge to set your own goals. Maybe you’ll want to post more original content, like a competitor with a massive social media following. Or, perhaps you’ll want to focus on improving your website to rank alongside—or above—your competitors.

Notice that we didn’t recommend you replicate a competitor’s social media strategy. Rather, use your research to set your own goals. 

Set SMART Branding Goals

That’s right: Be SMART. Meaning, each of your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. No generalities, unachievable tasks, or missing timelines here. Instead, take the larger, more general goal and decide exactly what, how, and when you’ll make it happen.

Let’s take a look at some examples of SMART goals for your branding efforts:

• Solidify a Visual Identity

• General: Develop a consistent visual identity.

• SMART: Establish a cohesive color palette, typography, and logo. Implement and use them consistently across all touchpoints, and distribute a “brand bible” to your team to use by the end of the month. 

• Raise Brand Awareness

• General: Increase brand awareness among your target audience.

• SMART: Adjust SEO and outreach strategies to achieve a certain percentage increase in social media followers, website traffic, or media mentions in the next 60 days.

• Increase Social Engagement

• General: Enhance customer engagement.

• SMART: Implement a content strategy that encourages audience interaction on social platforms. Measure engagement rates and boost numbers by X% in the next six months (as in, go get those likes, comments, and shares).

• Manage Your Reputation

• General: Build and maintain a positive brand reputation.

• SMART: Monitor online reviews and social media mentions; respond quickly and effectively to achieve a five-star rating before the holidays. (While you’re at it, feel free to bask in any good feedback. You earned it.)

Once you take a closer look at your brand identity, target audience, and the competition, you should have a clearer idea of what goals you want to set. Give yourself a timeline and measurable objective for each, and make sure they’re realistic (as in, one of your goals probably shouldn’t be to make $5 billion during your first month of business).

The Bottom Line

Your brand isn't just a label slapped on a product—it's the heartbeat of your enterprise. It's the impression you etch into the minds of consumers, the emotions you stir, and the reputation you build.

Setting branding goals allows you to deliberately shape how the world connects with your brand. Remember: Your brand is your company’s identity, but your branding goals are how you put that identity into action.