How To Stop Misdirecting Your Business—This Strategy Roadmap Drives Results
- April 14, 2023
- Nicole Andrew
Table of Contents
Simply put, adhering to a brand strategy roadmap leads to intentional business growth. Unintentional misdirection occurs when a company’s actions or communications inadvertently lead stakeholders (CEOs, customers, employees, investors, or partners) to misunderstand or misinterpret the company’s intentions, purpose, goals, and/or values.
It’s the result of a brand’s behavior or statements being ambiguous, inconsistent, or unclear, leading to confusion or misinterpretation within the company.
For example, a company may unintentionally misdirect customers by making brand promises that they cannot fulfill, or by using misleading marketing tactics that create false expectations. Similarly, a company may misdirect employees by providing unclear or conflicting instructions, or by failing to provide necessary resources or support to achieve goals.
Brands that unintentionally misdirect may look like…
- You’re doing busy work and never reaching your goal(s).
- You aren’t sure if you even have a business strategy.
- You have a strategy, but you’re not acting on it.
- You’re not measuring to see if you’re reaching your goals.
- You and your team don’t completely seem synced with the vision of your company.
In this article, we’ll explain:
- what a strategy roadmap is
- the difference between a business strategy roadmap and a brand strategy roadmap
- why a brand strategy roadmap should matter to you
- show you a couple client case study snapshots
- ways you can take steps in the right direction
We’ll then direct you to what gets you where you want to go—a brand action plan leading you and your team toward a clear, bright, and successful future.
What Is A Strategic Roadmap?
A business strategy roadmap communicates your company’s vision. It’s a powerful tool for visualizing the key steps to achieving your mission. Championed by lead stakeholders (CEO, partners and C-suite executives), a business strategy roadmap focuses on mission-critical business objectives, and usually emphasizes long-term timelines and deadlines.
65% of consumers say a brand’s CEO and employees influence their decision to buy
Unlike product or service roadmaps, which often show which features and initiatives will be executed in the short-term, strategic roadmaps illustrate the long game.
This business strategy roadmap is a high-level plan that outlines an organization’s long-term goals, objectives, and the steps required to achieve them. It’s a visual representation of the organization’s strategic plan, designed to communicate the direction and priorities to you and your team.
The purpose of a strategic roadmap is to align all stakeholders towards a shared vision and provide a clear path to achieve the organization’s long-term goals. It serves as a guide for decision-making and resource allocation, and helps to ensure that all activities and projects are aligned with the overall strategy.
The Close Connection Between Business Strategy Roadmaps And Brand Strategy Roadmaps
You might be thinking, “What’s the difference between creating a business strategy roadmap versus a brand strategy roadmap? Aren’t they the same?”
They are not.
A business strategy roadmap and a brand strategy roadmap are two different but interrelated plans that guide a company’s operations and success.
On one hand, a business strategy outlines how a company plans to achieve its goals and objectives in a competitive market. It involves decisions on areas such as product development, pricing, distribution, marketing, and resource allocation. A business strategy is focused on creating and delivering value to customers while maximizing profitability for the company.
On the other hand, a brand strategy outlines how a company wants its brand to be perceived in the market all based on the purpose, beliefs, commitments, goals and objectives. It defines the brand’s personality, messaging, design, and tone of voice.
The brand strategy includes plans for how the brand will be expressed across different channels and touchpoints, such as advertising, social media, packaging, and customer service. It is also focused on building brand equity, increasing brand awareness, and creating emotional connections with customers and the overall audience.
While a business strategy and a brand strategy have different focuses, they are closely related. A strong brand strategy can help to differentiate a company’s products or services in a competitive market, increase customer loyalty, and enhance the overall customer experience.
A business strategy, however, can help to ensure that the company has the resources and capabilities to deliver on its brand promise and achieve its long-term goals.
Why A Brand Strategy Roadmap Matters To Move Your Business Strategy Forward.
If you’re executing many different parts of the business and being the driver of your company, then you might feel like it’s hard to stay out of the trenches and direct the vision to your team.
You’re deeper in the trenches of daily operational management than you are leading from a top-level CEO role that executes every time through the vision and mission of the company.
You’re so close to the business that you can’t see clearly where there are necessary improvements that could be made. You know you need more insights from the outside to bring you and your team the information needed to act on these areas quickly.
Your business matters
Having a brand strategy roadmap matters because having a business matters. You don’t want to keep working endless hours without knowing exactly the direction you and your team are going.
You want your team on the same page with the vision
It matters because you want to see your company synchronized with all stakeholders moving towards a shared vision of the brand, directed by a plan that puts you and your team on a clear path to achieve the desired brand identity and brand reputation.
“A brand vision should attempt to go beyond functional benefits to consider organizational values; a higher purpose; brand personality; and emotional, social, and self-expressive benefits.” — David A. Aaker
You want your business to run like a well-oiled profit-making machine.
A brand strategy also serves as a guide for your business strategy on decision-making and resource allocation, thus helping ensure that all brand activities and projects that your team makes are aligned with the overall brand strategy.
Fully connected customers to your brand are 52% more valuable than satisfied customers, while emotionally connected customers have a staggering 306% higher lifetime value.
Not having a brand strategy roadmap could look like you and your team are:
- Showing up everywhere (meetings, conferences, networking events, social media, advertising, on your website blog), but it seems like your efforts aren’t moving the needle forward.
- Working in the business, but not “on” the business. Meaning, all the focus is on the operations and marketing, but not on the overall brand.
- Working to put out fires left and right, but you can’t seem to move the company ahead.
- Sensing an overall lack of direction.
A Case Study Snapshot - Kim N.
Kim came to 28Lions because another one of our clients pulled her aside, recommending she contact our agency for a better company brand name and new business cards.
Kim thought about it and set up a call with us to see what we could do. While on our initial call we found out that she didn’t have any branding or strategy in place.
We invited her to our Brand Action Plan. In our presentation, we brought clarity to her vision, gave her brand structure, and provided her with a plan to find where improvements could be made.
This Brand Action Plan gives her insights on her foundation, audience, competitors, differentiation, and much more. It allows us to research and get initial insights to find the best course of action for your business.
Having a roadmap gives you the insights you need to see where things are missing from your foundation and where improvements can be made.
In her own words:
“Yeah, there’s a lot here. It’s very impressive the work that you’ve done and I appreciate it so much. How smart you girls are and when I look at what you’ve done I can see the huge potential. Looking at what you guys are going to offer to people, I think it’s very very high end. Wow. I’m so thankful for what you’ve presented me with. It’s huge, huge looking at everything now.” —Kim N.
Imagine driving without any directions to a place you haven’t been—it’s impossible to reach. When you are a business leader, you will always require a map that will guide you to your destination. This will give you more confidence in your place as a leader.
A Case Study Snapshot - Abigail Super
This is what happened with one of our clients, Abbey. She came to us because originally she was looking to update her logo, but she realized during our initial call that she didn’t have a strong foundation.
This Brand Action Plan gives her insights on her foundation, audience, competitors, differentiation, and much more. It allows us to research and get initial insights to find the best course of action for your business.
Having a roadmap gives you the insights you need to see where things are missing from your foundation and where improvements can be made.
In her own words she said:
“I came to 28Lions looking for help to redesign my logo, what I came away with was a plan that’s going to change my entire business! The value that they provide you in their Brand Action Plan will give you results today, help direct your business towards your future goals, and provide you a framework that you can train your entire team to utilize! I highly recommend working with 28Lions for all your brand needs!” —Abbey Super
She came away with confidence, enthusiasm, and guidance to move as the CEO leader that she is. She knew that she had areas that could be improved and worked on while having a roadmap that would help her stay the course!
You know that putting a logo and hanging your values on the wall won’t cut it. You need the extra edge to become a brand that roars.
Are you ready to start your journey into shifting your company to stand out? This is the beginning of your transformation journey – Bold as a Lion!
What Are Some Ways You Can Step Into The Right Direction?
- Take time to sit and go over your vision and purpose for your business.
- Check where your time is being diverted that isn’t helping you move towards your vision
- Trim services, offers, and business activities that aren’t serving you.
- Get a roadmap that can assist you in getting a clear picture of where you need to go
A Brand Action Plan Created For Success
Our Brand Action Plan is a brand strategy roadmap for businesses that are missing clarity on where they are heading. You have a lack of direction on where to head first and need help anchoring your vision to your business.
In the end, you don’t want to lose sight of your goal, and get misdirected.
And, you feel a bit embarrassed by the lack of your company’s overall structure.
We aren’t saying that this is for businesses that aren’t necessarily ready for a full rebrand/branding. Our Brand Action Plan provides you the knowledge and insights you want in identifying areas of improvement for a future rebrand/refresh.
With our Brand Action Plan, you can act quickly, take a look from that top-level CEO position, and see where the next phase of your business heads.
We invite you to contact us in learning more about the Brand Action Plan. Limited spots are available.
Nicole Andrew is a 20 year brand designer, Level-C certified brand strategist, educator, and co-owner of 28Lions, a branding & marketing consultancy agency.