Episode #21: How to Define Your Brand Vision

Your brand vision is the dream you set for your business.

This vision will usually begin from the top, from a passionate leader who is able to see beyond any obstacles and focus on what the business could become.

Oftentimes this vision can seem too grand and unattainable to other members of the organization.

But it is the job of this visionary, to articulate how the future should look and how the brand will evolve to succeed.

Leaders who are able to share their most audacious dreams and challenges will inspire and motivate their team to achieve the brand vision.

WHAT IS BRAND VISION:

A Brand’s Vision refers to the ideas that will help guide the brand into the future.

It’s like a North Star that will act as your constant and consistent focal point leading you through your journey.

A well defined brand vision will support growth in the business, differentiate your brand from the competition, resonate with the consumer, and ignite hope and ambition within the company culture.

Before we begin to define your brand vision, let’s be clear on what a brand vision is NOT…

• Your vision should not be about monetary gain. It should be about the amount of impact your business will achieve.
• Your vision is not all about you. It should focus on the people your organization is helping.
• Your vision should not describe what your business does. Rather it should explain the reason your business exists.
• Your vision should not be unrealistic. It needs to be audacious, and challenging, but also optimistic and attainable.

As you can see, contrary to what you may have thought, a brand’s vision is not all about how your business will benefit and prosper in the future.

Obviously, you will need to set revenue goals in order to sustain the business and generate financial growth.

But the main focus of your vision should be outward facing and directed towards the consumer.

WHY YOU NEED A BRAND VISION:

Let’s begin defining your brand vision by answering a few key questions:

• In 5 to 10 years from now, what will success look like for your business?
• In 5 to 10 years from now, How will your company make the world a better place?
• In 5 to 10 years from now, what is the positive impact your products or services will have on your customers?
• In 5 to 10 years from now, will the people who work in your organization still be there, and feel like they are making an impact?

Don’t hold back or be timid when answering these questions.

After all, this is the future of your organization.

How grand is your vision, and what are you willing to do to achieve it?

Now you may be thinking that all this future forecasting of hopes and dreams is like looking at the world through rose colored glasses.

Perhaps you just want to get to work and see where your grand ideas take you.

But let me warn you, if you don’t have an end goal to aspire to, your company will drift aimlessly without direction.

You need a vision for the future to guide you to a destination.

Here are 8 reasons why you need a brand vision if you expect your organization to thrive.

1. You will have a clear picture of what your business will look like in the future. It’s almost like looking into a crystal ball, and knowing where you will end up. By creating your vision, and acting on it, you can basically predict your future.
2. When you have a clear vision of the future, it will help clarify the business decisions you will need to make to keep the organization moving in that direction.
3. A well articulated and repeated brand vision will give your employees a greater sense of purpose. They will be motivated to create their best work and will keep the team focused and aligned with the shared goals.
4. In addition to inspiring your current employees, a well crafted brand vision will also attract like-minded top talented professionals towards your brand.
5. Your brand vision will act as a filter to weed out those workers in your organization who are not demonstrating a positive attitude or living up to the brand standards.
6. If a potential new opportunity presents itself, your brand vision will assist you in determining whether or not it’s a good or bad fit for your organization.
7. Your brand vision will also help differentiate yourself from the competition by uncovering hidden value that may get overlooked.
8. And finally, your brand vision will create consistency across all your consumer touchpoints and align your marketing campaigns and communications.

So that’s about it!

Now that you know what a brand vision is, what it is not, why you need it, and a few of the questions you need to ask yourself, it’s time to focus and predict the exciting, inspiring, and impactful future of your business.