Are you focused on the right things or doing everything?
It’s easy to become lost in the endless possibilities of building a brand. Wouldn’t it be nice, if there were a few practical but effective tools, to help you prioritize and focus? Great idea! We’ve developed a toolbox that uses three grounding elements, to be your guide to brand success.
Introducing
How Brand Essentials help you master your hustle:
✅ Develop a robust brand identity that aligns with your values and purpose, and watch as daily business challenges transform into seamless workflows.
✅ Leverage your brand’s strengths by designing marketing activities that not only work but also create a lasting impression.
✅ Make informed business decisions using strategy as your go-to tool.
✅ Rely on a solid framework that ties everything you do together to confidently navigate modern business.
✅ Recognize the right opportunities for growth and invest your resources wisely.
“Désirée has been a crucial element in our brand strategy, helping us to avoid doing everything just because. Not enough business owners take a step back and think about their brand as carefully or thoroughly as Désirée has helped us to do.”
— Jeff Gibson, Co-Founder and Head of Marketing, Shanna Paxton Photography
At the core of every successful brand is a solid foundation built upon actionable strategy and clear communication.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, you’ll be equipped with the tools to create a powerful brand that stands out in your market, connects with your customers, and drives business growth.
By leveraging your brand’s unique strengths and aligning with your values and purpose, you can develop a brand with impact that propels your business forward.
Brand Essentials
Strategy
What do we stand for?
Set the foundation for connected brand activities by developing a strategy that is inspirational, actionable and amplifies your strengths.
Questions we’ll find answers to
→ What is my purpose?
→ What does my brand stand for and create value for my customers?
→ How does that translate into a brand identity?
→ What are others doing and how do I position myself?
Take-aways
• Brand Identity: Purpose, Brand Values, Tone of Voice
• Brand Strategy & Narrative
• Positioning & Value Proposition
Insights
What drives our customers?
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and tap into trends to better understand how your brand might deliver the best possible value.
Questions we’ll find answers to
→ What drives and motivates my customers?
→ What physical or digital places do they hang out at?
→ How does their behavior inform their decision to buy?
→ What unfulfilled needs do they have?
Take-aways
• Actionable Customer Insights
• Customer Channel Map
Communication
What do we want to say?
Turn your topics into stories and experiences through clear, connected messages and creative formats.
Questions we’ll find answers to
→ What’s my communication strategy?
→ What are the key topics that will most resonate with my customers?
→ What does a good content plan look like for me?
→ What creative ideas will visually support my communication and engage my customers?
Take-aways
• Communication Strategy & Plan
• Strategic Focus Topics & Key Messages
• Storytelling & Creative Ideation
My consulting meets coaching approach
My custom approach combines consulting expertise with coaching techniques to provide you with comprehensive problem-solving and goal achievement strategies. It empowers you by helping you identify strengths, weaknesses and goals, and develop a focused plan to achieve them.
Especially if you are seeking long-term success and sustainable solutions, my hands-on approach provides you with the personalized guidance you need to reach your full potential.
A founding success story: From hobby to business with impact
Let me share a success story with you that may inspire you. I had the pleasure of working with Shanna, a talented photographer, and Jeff, a self-made marketer, to help turn her passion into a thriving business.
Through our collaboration, we implemented a brand strategy and utilized customer insights to create a unique value proposition that resonated with Shanna’s target audience. By focusing their marketing efforts on the most effective activities, Shanna and Jeff were able to maximize their impact, and set themselves apart from the competition in the process.
How we achieved it
🎯 Strategic focus topics gave their brand focus and created a unique value proposition only they could provide.
💪 Customer insights helped identify which marketing activities would be most effective, so both of them could put their time and energy into the right things.
🌱 Outlining a clear purpose from the start made it possible to grow the business down the road.
“Désirée is an incredibly thoughtful and intelligent professional, helping us to avoid doing everything just because, really thinking through what we want our company to represent, and how we want our company to communicate through social media, events, and branding.”
— Jeff Gibson, Co-Founder and Head of Marketing, Shanna Paxton Photography
A word from Désirée
I’m a firm believer that practical strategy is key to making an everyday impact, which is why I am committed to helping you cut through the noise and build a brand that works with your strengths. Drawing from my 15 years of experience in leading successful brand, communications, and business endeavors, I have distilled a practical and focused approach to brand building that is tailored to your unique needs and delivers results.
Don’t settle for a one-size-fits-all approach – let’s lean into your potential and find what works for you.
Founder & Strategy Director
“I worked with Désirée for some time and was infected by her ideas, structured work and personality. A clear analytical view, precision in implementation and fun to work with — it’s what makes a great strategist and Désirée belongs to the upper level.”
— Christian Clawien, Head of Customer Communications, S-Bahn Hamburg
FAQs
I work in a very hands-on capacity by combining the best out of consulting and coaching practices. That means you'll be an active participant and we'll develop things together. You'll contribute your industry knowledge, skills and workflow, and I'll add my external perspective of best practice strategy, brand operations, business, market and communications. We'll combine both to create a full picture and make action plans that fit to you and your business.
The benefits of this consulting-meets-coaching approach is that it helps you develop your strategic skills in the process – so you're not dependent on me in the future, but develop the capabilities to move forward on your own.
Every business journey is different. A rule of thumb is: The longer you have been in business, the more we most likely have to work with.
If you're getting ready to launch or are in your first two years of business, we may want to cover each of the three essentials in greater depth, to give you a good foundation.
If you're looking to level up and you've been in business for ca. 3–5 years, we may want to re-focus and re-energize certain aspects, that you are particularly struggling with to achieve results.
Naturally, these considerations affect pricing. So let's talk about where you are in your journey and what will help you reach your goals.
Sounds like you just need someone to help you focus and use your tools more effectively. I got you. I also offer sparring sessions, i.e. 1–2 hours a week over a course of 6–12 weeks.
Ask me about sparring and coaching only, and let's talk about how I can help you get moving.
Yes! For every element that we define and develop, you'll receive a resource for future reference, typically a PDF.
For face-to-face calls and check-ins, we will meet on Google Hangout or Zoom. Sometimes we will brainstorm and share ideas with each other, that will take place on a Figma or Miro board. You'll also have a private workspace where you'll have all your work documents and references in one easy-to-access place.
So glad you asked! ON TOP of your brand essentials, you'll receive 12 months FREE exclusive access to The Brain Itch, a newsletter dedicated to helping you develop your strategic thinking and build a professional advantage. We also have community events, you'll be invited to those, as well.