If your business often has mismatched visuals, unclear goals, or struggles to connect with customers, it could be time to hire a brand strategist. They can guide you toward a clear direction and consistent brand story.

Have you ever felt that your business is missing a sense of purpose or that your message doesn’t quite match your goals? 

Your target audience cannot figure out who you are or what you offer. These warning signs often indicate the need for a brand strategist. 

Think of this expert as someone who aligns your business strategy with a focused brand identity. They combine your logo, voice, and values into one unified message. 

As the market gets busier, the importance of brand strategy becomes even more critical. 

In this detailed guide, we’ll talk about how to spot the signs that you might need a brand strategist and why building a good brand leads to better business success.

So keep reading until the last.

Who Is a Brand Strategist?

A brand strategist positions a business in the market by defining its identity, message, and growth plan. Rather than simply choosing colours or fonts, they clarify what a brand stands for and how it should be communicated. 

A brand strategist uses insights gathered from market research and consumer behaviour to shape a consistent message and a strong brand identity.

Responsibilities of a Brand Strategist

• Conduct Market Research: They examine how competitors operate and how consumers think. They also ensure a brand’s position meets real market needs.
• Develop Strategies Across Various Channels: They plan how your brand appears in social media marketing, printed materials, and even product packaging.
• Build a Brand Identity and Messaging: They set the tone for your brand’s personality, from the way you write to the colours you use.
• Establish Brand Guidelines. These guidelines define the do’s and don’ts so that your brand remains consistent across all channels.
• Shape the Marketing Plan: The best brand strategist in the UK also ensures that every marketing campaign aligns with your long-term business strategy.
• Monitor Brand Awareness. They assess how your products or services are viewed over time and make tweaks to keep your image fresh.
• Encourage Overall Brand Growth: Brand professors also team up with roles like creative director or brand manager to keep your brand evolving in the right direction.

By handling these tasks, brand strategists prevent confusion around your brand and help present a uniform message that connects with potential customers.

“A brand is a voice, and a product is a souvenir.”  — Lisa Gansky

10 Signs Your Business Needs a Brand Strategist

Running a business is complex, and without a well-organised brand, you may face issues that hurt long-term success. 

Let’s look at 10 detailed indicators that show you might need a brand strategist to create a better market position and explain why we can’t overlook the importance of brand strategy.

1. Your Brand Identity Feels Inconsistent

Do you ever place your logo on a flyer, only to realise it looks different on your website or social media pages? 

Or the voice on your blog posts is relaxed and warm, but your official brochures sound overly stiff. 

Inconsistency can create a sense of chaos for your target audience. 

They might wonder if they’re dealing with the same business, especially if your visuals, tone, and messaging change from one platform to another.

A brand strategist requires a deep understanding of how consistency contributes to overall brand awareness. They know that strong visual identity and matching verbal identity help people remember you. 

For instance, consider major fast-food chains: You can spot them from a distance just by their colour schemes and logos. Consistency allows customers to quickly associate certain visuals or sounds with your products or services.

Maintaining a cohesive brand image is crucial because today’s consumers are bombarded with messages on every corner of the internet. If your brand keeps changing, you risk being ignored. 

A brand strategy expert can create guidelines for fonts, colour palettes, and the correct tone to use across all channels. This approach doesn’t limit creativity; it ensures that when people see your brand or read your content, they experience the same look and feel.

A survey by Demand Metric found that consistent branding can lead to up to 23% higher revenue. When customers see a brand that looks the same everywhere, they trust it more.

2. Your Message Is Unclear 

Have you ever asked ten people what they think your business does and gotten ten totally different answers? 

If so, your brand message isn’t hitting home. 

Many businesses focus too much on listing features of their products or services but forget to express the main reason why they exist. This missing piece can confuse customers.

• A brand strategist helps uncover your core brand story.
• Defines what problem you solve and why it matters.
• Clarifies what makes you unique in the market.
• Without strategy, your message becomes a messy mix of ideas.
• A clear brand message ensures instant recognition.
• Even a child should understand who you are and what you do!

When your message clicks, your entire team (from the CEO to the customer service team) knows how to speak about the brand. 

Consistent communication fosters trust. It also cuts through the marketing noise by focusing on the core values and benefits you provide. In an age where attention spans are short, clarity is your secret weapon.

According to Microsoft research, the average human attention span has dropped to just eight seconds, which is even shorter than that of a goldfish.

3. Your Marketing Campaigns Keep Failing

Few things are more frustrating than launching a marketing campaign, waiting for leads or sales, and then hearing nothing but crickets. 

If you’re investing money in ads or other promotions without seeing results, your overall brand strategy might be weak. 

Simply pushing products or services with flashy ads isn’t enough. People want a cohesive brand they can understand and connect with emotionally.

It is invaluable to hire an experienced brand strategist to determine why your campaigns fail. They will study your past campaigns, analyse your marketing channels, and determine whether your content marketing aligns with your brand’s values. 

Often, a failed campaign lacks a unifying message that ties it back to the brand identity. Your social media marketing may be playful, while your email campaigns sound stern, leaving your audience puzzled.

A creative director ensures everything (from the written content in your email blasts to the visuals in your social media ads) talks in one voice. This unified approach resonates better with your target audience because they see a familiar face at every touchpoint. 

When a campaign fits naturally into the larger brand story, it’s more likely to engage the right people and turn them into loyal customers.

According to a study by LucidPress, about 68% of marketers say brand consistency contributes directly to improved ROI. 

4. You Struggle to Stand Out (Differentiation Problems)

In a crowded marketplace, being forgettable can be a death knell for any brand. 

If you find yourself offering great products or services but still blending in with competitors, it might be time to hire a brand strategist. 

Differentiation isn’t just about colour choices or quirky slogans; it’s about understanding your unique value proposition and communicating it clearly.

For example, consider a coffee shop. If it tastes the same as every other place and the decor is unremarkable, why would anyone choose it over a well-known chain? 

A brand strategist can help you find that special edge. Maybe you source beans from sustainable farms, or you focus on local artistry in your store’s interior design. These traits, once clearly highlighted, set you apart from the competition.

Differentiation also helps you build brand recognition. People have a reason to remember you, and they’ll connect with a specific story or approach that resonates with their values. 

This brand recall can be especially helpful in industries where buyers have plenty of choices, such as beauty products or tech gadgets. Your brand identity shouldn’t be a carbon copy of the market leaders; it should shine its light.

5. Your Company Is Growing or Changing

Growth is an exciting milestone, whether you’re opening a second location or adding new product lines. 

However, expansions often lead to confusion about the overall brand. If you started small and are now scaling up, your old branding efforts might not match your current goals. Customers might pick up on these mismatches, leading to questions about your business.

A brand strategist will revisit your brand guidelines and ensure they match your new direction. 

For example, if you started as a regional bakery but now ship goods nationwide, your brand story needs to reach a much bigger audience. 

Your brand voice needs to be adjusted to speak to buyers in various parts of the world, and your visual elements need to look more refined or professional to match this new scale.

Mergers and acquisitions can also complicate brand consistency. It can be challenging to unite two or more businesses under one brand identity. A brand strategist can help you seamlessly unite different company cultures, logos, and marketing campaigns. 

This alignment is crucial to maintain trust with existing customers and welcome new ones without losing your original charm.

Warning Box

Failing to rebrand properly during growth stages can make loyal customers feel left behind, which can result in lost trust, even if your products or services are improving.

6. Your Target Audience Has Shifted

Customer behaviour can change quickly, and what worked for your original audience might not work for the audience you’re trying to attract now. This shift might occur because you introduced new products, or market research showed a more profitable segment to target. 

Whatever the reason, if you don’t adjust your brand to speak directly to this new group, you risk losing traction.

A brand professor can help refine your message, visuals, and marketing strategy to suit the new demographic. For example, if your original target audience was teenagers but now you want to attract college students, you’ll need to make subtle changes in tone, references, and style. 

Perhaps your brand’s voice and tone shift from carefree and playful to somewhat more informative and balanced.

Shifting your brand voice doesn’t mean giving up your identity entirely. Instead, it means finding a compromise that still feels authentic while appealing to the new group. This process involves thorough analysis, such as focusing on the new market’s values, interests, and pain points. 

By doing so, your brand remains relatable and distinct, even as your business grows.

7. Your Brand Voice and Tone Are All Over the Place

One day you post formal press releases, and the next you crack jokes on Instagram. If that inconsistency leaves customers scratching their heads, a brand strategist can step in. 

Your brand voice and tone should reflect your core values and speak directly to your audience’s expectations.

Failing to control your voice can reduce trust. Customers begin to wonder if you’re actually serious about your brand’s promises. 

Worse, an inconsistent tone can make you look unprofessional, turning away potential partners or media coverage. A brand strategist ensures each piece of written content, from product descriptions to blog articles, shares a recognizable rhythm and style.

Additionally, controlling your tone can give people a sense of comfort. Humans like familiarity. 

When your brand sounds the same in emails, social media marketing, and customer service chats, people know exactly who they’re dealing with. This reliability strengthens brand awareness and keeps you memorable, even in noisy markets.

Tip Box

Consider making a “tone dictionary” with examples of phrases your brand loves and phrases it avoids. Share it with your entire team so everyone knows exactly how to sound in customer interactions.

8. Your Business Doesn’t Resonate with Consumers 

Plenty of business owners wonder why they aren’t turning leads into loyal customers. In many cases, the brand simply doesn’t connect with people’s emotions or values. 

Today’s consumers want more than functional products; they want to feel understood and appreciated by the companies they support.

If your brand story is too generic, potential buyers might not see a compelling reason to pick you over someone else. 

For instance, if every competitor claims they offer the “highest quality,” how do you stand out? 

A brand strategist digs deep into your backstory, looking for unique angles that reveal your company’s identity. Maybe you started in a small garage or used a childhood recipe passed down through generations. True stories often form a stronger bond than plain marketing fluff.

Resonance with consumers also involves aligning with societal or environmental issues that matter to them. 

Suppose your brand identity and messaging reflect a concern for eco-friendly practices and your audience values sustainability. In that case, they’re more likely to feel a bond, which can lead to long-term loyalty. 

Rather than just selling a product, you’re inviting people into an experience that matches their beliefs. A brand strategist can help shape that story in a way that feels genuine and compelling.

9. You’re Unsure How to Grow

Maybe you have terrific products or services and a solid customer base, but you don’t know how to scale up. This lack of direction can stall your business success. 

Many owners focus on daily tasks, forgetting to plan for future moves. A brand strategist offers a path for business growth that’s aligned with who you are as a brand.

It could involve focusing on new marketing channels to reach untapped audiences, adjusting your pricing strategy to reflect higher value, or reshaping your visual identity to appear more modern. 

The key is that every change you make still aligns with your brand message. If you expand without a clear plan, you might gain short-term wins but dilute your brand’s impact in the long run.

A structured brand strategy process often includes goal setting, consumer insights, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track whether you’re hitting those goals. 

By creating a roadmap, a brand strategist ensures each business decision moves you closer to your objectives, rather than letting random trends decide your direction.

Stats Box

Recent research from Deloitte shows that businesses that prioritise brand strategy can grow sales up to 25% faster compared to those that lack a clear brand plan.

10. You Want a Fresh Look Without Losing Your Roots

Brands age just like anything else, and sometimes, they need a refresh. Maybe your fonts and colour schemes look like they’re stuck in the early 2000s, or your packaging design no longer represents the quality of your products. 

A brand strategist to create a modernised approach keeps you current, but it also protects the loyal followers you’ve built over time.

Let’s say your brand has strong local credibility or a dedicated community of fans. A sudden, dramatic change, like completely altering your name or removing a beloved mascot, can lead to backlash. 

A brand strategist navigates this transition carefully, choosing which parts of your brand identity to keep and which parts to refine. The result is a fresh brand image that still feels familiar to old customers.

When done well, a brand refresh can excite existing customers and draw in a new audience. 

Think of it as renovating a house: You keep the sturdy foundation but upgrade the paint, furniture, and layout for a fresh look. 

This balancing act of old and new is where the expertise of a brand strategist becomes invaluable. A brand strategist ensures that your updated visual elements and messaging stay true to your original essence.

If you’re seeing any of these 10 signs, whether it’s inconsistent visuals or unclear messaging, it could be a strong signal that it’s time to hire a brand strategist. 

They will build a roadmap rooted in market research, shape your brand’s core message, and ensure you’re consistent across all platforms. 

This approach isn’t just about design; it’s about setting a clear direction that will power real business growth.

Who Is the Best Brand Strategist Now?

In an era of constant shifts and emerging trends, the best brand strategists combine industry data with human insights. 

They make sure a brand’s identity, message, and marketing strategy are always relevant. 

They focus on connecting a brand’s values to the needs of real people, often digging through consumer insights and feedback to shape or refine a brand’s approach.

Many of today’s top brand strategists look beyond visuals and taglines. They examine business strategy, product development, and marketing channels to ensure that each aligns with the brand’s personality. 

This involves thorough conversations with stakeholders, careful audits of existing brand elements, and forward-looking growth plans. These experts also monitor trends in the broader business landscape and adjust brand guidelines as needed.

Why is Sahil Gandhi the Best Brand Strategist?

Among these big names is Sahil Gandhi, who many recognise as the Brand Professor. He has guided numerous businesses by linking market research with effective brand positioning, helping them establish a solid position in competitive spaces. 

Through his work, he assists companies in forming successful brand identities, shaping a cohesive brand story, and keeping their message consistent across various channels. 

If you’re aiming to work with a brand strategist who values clear, research-driven plans and genuine results, Sahil Gandhi’s methods stand out for their practical impact.

How a Brand Strategist Requires a Full-Scale Brand Strategy?

Sometimes, people assume a brand strategist just picks colours or chooses a snappy slogan. In reality, a brand strategist is in charge of a much broader scope. They make sure your brand positioning is strong by defining your value proposition, setting the brand’s voice and tone, and syncing everything with your business strategy. This includes deciding how to communicate your brand’s story to different audiences across all channels, from social media marketing to offline events.

• Identifies market gaps by analysing consumer behavior.
• Study your competitors to find your unique edge.
• Creates a marketing plan with clear direction.
• Ensures consistency across logo, website, and content.
• Aligns brand guidelines for a strong, united image.
• Keeps your brand visually and strategically appealing.

Moreover, they consider both the short and long term. While short-term tactics may help with seasonal campaigns, the real aim is to build a long-lasting brand that can handle fluctuations in the business landscape. 

Whether it’s releasing new products or adjusting to cultural changes, the brand strategist ensures that your identity remains consistent, relevant, and memorable.

Conclusion

A cohesive brand identity isn’t just a cosmetic decision. It’s a strategic must-have for any business trying to connect with its audience and outlast competitors. 

If your message is scattered, your visuals clash, or your marketing doesn’t deliver results, it might be time to hire a brand strategist. Their role is much broader than choosing logos or colors; they build a firm foundation that ties your brand voice, mission, and market position together. 

Whether you’re a young startup or a growing enterprise, a successful brand is one that people remember and trust. It begins with clear intentions, consistent presentation, and a deep understanding of who you are and why you matter.

FAQs

What does a brand strategist do exactly?

They plan and define your brand’s identity, positioning, and messaging across various channels. Their focus is on ensuring that your overall brand remains consistent and meaningful for your target audience.

When should I hire a brand strategist?

If your brand message feels off, your visuals don’t match, or your marketing efforts keep failing, it’s time to hire a brand strategist. A strategist helps build a cohesive direction that supports business growth.

Is a brand strategy only for large companies?

No, any business can benefit from a clear brand strategy process. Whether you’re a startup or a long-standing firm, having a focused brand makes you more memorable and trustworthy to customers.

How long does it take to put together a strong brand strategy?

It can range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the depth of market research and the number of stakeholders involved. A balanced approach needs careful planning for the best results.

Can a brand strategist help with social media and content marketing?

Yes. A brand strategist sets guidelines for tone, visuals, and topics so that your social media marketing and content marketing support the same brand identity. This creates better engagement and brand recognition.