Knowing Your Brand Essence Is The Secret To A Great Brand

Your brand is your greatest asset. Whether you are a 3-star Michelin chef, a line cook, or food truck owner, your brand matters. Today we’ll discuss the use of brand essence to develop your food truck brand.

We are not talking about your logo, tagline, or your latest promotional campaign either. Sure those are important elements, but your brand is the sum of all that you do. It’s what your market, your customers, and even your competitors think, feel, and expect from your food truck.

Your brand is the cumulative result of the perceptions and realities that build over time. Your food truck brand is about creating a reputation from the visuals, voice, actions, experiences, product, and the service that you provide your market.

As entrepreneurs, and food truck operators, you don’t control the final impression of your brand. It’s your customers, colleagues, and the other audiences that do. You do, however, drive a large share of those opinions and views by the decisions you make concerning your brand planning, communications, and behavior.

Use A Brand Essence To Build Your Food Truck Brand

This is where the secret to a great brand comes in. Food truck brand owners that understand the importance of brand strategy and planning increase their odds of success. They get more from their marketing dollar investments and earn more meaningful relationships with customers, employees, and vendors.

The secret to brand success is strategy and it starts with being clear on your brand essence. This means knowing who you are, what you are made up of, and where you are going.

Strong Brands Start With A Clear Brand Essence

The primary parts of a brand essence are the following:

Single-minded One word is ideal. Maybe two. More than two words indicates that the brand has no focus.
Unique The essence of a brand is how it is different from its competitors.
Experiential The essence captures what the consumer feels during an encounter with the brand.
Consistently delivered. If the proposed essence is not consistently experienced, then it isn’t your brand essence.
Authentic. Your brand essence must be credible or your brand will be rejected.

Now answer these seven questions and get your food truck brand in better shape.

What is your brand purpose? Why do you do what you do? Money, fame, social cause? Are you tired of working for someone else?
What are your accountability goals? Including your mission, your vision, and your aspirations.
What are your brand values? What motivates your actions and what do you believe in?
How would you like to position your brand compared to your competition? Your answer should address pricing, social, and leadership stature.
What are 2-3 adjectives that best describe your brand personality? Nike is inspirational, Walt Disney is magical and Lady Gaga’s might be creative, and unexpected.
What is your brand promise? Your brand promise is what you promise to deliver to your customers, employees, and other stakeholders. A brand promise is emotional and is not your product or service, but the end benefit.
What makes your brand unique? If your food truck isn’t unique how will you ever separate yourself from the competition?

Then when you have settled on your food truck’s brand essence, it needs to be unchanging, consistently true and authentic across your all of your marketing.

The Bottom Line

Brand essence is the heart and soul of your food truck brand. It is your brand’s fundamental nature. This article will get you started with the brand planning process. Want more? Keep reading Mobile Cuisine for our articles, ideas, and insight to keep your food truck brand growth moving forward.

What is your food truck’s brand essence? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section or social media. Facebook | Twitter