What's the Point of a Point?

Points are useful as they’re sharp, tend to stick into things, and there’s just one of them (think arrow). Being singular means a single focus – only one thing to communicate. The oft-told story still holds true: it’s easier to catch one tennis ball than twenty – just don’t try the exercise with arrows.

For a business, however, corralling features and benefits, different target markets and audiences into a single point is tough. To express the offer in a single-minded way that can be universally applied is a real challenge.

But it’s a challenge worth pursuing. Having a point means a business has a greater chance of sticking in the minds of customers and providing clear direction to the team charged with making the brand a success. It stands to reason that a company aligned behind a shared point will outperform one that isn’t. And a good brand strategy can help a business define its point. Here’s how:

Step 1. Ambition – state where you are headed

Define the destination of your business. If a brand strategy is going to support and equip you to meet your ambition, it needs to know where you are going. If your ambition, for example, is to be the best-known brand in the world, you will not develop your organisation in the same way as you would if you were creating a niche brand serving a small number of customers. The brand needs to know.

Proof point:
Analysis by Kantar (BrandZ) shows that brands with a clear sense of purpose grow at more than twice the rate of others^[i].


Step 2. Positioning – capture what lies at the heart of your business

Capture what lies at the heart of your business. How is the brand positioned in the minds of the people responsible for creating and delivering it – your team? Positioning succinctly defines the core nature of the brand – the common thread that runs through all products and services. It is, in fact, the most important part of a brand strategy because it is the root from which everything else grows.

Proof point:
Interbrand consistently finds in its Best Global Brands study that brands with a clear, simple idea at their core outperform those with diffuse or unclear positioning^[ii].


Step 3. Proposition – express that positioning to your audience

Express that positioning to your audience. This is the start of the brand narrative – the first few words in the story that make your business relevant to customers and different from competitors. Often used as a tagline, it sets expectations. It helps the salesperson introduce the offer, the new starter quickly understand the organisation, and the customer recognise what kind of company it is.

Proof point:
Lucidpress found that consistent brand presentation across channels can increase revenue by up to 23%^[iii].


Step 4. Values – define the character of your business

Define the character of your business. Just as you can sum up the character of a person, you should be able to sum up the character of your business. Values need to be identified, embodied, and embedded in the brand. This ensures a customer can access any part of the business and have a consistent experience – one that reflects one or more of its values.

Proof point:
Research from Deloitte shows that organisations with clearly defined values and culture outperform peers in both employee engagement and financial performance^[iv].


In summary

A point is not a line of copy or a clever turn of phrase. It is a decision.

It defines where you are going (Ambition), what sits at your core (Positioning), how you express it (Proposition), and how you behave (Values).

Get that right, and everything else becomes easier: clearer decisions, stronger alignment, and a brand that sticks.

Miss it, and you’re back to juggling twenty tennis balls.

If you’d like to explore how The Brand Arrow can help define your point, reach out to me directly at bruce@thebrandarrow.com..

I’m now celebrating my 17th year running my Brand Strategy consultancy, as well as regularly speaking at conferences and lecturing at business schools, I teach brand management on the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s diploma course and am an accredited speaker with the Vistage CEO network. My expertise has helped hundreds of businesses stand out, grow, and thrive.  

^[i] Kantar BrandZ Global Report 2020

^[ii] Interbrand Best Global Brands Report 2023

^[iii] Lucidpress State of Brand Consistency Report, 2019

^[iv] Deloitte Human Capital Trends, 2023