The One Question That Will Clarify Your Brand Strategy
Before we get into the question itself, let’s take a step back and talk about what brand strategy actually is, because it’s one of the most misunderstood terms in business.
Brand strategy is not your logo, your color palette, or your Instagram grid. Those are expressions of a brand, not the strategy behind it. At its core, brand strategy is the intentional framework that guides how your business shows up, communicates, and makes decisions. It defines who you are, who you are for, what you stand for, and how you want to be perceived over time.
A strong brand strategy acts like a filter. It helps you decide what to say yes to, what to say no to, how to talk about your work, and how to build consistency without forcing yourself into a rigid box. Without it, marketing tends to feel reactive, disjointed, and exhausting.
And this is where most people get stuck.
They feel like something is off with their brand, but they can’t quite pinpoint why. They try to fix it by tweaking messaging, redesigning their website, or posting more content, yet the underlying confusion remains. The issue is rarely a lack of effort. It’s usually a lack of clarity.
That clarity often comes from answering one deceptively simple question.
What do I want to be known for, and what am I not trying to be known for?
Most founders can answer the first half of that question fairly easily. They can list their skills, their services, and the ways they help people. The second half, however, tends to bring hesitation. Deciding what you are not trying to be known for requires boundaries, trade-offs, and a willingness to disappoint the wrong audience.
This is why the question works.
When you avoid defining what you are not for, your brand starts trying to appeal to too many people at once. Messaging becomes vague. Offers expand without intention. Content loses its throughline. Over time, your brand may look polished on the surface but still feel unclear or forgettable to the people you want to reach.
Clarity in brand strategy does not come from being more flexible. It comes from being more intentional.
Here’s what this looks like in practice.
A common example I hear is someone saying they “help small businesses with branding, marketing, social media, websites, and growth.” While that may be true, it doesn’t communicate a clear position. It doesn’t tell someone who you are best suited to help, what problem you specialize in solving, or why they should choose you over someone else offering similar services.
Now compare that to a statement like: “I help early-stage wellness brands clarify their messaging so they can show up consistently without burning out.”
That version is doing much more strategic work. It defines a specific audience, focuses on a specific problem, and subtly signals what is outside the scope. It makes it easier for the right people to recognize themselves and opt in, while allowing the wrong people to self-select out.
This is the often-overlooked power of deciding what you are not trying to be known for.
When you make that decision, you spend less time explaining yourself and more time doing the work you are actually good at. Your content becomes easier to create because you have a clear lens. Your offers feel more coherent because they are built around a defined point of view. Most importantly, you begin attracting clients and opportunities that feel aligned.
Not everyone will resonate with your brand once you get clear, and that is not a failure of strategy. It is a sign that your strategy is working.
Brand strategy is not about appealing to the widest possible audience. It is about building recognition, trust, and consistency with the right one.
If your brand currently feels scattered or harder than it should be, resist the urge to add more. Instead, return to this question and answer it honestly. The clarity you are looking for is likely already there, it just needs to be named.