Brand core: the three sentences that steer everything

The three sentences

A brand core doesn't have to be complicated. It consists of three statements that apply internally and shine through externally.

Sentence 1: What we stand for. The conviction that steers your work. Not the offer, but the principle behind it. We believe a website is only finished when someone can use it without an explanation.

Sentence 2: Who we are here for. The target group, defined so narrowly that it excludes others. Mid-sized industrial companies with between 50 and 500 employees that sell products that need explaining.

Sentence 3: What we do differently. The difference from the obvious alternatives, in a form that can be verified. We don't take on any project where the content isn't settled beforehand.

These three sentences fit on half a page. Anything longer won't be applied.

The test in one sentence

A brand core doesn't have to be complicated. It consists of three statements that apply internally and shine through externally.

Sentence 1: What we stand for. The conviction that steers your work. Not the offer, but the principle behind it. We believe a website is only finished when someone can use it without an explanation.

Sentence 2: Who we are here for. The target group, defined so narrowly that it excludes others. Mid-sized industrial companies with between 50 and 500 employees that sell products that need explaining.

Sentence 3: What we do differently. The difference from the obvious alternatives, in a form that can be verified. We don't take on any project where the content isn't settled beforehand.

These three sentences fit on half a page. Anything longer won't be applied.

The test that weeds out most drafts

Take your three sentences and ask: Could a competitor sign off on them just like that?

If so, they are worthless. We stand for quality, reliability and partnership could be signed by anyone. That is exactly why it appears on every second website and steers nothing.

A usable brand core has a flip side that someone else could choose. If you say you only work with clients who provide their own content, then there are providers who do it differently, and that is the proof that you have taken a position.

The second test: In the last twelve months, have you made a decision that matched these sentences and cost money? A rejected job, a lost client, extra effort you didn't charge for. If not, the brand core is an intention, not a practice.

How to get there

A brand core doesn't come out of a creative workshop, but from evaluating what is already there.

Step 1: the best clients. Take the five projects that went best. What did these clients have in common? Industry, size, situation, attitude. That gives you sentence 2.

Step 2: the worst. The three projects that were a struggle. What was different there? That sharpens sentence 2 at its boundary.

Step 3: the decisions. What rules have you set for yourselves over the years without writing them down? What do you turn down? Where don't you budge? That gives you sentence 3.

Step 4: the reason. Why do you work this way? Not the marketing answer, but the honest one. That gives you sentence 1.

This takes two to three days, most of it conversations. It doesn't need an agency, but it needs someone who asks follow-up questions.

What the brand core is then used for

If the three sentences just sit in a folder, the work was for nothing. They are needed in five places.

Website. Sentence 2 determines who the copy is written for. Sentence 3 belongs on the homepage as a statement, not word for word, but recognizably.

Proposals. Sentence 3 explains why your offer looks the way it does. That justifies prices better than any list of services.

Rejections. Sentence 2 gives the reason why a project doesn't fit. That makes rejections easier and comes across as more professional than fully booked.

Hiring and onboarding. Sentence 1 is what new employees need to understand before they work independently.

Design. Only once the three sentences are in place can you judge whether a design fits. Without them, every design discussion is a matter of taste.

The last point is the one that saves the most effort.

The three most common mistakes

Too many values. Six terms on a poster: innovation, quality, sustainability, partnership, responsibility, passion. That steers nothing, because no conflict arises. Values only show themselves when two of them collide and you know which one wins.

A target group that is too broad. Mid-sized companies is not a target group, that is 99 percent of all companies in Germany. The narrower, the more useful, and the easier all further decisions become.

Too much ambition, too little practice. A brand core that describes how you would like to be doesn't work. It has to describe how you actually work, otherwise clients and employees notice at the first contact.

A fourth, quieter mistake: the brand core is formulated once and never reviewed. When the business changes, the core changes too. One hour once a year is enough to check whether the three sentences are still right.

How to tell that it works

Four signs, each from everyday business.

Decisions are made faster. When someone asks whether you should take on a certain project, there is an answer instead of a discussion.

Copy is easier to write. If you know who you are writing for and what attitude is behind it, you don't need help with wording.

Job applications fit better. People who feel addressed apply, the others don't. That is a gain.

Clients describe you the way you describe yourselves. That is the strongest proof. Listen to how existing clients recommend you. If their words resemble yours, the core holds up.

If none of these four signs appears, it is rarely down to the wording. Usually the core is too general, and then the only thing that helps is narrowing it down until it hurts.