Brand audits and brand evaluations are two areas that we particularly enjoy when working with clients. Why? Because, when done well, it’s very high-level and very strategic work. And, because having a clear and well-defined and well-executed brand is fundamental to everything a business does and its ultimate success.
Must Do’s For Effective Brand Management
Because a company brand is much more than their marketing/logo, we take a very high-level and strategic approach to brand management we do with clients. What we recommend is an approach that includes:
- The identification of desired brand attributes by the company owner/senior leadership team.
- An assessment/survey of key target audiences (e.g. customers, potential customers, employees) about how they currently view the brand. We typically do this by listing the desired brand attributes and asking respondents to rate them on a scale of 1-10 with 10 indicating that they strongly believe the attribute is exemplified by the company.
- Identify and discuss the gaps—areas where the company is not living up to brand expectations.
- Develop strategies and a plan to close those gaps. Believe it or not, very often the gaps relate to product/service attributes more so than communication/advertising.
- Once gaps have been addressed move forward with communication to desired audiences to help strengthen these brand attribute beliefs.
- Rinse and repeat.
Don’t Overlook These Key Points
- Company leaders do not determine what the brand is—key audiences do. What company leaders can do, though, is identify the attributes they would like to be perceived for and then manage all aspects of their operations – product, price, place, promotion – to deliver on that brand promise.
- How external audiences define your brand will be based on every touchpoint they have with you so all touchpoints must be managed to ensure a consistent, aligned, brand identity. This is obviously more challenging for service organizations (e.g. health care organizations, consulting firms, etc.) whose brand is represented primarily by people and not a tangible product.
- Brand management is never done. You should plan to reassess your brand regularly (at least once a year) because things change. Your company and its interworkings (particularly your employees) change. Your competitive landscape changes. Your target market changes. And their opinions about you (which really constitute your brand) also change. You need to stay on top of those changes.
Interested in doing a brand assessment? We can help!
About Us
Strategic Communications, LLC, works with B2B clients to help them achieve their goals through effective content marketing and management with both internal and external audiences. We work with clients to plan, create and publish high-quality, unique content. Whether on- or offline, or both, we’ll help you achieve desired results.
(Strategic Communications is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise through the Wisconsin Department of Administration.)
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Tags: brand assessment, brand audit, Brand Management, branding, corporate branding, employer branding