Reilly Newman | Stepping back and inspecting the brand of your business can bring immense insight on not just areas that need improvement, but also points of leverage for future growth.
The point of a brand audit is to take the time and put in the effort of pulling yourself outside of the day-to-day work that relentlessly bombards you. It’s a time to focus on the perception of your business in the eyes of your desired audience. Many businesses neglect a brand audit as they are stuck working in their business and not working on their business. Basically, there are two ways to look at your brand — From the internal perspective of you, your staff, your partners, etc. AND from the external perspective of your desired audience.
Often we see and hear news of brands that we love having horrible working conditions or mistreating employees, etc. I’m sure those companies’ internal perspective varies drastically from their customers (those who love the brand and buy everything they sell). My go-to metaphor is that a business is stuck inside a jar and can’t read its own exterior label. On the other hand, the audience is outside the jar reading the label, but not truly knowing what it’s like in the jar. Simply by being in two different states, we have two different perspectives and frame of references.
As you inspect your brand, it is crucial to keep this in mind. It is also wise to get outside guidance from a third party (like brand strategist/consultants…wink, wink, hint, hint) to help guide you through this process because they can help shine light on the varying perspectives. Yes, with these different perspectives, we get a whole slew of psychological elements at play skewing meanings and views of the business. This is why it’s important to flush it out as best as possible and understand that the audit is bringing it all to the surface. You’ll like somethings you hear and you’ll hate others. It’s vital to go about this with an open mind and to approach it with creativity and humility.
The Internal Audit
This will be auditing the brand (the perception) based on your staff and partners and about how they view the business. The brand’s mission, values, vision, environment, leadership, etc. — all of these are taken into account to better understand if and why your staff takes pride in the work they do. You want a true and healthy perception from those within because they are the lifeblood of the business. They will express themselves to the audience and reveal the true colors of the business either intentionally or not. Also, we want to take pride in the businesses we have built, not just because the audience loves it, but that those who help run it love it too! Serve not just customers, but those within as well. Most people are all familiar with the buzzword “company culture” — however I see this being more of a byproduct of the internal mindset of the brand. You can’t have a great company culture without a wonderful perception of the brand from within.
The External Audit
From the outside is where things get more complicated as it entails marketing, advertising, customer service, pricing, identity system, materials, product design, website, and the list goes on. These are all elements of your external appearance that help form and maintain the brand of your business in the perception of your ideal audience.
As they “read your jar label from the outside”, what words are placed on it, what colors are used, how are the ingredients listed, what is the material of the label, what type of jar, what size, etc. The many signals the business is offering up to the perception of the buyer will help craft the brand. The way customer service helps them, and the way you do billing or present yourself on social media will play a role in this as well. It’s easy to see that there are plenty of moving pieces, but this is why we encourage businesses to do a customer journey where they outline all the steps of the path their customer takes. What touchpoints do they engage with? Where do they see or engage with the brand? What’s the context?
Creating this customer journey will allow you to audit the little or many touchpoints where your brand is present. This will also give you plenty of insight on where to engage with a buyer and survey them regarding your business. This will give you some important data on their view of your brand and what your business means to them. Taking these two perspectives — internal and external — into consideration will help you refine your business and give you areas of opportunity for growth. Reflecting on what you observe, hear, and take note of will help guide you on your journey of a rebrand, launching a new offering, or even entering a new market.
The important thing to remember in a brand audit is to not rush the process, trust your vision, approach it with an open and humble mindset, and always put yourself in the shoes of others. This empathy can bring much value to your leadership, your business, and ultimately help create a very successful brand.
