Brand Alignment
Your brand represents everything you stand for as a company and what you believe in. It could be described as your corporate soul. Describing the attributes of a brand in words is a lengthy process however the power of successful brands mean that we come to recognise a logo, or corporate identity, as a shortcut statement that represents everything about your brand. For a brand to be successful, and understood by its target market, it should be the same throughout the length and breadth of the organisation - like the words in a stick of rock.
A mistake that’s often made is that the brand is something that's created for your clients or customers. It’s not - it goes far deeper than that. Your brand should be like the words in a stick of rock - it reads the same all the way through. Your brand needs to be reflected in everything you do - whether it’s your products or services, your employee behaviour, your communications strategy, new products, your recruitment and your sales and marketing. This means that everything you do - whether it's your marketing and communications, the way your organization looks and feels, the way people answer the phone, the way staff are treated by the company, or the way you handle your recruitment process. Your brand promise is the expectation your customers, staff, suppliers and prospects - all your stakeholders - have of your business.
A brand promise is a statement of the relevance and differentiation that gives you competitive advantage, and brand alignment maximises the effectiveness of your marketing and branding activity. Aligning your brand across everything you do involves every department or division within your organisation and relies upon every department, or division leader, fully understanding the brand proposition, being able to interpret it and reflect it in their area of operation.
Guardian of the brand
In many organisations marketing and human resources are diametrically opposed. There is often a misunderstanding about branding. Marketing say 'it’s nothing to do with HR ' because they don't recognise the influence HR have on the internal perception of the brand and how it is communicated through internal policies, recruitment, staff induction etc. If an organisation uses words like 'the relationships we build are personal' to describe itself to its target audience but the same organisation fails to acknowledge job applications from each applicant, and notify them personally whether or not they are successful, there is a disconnect between the external perception and the internal management of the brand. The expectations of the applicant, who may be a potential customer, weren't met so the disconnect can be damaging to the brand. With the power of social networking, and the fact that people are far more likely to complain than offer praise, means their disappointment may be shared and spread very easily. Consistency between internal and external manifestation of the brand is essential as staff will only project the brand values perceived by the target audience if the internal culture of the organisation is aligned with the brand.
A disconnect between external perception and internal beliefs can result from the fact that marketing are outward looking, tend to be sales orientated, are often risk takers, creative, kick against the rules etc, whereas human resources are not risk takers and generally focus on what happens inside the company rather than how the business is perceived externally as a brand. Aligning a brand means every activity your organisation undertakes, internally and externally, contributes to delivering your brand focus and makes your differentiating factor - your brand promise - obvious to your prospects and customers.
If your brand is NOT in alignment, your touch points will not create a clear and consistent image of who you are, what you stand for, and the value you deliver. As a result, your supporters and prospects will have a tough time getting to know and trust you.
If your brand IS in alignment, your supporters and prospects will experience your brand in a way that is consistent with the image you want your organization to project. They will connect the dots from your brand strategy to all your touch points, and then they will connect - and engage - with your organization.
How SFM Consulting can align your brand
SFM Consulting works with small and medium sized organisations to evaluate:
- if, or where, brand inconsistencies exist
- how and why they have arisen (includes what the brand means to all stakeholders)
- what steps need to be taken to eradicate them
Delivering a brand alignment programme involves the following steps:
- understanding the brand and what it stands for
- why a branding is important for organisations of all sizes
- internal and external representation of the brand
- how the brand can communicated and miscommunicated
- how different department or functions within the organisation work together to deliver the brand
If there is a lack of clarity about what the brand is then SFM can recommend appropriate branding specialists to help define your brand.
If inconsistencies exist SFM Consulting will provide recommendations on how to address and which inconsistencies are priorities. Resourcing - both in terms of skills and time - are reviewed and where there are insufficient resources or skills within the organisation SFM can provide.
Businesses are dynamic so aligning the brand isn't just ticking the box - it's an on going process. SFM can provide support, awareness building and training to staff responsible for aligning the brand on an on-going basis. .
