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3 Tactics To Reevaluate Your Brand |
Has it come unplugged?
By Nancy H. Sacunas, APR
You remember it well and it was painful. You sat in hours of management
planning sessions mapping out your organization’s competitive advantage
and uniqueness. You reviewed competitor marketing materials (snagged at
the last trade show) and a few competitor proposals a customer gave
you. After much deliberation, your team finally arrived at how to
uniquely position your company in the marketplace and your company’s
brand.
It was good. It was well conceived. It was time and money well spent.
Fast forward to today. Does your company still fit that brand image you developed years ago? How does a CEO know when it’s time for a rebrand? Here are three sure-fire ways to know.
1. Try it on for size
The key to any brand strategy lies in the marketplace positioning of your company. Has your position in the marketplace changed since your brand was developed? Is your unique selling proposition still the same?
Is your organization’s brand positioned for long-term success? If your company has gone through dramatic growth or dramatic change since your brand was developed you might need to rethink things.
2. Stop talking and listen
Listen to key people around you. Here’s a simple test. Identify three above average employees with varied lengths of service. Ask (don’t tell) each one how he or she would describe your company to a prospective customer. Are they describing your brand the way you want them to? Next, ask a few of your new, long-term, and prospective customers what they think your competitive advantage is. After all, a strong brand is about continued growth and customer retention. Are they describing your brand the way they should?
Compare and contrast your findings. The answers will either jive with your current brand or they won’t.
3. Look in the mirror
Now it’s time to take a good hard look at your corporate image. Does your company logo convey that you are doing business in the 21st century? Is the typography used in the logo current and stylish? Are the colors current? (Fonts and colors do go out of style.) Does your logo “fit” with your marketing materials? Does your tag line say where you are going?
Most of the world’s top brands refresh their brand image regularly, from Coke to Hershey Foods to UPS. Why do these organizations do this? To illustrate progress, change, and to maintain their leadership position in
the marketplace.
A well-defined brand may take time and money, but done right it will pay for itself many times over. How? Increased sales, increased lead generation, and improved customer retention.
Nancy H. Sacunas, APR, is President & CEO and Dave Barbush is Vice President and Creative Director of Sacunas Integrated Communications. Sacunas is a 17-year, nationally recognized branding agency based in Harrisburg, PA. The agency was named one of the Top 50
BtoB agencies in the nation in 2007.
 3 Tactics To Reevaluate Your Brand
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