Where should you head in a foggy brand landscape?
Making sure your brand communication dollars are well spent is not a one-time task. Throughout your brand’s lifespan there will be times when the landscape is an impenetrable fog. What should you do? Pull out your brand’s strategic business goals and marketing plan and review. Here are a few steps that your leadership team can follow and make adjustments to your overall brand strategy.
1. Get your bearings
Map out (document) where your brand stands today. Put in place analytics to help measure marketing initiatives. Dashboards will help track your progress toward your company’s strategic goals. Your analytics and dashboard will serve as a compass to help guide your brand on its location relative to your overall business goals.
2. Reveal hidden hazards
No company wants to be caught off guard and have their profits plummet. Make sure you have a good pulse on your customers. What is their true perception of your brand? Changes in your industry can run your brand aground unless you keep up with them. Use these light beacons to prevent your brand from crashing onto the rocky shore:
- Customer research
- Competitive research
- Trend spotting
- Industry conferences
3. Explore new approaches
Many companies become complacent about their brands. It’s easier to keep anchored than explore territory that doesn’t have a clear path. To help clear the fog and get a clearer perspective, seek out how other industries solve challenges similar to yours in regard to business models, communicating with customers and adopting new technology.
“The most dangerous phrase in the language is ‘we’ve always done it this way.’”
–Grace Hopper, computer scientist and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral
A complacent marketing approach puts your brand in jeopardy of drifting in a dense fog. Review your strategic journey (map) for your brand with your leadership team on a recurring basis. If you only skim the surface you may miss opportunities and hit hazards. Go deep and broad to develop the best strategic approach for your brand communications.
