When people ask ‘what do you do?’ I say ‘I’m a brand and marketing consultant.’ They then usually respond by saying ‘so you design logos and brochures and things?’ Then I explain that I more look at the business goals and work out the best way to attract the right customers. That may be via a new logo, website, advertisement or something else. In my experience many organisations struggle to understand what is required in building a brand or marketing strategy and the value of investing in one prior to executing a brand refresh or marketing activities.
Recently I have started to explain to people that, like a person, a brand can be beautiful on the inside and outside. As for a great brand, it is beautiful on both sides. It is important to focus first on the inside and build a strategy to reflect that on the outside.
Beauty on the inside
Like humans, when you go through a full makeover process you need to look on the inside first.
Questions need to be firstly explored like;
1/What is the purpose of the business?
2/Do your staff and customers know the purpose and believe in it?
3/What is your organisation’s heartbeat and personality?
4/What does the organisation promise to deliver?
5/Is the business’ reputation healthy?
5/Are you experiencing growth?
The mission, values, services and products need to align, be known and lived out to form a strong internal culture. The culture of an organisation can influence greatly a brand’s reputation and relevance to its customer. In summary, the inside of a brand is; who the brand is, its personality, values, positioning in the marketplace, what it promises to deliver, to who and what that experience is like. These are all the aspects of the ‘inside’ of a brand, which help determine the strategy to brief a creative designer to express the outside appropriately.
Beauty on the Outside
Once you know who you are and where you are going, it’s important to visually address and communicate that on the outer. The outside components of a brand consist of the tone of voice (messaging), visual identity (logo, colour pallet, font, photography or imagery) and customer experience. The beauty on the outside these days most organisations are very familiar with, and aware that today’s customers value good aesthetics of a brand.
A brand full makeover
After working hand in hand with many organisations I’ve found most think a brand refresh is about this outside component only and forget the inside part. However, for a truly successful refresh it is important that who the organisation is on the inside is understood and captured in a strategy so it can be then reflected visually and verbally on the outside. A brand refresh or makeover that looks on the inside and outside will avoid surprises or disappointments after one’s engaged with your organisation. As ultimately you want them to become an advocate and a long term customer. Great brands like Apple, Nike, Disney and Fedex, know who they are on the inside (purpose, vision, values, promise etc.) and reflect this beautifully on the outside (visually, key messages and experiences) and hence we know them and love them as great brands today. They rarely over or under deliver on our expectations.
Holistic brand beauty is best
A brand that looks modern, innovative and energetic however when you engage with their services they are traditional in approach, deliver bad customer service. The opposite can also happen where you may have a brand that is looking tired and stale on the outside and may in fact be very friendly, energetic and busy on the inside. It is important that the logo, fonts, colour pallet and messaging all reflect this otherwise people will miss out on what you have to offer. I’ve seen both these scenarios often in the café or restaurant industry. If a café gets both the inside and outside right they are humming and if one is slightly off they don’t survive. Today with customers being so savvy the internal and external brand components need to be of an equal importance and value to invest in, in order to provide a great relevant experience and generate growth and loyal customers!
Beauty and your brand
So where is your organisation’s brand beauty at? Is it beautiful on the inside and on the outside? Are you still wondering if it’s time for a refresh on the inside or on the outside? The chances are you probably have parts that are strong at the moment and parts that are weaker on both the inside and outside.
So, here are some questions that may help confirm it for you. CHECKLIST DOWNLOAD
Sometimes having an external expert who is removed from the daily mechanics can really help identify quickly what areas need special attention in the short-term and then help you put together a longer-term plan to work towards. As a rule of thumb it is good for businesses to re-assess their brand position for a refresh every 5 or so years.
Sodablue loves helping brands look their best on the inside and outside. We do this through our comprehensive suite of marketing and branding services. If we haven’t already let’s explore how we may be able to help you - hello@sodablue.com.au.
Blog Post By: Karin Forster