Brand Identity? Check. But What About Brand Promise?

by | Feb 1, 2017 | JFG News

Building a brand identity is critical for any business. But does your organization deliver on its brand promise?

An April 2016 study on brand experience by Brandworkz and CIM surveyed 2,200 marketing leaders worldwide about challenges, opportunities, and best practices for aligning brand promise with customer experience.

Here are a few highlights from the study’s findings and how your organization can avoid these pitfalls:

Speak with One Voice

Only half of the survey’s respondents think their leadership, human resources, corporate communication, and marketing departments speak with one unified voice. And more than two-thirds, or 67%, say their senior leaders don’t fully understand the strategic role, value, or potential of branding.

Avoid it: Start from the top. Get your leadership on board and make sure they understand what branding is and what it can do for the company. Once there’s a clear brand vision, align departments with it.

Align Brand and Workplace

Just 53% of respondents said their organization had internal-external brand alignment. Worse, only 37% believed all employees clearly understood how they could deliver the brand promise to the customer — and that includes those in the c-suite.

Avoid it: Walk the talk. Be sure your customer-facing brand values are connected to internal culture. Create internal structures around the delivery of the brand promise.

Focus on Customer Experience

More than 75% of the survey’s respondents believe that their employees care about what customers think of the company — but just 17% of companies enable employees to improve the customer experience.

Avoid it: Be sure teams outside of marketing and communications have a clearly defined way in which they can deliver the brand experience. Create an internal brand ambassador program to champion brand values throughout the organization.

Building a brand identity only part of creating a successful brand. Empower your employees and focus on internal-external brand alignment and you’ll ensure a great brand experience for your customers.