"When you have superb alignment, a visitor could drop into your organization from another planet and infer the vision without having to read it on paper"
Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, Built to Last
It might not sound very glamorous, but if you want to improve your customer and employee experience, stand out from the crowd, and be the company you always dreamed of being, you need one thing: brand alignment
Defining a brand is an exciting time for any organisation. A time of optimism, renewal and opportunity. You’re setting out the true fundamentals: why you exist, what you stand for, how you behave, and where you’re going.
Getting it right means research with consumers and colleagues, workshops and plenty of collaboration. It takes time, effort and money, so you’d expect any organisation that’s been through it to put the same amount of time, effort and money into bringing that vision to life.
Which is why it’s so surprising that so many organisations settle for just putting their vision onto stickers, mouse mats and office walls, and waiting for the magic to happen all by itself.
Going from defined to aligned isn’t easy, but it’s so worth it.
Find out how aligned you areWhy does it matter?
The rewards for aligning your brand are huge. Here are the three we talk about most:
1. It’s your lighthouse
Your brand should be your guiding light. It’s there to send all your ships to the right place, and keep them safe from peril.
Not sure what activities to prioritise this year?
Not sure whether to recruit for one role or another?
Not sure what objectives to set for your team?
Let the light guide you. Without it, you’re sailing in the dark.
2. It makes you more focused on your customers
When you define your brand, you do it based on deep insights into your customers. So once it’s aligned, and guiding your decisions, every move you make will be for the good of the people who matter most.
You’ll also be able to tackle pain points quickly, prioritising the ones that are likely to give people the most heartache, and solving them quickly with less risk to your reputation.
3. It helps you keep your promises
Without an aligned brand, nobody agrees on what you stand for, or what you offer. Which means you’re in danger of making promises you can’t keep – something that undermines your brand, turns customers and colleagues against you, and hits both your reputation and your revenue.
Aligning your brand makes it clear what you should and shouldn’t promise, which makes it much more likely you’ll stand by your word. Ryanair are a good example: they can promise low prices because their processes, product and promotions are all geared towards exactly that.
How can we help?
Defining and aligning brands is what we do. So we know the steps you need to take and the pitfalls you need to avoid, and we’ve got all the right people and processes to help you make it a roaring success. With nary a mouse mat in sight.
Let’s talk brand alignment
Written by Gary Moss, Brand Alignment Partner at Definition.