To take on the outside world and all its vicissitudes, knowing your brand in all its facets helps formulate a future-ready blueprint.
Every now and again, a brand needs to go through the rigour of deep introspection. This allows it to reassess its relevance and resonance factors. It ensures everything intrinsic to the brand is performing at peak levels. Taking a long, hard look helps marketers prepare better for the realities of the external competitive space. It helps bolster the brand to capitalise on opportunities that are often camouflaged by clutter or sometimes even hidden in plain sight. But why look within? What will it tell us?
Find your brand voice, refresh your tone and style
Often over time, a brand’s vocabulary gets jaded and its once-refreshing voice sounds tired and out of sync with the times. In the meantime, consumerspeak has evolved and the modes of conversation now cover interactions as vast and varied as podcasts and emojis, animated gifs and hashtags. Check if your brand is communicating fluently with the right audiences in these current times.
Fix purchase funnel leaks, plug those loopholes
It is imperative to examine the purchase funnel, check how seamlessly the decision-making process is allowed to flow. If it has roadblocks, you could be losing promising customer customers along the way. If you plug the loopholes, then an interested customer becomes an interactive one, a one-time buyer becomes a repeat purchaser, and a loyal clientele becomes a powerhouse of advocacy. Needless to reaffirm, advocacy is the most impactful of sales tools – it’s free, it’s believable, it’s persuasive.
Celebrate brand strengths, share your vision
Marketers have erred on the side of modesty. Equally, they have erred on the side of bombast. The fine line in between is where you are proud of your brand’s strengths, ambitious for its growth and focused on its future. This may be the inflection point where you validate your brand truth and stay committed to your brand vision. Today’s consumer is looking for honesty, authenticity, integrity built into the promise of the brands they choose.
Nail your brand narrative, co-opt your customers
You may want to finesse your brand story at this point to bring it closer to your customer base. Add immersive experiences and lean-forward interactivity. Stay human. Listen. Share your domain knowledge freely. Show them you have a purpose, invite them to join you on a journey of change, fold them into your vision to be a force for good. Empower your consumers and excite them with your plans.
Once you have the internal aspects in place, you’re ready for the playing field with all its challenges and dynamics. Competitors or consumers, unforeseen roadblocks or new opportunities, pitfalls or possibilities – when you’ve built a brand to last, it is ready to take on the world. Worth the journey to the very core of your strategy.