Audit Your Current Brand

Audit Your Current Brand
What is a brand? Is it a logo? A name or slogan? A graphic design or color scheme?

Your brand is the entire experience your prospects and customers have with
your company. Its what you stand for, a promise you make, and the
personality you convey. And while it includes your logo, color palette and slogan,
those are only creative elements that convey your brand.
In B2B companies, your brand lives in every day-to-day interaction you have with your
market
he ima!es you convey
he messa!es you deliver on your website, proposals and sales materials
he way your employees interact with customers
A customers opinion o! you versus your competition
In your industry, there may or may not be a strong B2B brand. But when you put two
companies up against each other, the one that represents something valuable will have
an easier time reaching, engaging, closing and retaining customers. A strong brand
strategy can be a big advantage.
"ave you ever audited your brand? I! you#re not sure whether you#re communicating it
e$ectively and consistently, this e%ercise can help you match your goals to what the
market sees, hears and e%periences.
"ummary
#$#%CI"#
"&''A%Y
(hen to
Address
I! you#re a company with a product&service in the already in the
marketplace, you#ve completed your competitive positioning and
are ready to de'ne your brand strategy
I! you#re missing your revenue targets and are unsure why
I! you#re planning on revising some o! your brand creative elements
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page ) o! *)
More instant-access resources and tools online at http://www.doitmarketing.com
Note + I! you haven#t yet launched your product, move to ,%ercise
2- + *hoose )our Brand .ype
(ho "hould
+articipate
Business leaders company !ounders, owners, presidents and vice
presidents
/arketing and sales leaders
/arketing coordinators and sales reps
(here to &se
the %esults
0eview your results and use the rest o! the Brand (trategy e%ercises
to update or improve your brand strategy.
(hy its
Important
)our brand should bring your competitive positioning to li!e and
capture the mindshare o! your slice o! the market. It#s challenging to
do well, but immensely valuable when done so. (trong brands
create tremendous economic goodwill on company balance sheets.
(hat Builds
&pon it
All o! your interactions with the marketplace
imeframe to
Completion
A !ew days to a !ew weeks, depending on your situation
+otential
Business
Impact
"igh
,eliverable
)ou#ll determine the view o! your brand !rom inside and outside your
company and map out a plan to correct any ine1ciency.
-ext "teps
I! your brand strategy needs improvement, continue with the rest o!
the e%ercises in Brand (trategy.
ar!et Completion ,ate
+A%ICI+A-"
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page * o! *)
+A%ICI+A-"
A"." / 0# "A%#,
+#%"/-
%#"+/-"IB1#
,&# ,A#
-otes
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page 2 o! *)
(hat to Complete
). "&''A%I3# Y/&% B%A-,
*. A&,I Y/&% B%A-, I-#%-A11Y
2. A&,I Y/&% B%A-, #$#%-A11Y
4. A-A1Y3# A&,I %#"&1"
(here it 5its in Brand "trate!y
(ummari2e )our Brand
Audit )our Brand Internally
Audit )our Brand ,%ternally
Analy2e Audit 0esults
*hoose Brand .ype
*on'rm )our 3alue 4roposition
(elect a Brand .heme
5etermine 3alue o! )our 6eatures 7 Bene'ts
*hart )our ,motional Bene'ts
5etermine What )our Brand /eans
*reate )our Brand 4ersonality .raits
*reate )our Brand 4romise
5e'ne )our Brand (trategy
*reate )our Brand 4ositioning (tatements
Write )our Brand (tory
(elect Brand 3isual 0e8uirements
/atch 3isual 0e8uirements to ,%isting Brand
5e'ne Brand 9perational 0e8uirements
/atch 9perational 0e8uirements to ,%isting Brand
). "&''A%I3# Y/&% B%A-,
.he 'rst step in your brand audit is to have your leadership team summari2e your
brand. )ou#ll use this to compare to the results o! your internal and e%ternal surveys.
I! you#re not sure how to answer some o! the brand strategy 8uestions, you may want to
take more time to !ully de'ne your brand strategy before conducting your brand audit.
.hat#s 'ne, and i! you#d like to do so, :ump to ,%ercise 2- + *hoose )our Brand .ype.
A!ter you#ve completed the rest o! the Brand (trategy e%ercises, return to this step and
enter your results.
B%A-, "&''A%Y +A%ICI+A-"
(hat is our value proposition6
+%I'A%Y 7A1&# +%/+/"II/-
"#C/-,A%Y 7A1&# +%/+/"II/-
(hat are the most powerful emotional bene8ts we deliver to our customers6
(hat are the three thin!s our brand should mean to our customers6
)
*
2
(hat are our se!ments !reatest pains6
(hat are 8ve human :brand personality; traits that describe how we want
the market to view our brand6
B%A-, +#%"/-A1IY %AI"
)
*
2
4
9
(hat is our brand promise6
/ur *9<word brand positionin! statement =a statement that captures the
concepts above> is?
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page @ o! *)
Aere is our brand story?
I! you#re a small company and the ma:ority o! your team participated in this section,
then you may decide to use this as your internal brand audit and can :ump to part ; o!
this e%ercise.
*. A&,I Y/&% B%A-, I-#%-A11Y
"ow do your employees and stakeholders view your brand? .o gain a better
understanding, conduct an internal brand audit. .his will help determine i! your
company clearly understands your brand strategy.
.he survey comple%ity and number o! participants will depend upon your company
situation. )ou#ll want enough detail to evaluate the true perception and a large enough
sample si2e to make sure that the results are relevant.
6irst, list the people who can participate in your survey. I! you#re sending your survey to
more than ;< people, store them in a spreadsheet.
C&"/'#%" 7#-,/%" #'+1/Y##"
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page B o! *)
C&"/'#%" 7#-,/%" #'+1/Y##"
"&%7#Y 5/%'A
=e%t, determine your survey !ormat. )ou have a number o! options to choose !rom
CA//"#
Y/&%
'#A/,
,#AI1 +%/" C/-"
#mail &se an online
survey
pro!ram like
www.2oomeran
g.com or www.
(urveymonkey.
com to launch
your survey
and tally your
results
,asy to set up
"elps you structure
your survey
8uestions
.abulates responses
>ets you pass
hidden 'elds to your
responses so you
can group them
>ow cost
/ay need to be
deployed several
times to get
people to
respond
3iewed as
impersonal
=eeds a
compelling
headline and
intro to get
people to
participate
'ail "end a self<
addressed
stamped
envelope with
a cover letter
and a paper
survey
/ore space to
create a compelling
message, to thank
the customer !or
participating, and
communicate any
incentives
/ay be better than
email !or reaching
customers who
don#t use computers
=eeds to look
very pro!essional
/ay be viewed
as tedious
5oesn#t 't with
the ?innovation@
value proposition
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page C o! *)
CA//"#
Y/&%
'#A/,
,#AI1 +%/" C/-"
+hone +lace calls
directly or
use a third
party to make
impartial calls
Areat way to get
detailed answers
and probe !or more
in!ormation as
needed
/ay bring to your
attention unhappy
customers who you
can help
immediately
5issatis'ed
customers may
be
uncom!ortable
telling
employees about
their issues
*ustomers
voicing a
concern to
another live
person o!ten
e%pect action to
be taken
immediately
Combin
<ation
Contact the
customer via
two methods
+ !or e%ample,
call or email
them about a
survey, then
send it by mail
Improving
awareness will
improve your
response rate
0ein!orces the
importance you
place on customer
loyalty
9$ers another
chance to
communicate with
your customers
/ore costly
"&%7#Y 5/%'A %#A"/-I-0 7#-,/%
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page D o! *)
"&%7#Y E&#"I/-"
A!ter choosing your delivery method, create your 8uestions. (ome suggested 8uestions
are below. .hey#re designed as open-ended 8uestions rather than multiple choice or
ratings so that you gain true unsolicited, uncolored !eedback. .hese work well with a
!airly small group o! survey recipients Bas you#ll need to manually evaluate each
response and assign it a rating a!terwardC, but it will lead to more accurate, actionable
results.
I! your survey is large, consider closed-ended 8uestions with ratings on a scale o! - to D
or check bo%es.
E&#"I/- C/''#-"
-. What do you think Einsert your product or company
nameF stands !or?
2. What are the key bene'ts Eproduct&companyF
delivers?
;. "ow would you describe your e%perience in
working with Eproduct&companyF?
G. When purchasing !rom&working with
Eproduct&companyF, what#s a word or phrase that
describes what you e%pect !rom us each time?
D. I! Einsert your product or company nameF were a
person, how would you describe him&her? What
human personality traits match the brand?
H. What is the main thing your think o! when you hear
Einsert your product or company nameF?
I. 9ther
J. 9ther
%#"+/-"# %A#
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page )F o! *)
)ou don#t need to collect a survey !rom every recipient. Instead, you#re aiming !or a
?statistically valid sample si2e,@ or the number o! responses you need to be able to
con'dently apply those results to your entire group o! customers.
(tatistics is a comple% 'eld, and consumer marketers must take into account all sorts o!
calculations to accurately measure and apply their results. .here are a number o! key
metrics !or a B2B marketer to consider, including
he total number of people to whom you want to apply the survey results BAC
he G of those people who respond to your survey BBC
When your ?total number o! people@ BAC is very small, you need a higher percentage o!
them to respond BBC to be con'dent in your results. I! A is very large, then you can
con'dently use a smaller percentage. (tatisticians and researchers use the term
?con'dence rating@ to indicate how statistically accurate a survey#s results can be
considered. KDL is a standard con'dence goal.
0roup youre !oin! to survey
-umber of potential respondents in this !roup =A>
=population>
G who should respond to the survey =B>
-umber of completed surveys desired =C H AIB>
It#s very di1cult to estimate a response rate i! you haven#t done a similar campaign to a
similar group o! people. (ome !actors to keep in mind
A phone survey will deliver the hi!hest response rate but will be the most
e%pensive survey to implement. )ou can probably reach J<L o! your list, depending
on the amount o! time you spend making calls.
A mail survey will produce a far lower response rate than phone. )ou can
raise your response rate by calling or emailing recipients ahead o! time and asking
them to respond.
An email survey is very simple for participants but is subJect to the same
factors as any other email campai!n + you need a compelling headline and a
solid message to get them to participate rather than delete. An email survey is the
least personal !or the recipient, and thus the recipient may not take as much care
with the responses.
If you oKer an incentive, you can dramatically increase your response.
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page )) o! *)
-umber of completed surveys
needed =C>
+roJected minimum response rate
=,> =as a decimal>
-umber of surveys to send out =C L
,>
As you get ready to launch your survey, here are a !ew additional tips to keep in mind
I+"
-/#"
I! you#re not using an online survey system, set
up your worksheet to tabulate your results
B#5/%# you 8naliMe your survey. .hat way
you can make sure you#re asking your 8uestions in
a way that can be captured and measured in your
spreadsheet.
4eople are busy. .eep the survey as short as
possible.
Ask people to respond within a fairly short
but fair period of time N for example, )F
days. A deadline is important or else the piece
may end up in a pile o! unimportant mail.
I! the deadline comes and goes and you haven#t
received your minimum number o! surveys, call or
email the people who havent responded and
ask them i! they#re willing to help you improve.
Consider providin! an incentive to respond.
hank recipients who invested the time to
participate. A personal note, a letter or even a
small thank-you gi!t is a simple but e$ective
gesture.
%#C/''#-,AI/-"
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page )* o! *)
When your surveys are in, tabulate them into a report and create your plan !or acting on
the in!ormation.
+urpose of survey
,ate
'ethod used
A B C ,
0roups tar!eted
-umber of surveys sent per !roup
-umber of completed surveys
received
%esponse rate
-umber of surveys needed for
statistical validity L met6
Con8dence level
Attach a copy o! the survey and a copy o! the results.
2. A&,I Y/&% B%A-, #$#%-A11Y
=ow, survey your customers, vendors, partners and any !ormer customers or other
e%ternal market participants you#re able to reach.
0epeat the survey steps !rom part 2 o! this e%ercise, but revise any o! the 8uestions to
!ocus on the e%ternal market.
4. A-A1Y3# A&,I %#"&1"
A!ter you#ve collected the results, it#s time to analy2e them. )our end goal is to
determine i! your e%isting brand strategy matches the market#s perception and your
team#s perception o! your brand, and i! it doesn#t, where are the disconnects.
"urvey 0roup
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page )2 o! *)
5etermine how you#ll rate the responses. .his depends upon the survey type and
volume o! responses, but your end goal is to evaluate how well the ma:ority o! the
responses reMect your brand summary as outlined in section - o! this e%ercise.
0ate the response to each 8uestion on the !ollowing scale

%AI-0"
D N the response is an e%tremely strong match to your brand
strategy
; N the response is a general match to your brand strategy
- N the response does not match your brand strategy at all
-&'B#% E&#"I/- %AI-0
-
2
;
G
D
H
I
J
%#"#A%CA "&''A%Y
0%/&+ A7#%A0# %AI-0
#'+1/Y##"
7#-,/%"
C&"/'#%
"
/A#%
A11
"A'+1# B#" O (/%" %#"+/-"#"
E&#"I/- B#" "&++/%I-0 %#"+/-"#"
B#" -/-<"&++/%I-0
%#"+/-"#"
)
*
2
G
9
@
B
C
5I-A1 A-A1Y"I"
6or each group, determine your results.
A-A1Y"I" -#$ "#+"
)es *ongratulationsO Peep up the good work.
=o
*ontinue on with the section to determine how you can
strengthen your brand, and then apply it to the materials and
messages you use in the market. Q*orporate Identity and
/essaging can helpR
=ot sure
)ou may want to ask !or additional !eedbackS however, i! you#re
not sure, then there are probably some areas you can improve.
*ontinue with the section to determine how you can strengthen
your brand, and then apply it to the materials and messages you
use in the market. Q*orporate Identity and /essaging can helpR
I! you selected No or Not Sure !or any group, outline the areas that don#t match.
B%A-, A%#A 0%/&+
I-#%-A1
,I"C/--#C
#$#%-A1
,I"C/--#C
.o resolve any disconnects, continue with the ne%t e%ercises in Brand (trategy.
B%A-, C/''&-ICAI/-"
)ou may also wish to audit your marketing materials to determine whether you#re
consistently conveying your brand promise and personality.
.his is also covered is greater depth in ,%ercise 2H + 5e'ne )our 3isual 0e8uirement i!
you#d like to address it there.
C/%+/%A#
I,#-IY
Is it
consistent
with your
brand
promise6
Is it consistent
with your
brand
personality6
-#$ "#+"
>ogo ) = ) =
*olors ) = ) =
(tationery ) = ) =
Business envelopes ) = ) =
/ailing labels ) = ) =
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page )@ o! *)
9ther printed identity ) = ) =
9ther ) = ) =
(#B"I#
Website ) = ) =
+%I-#,
1I#%A&%#
*ompany brochure ) = ) =
4roduct&service data
sheets
) = ) =
White papers ) = ) =
*ase studies ) = ) =
0e!erence lists ) = ) =
"ard copy newsletter ) = ) =
9ther ) = ) =
+%#"#-AI/-
'A#%IA1"
4ower4oint template ) = ) =
4roduct demo ) = ) =
4roduct sample ) = ) =
6olders ) = ) =
9ther ) = ) =
#'+1A#"
4roposal template ) = ) =
,mail templates ) = ) =
(ales letter templates ) = ) =
9ther ) = ) =
I-#%ACI7# //1"
,mail newsletter ) = ) =
*ompany blog ) = ) =
0(( !eed ) = ) =
3ideos ) = ) =
/A#% //1"
09I calculator ) = ) =
I! some o! your materials need improvement, you may want to hone your brand
strategy with the rest o! this section be!orehand. Q(ales .ools and >iterature,
*opywriting 7 Araphic 5esign, Website and /essaging can help.R
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page )B o! *)
%eport
). I-#%-A1 B%A-, A&,I %#"&1"
*. #$#%-A1 B%A-, A&,I %#"&1"
.his report summari2es our results !rom completing ,%ercise 2< + Brand (trategy Audit
)our *urrent Brand.
). I-#%-A1 B%A-, A&,I %#"&1"
Audit ar!ets
Audit ype
Audit ,ate
/ur internal brand audit revealed that?
Any disconnects between our brand summary and our audience are as !ollows
B%A-, A%#A 0%/&+ I-#%-A1 ,I"C/--#C
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page )C o! *)
.o resolve any disconnects, we plan on addressin! the followin!?
I#' ACI7IY 0/A1
*. #$#%-A1 B%A-, A&,I %#"&1"
Audit ar!ets
Audit ype
Audit ,ate
/ur external brand audit revealed that?
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page )D o! *)
Any disconnects between our brand summary and our audience are as !ollows
B%A-, A%#A 0%/&+ #$#%-A1 ,I"C/--#C
.o resolve any disconnects, we plan on addressin! the followin!?
I#' ACI7IY 0/A1
Brand (trategy Audit )our *urrent Brand page *F o! *)
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Audit Your Current Brand

What is a brand? Is it a logo? A name or slogan? A graphic design or color scheme?

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