Brand Alignment is powerful for everyone. Organizations of all shapes and sizes, public and private, for profit and not-for-profit. It’s also relevant to your personal brand.
My purpose in writing this series is to begin sharing half a century and millions of dollars worth of brand alignment consulting experience with entrepreneurs. Leaders of businesses, SMB’s as they like to call them. Street fighters. Family business owners. Equity investors. Mom and Pops. Influencers. Franchisees. Courageous leaders willing to take calculated risks to create, nurture, and grow a concept.
This series is not written for the Fortune 500 world, who commit significant resources to keeping their brands aligned. Most small to medium businesses can’t relate to their success metrics nor the various brand alignment issues they face. While many of their challenges are relevant, I’m saving those messages for another time.
The differentiator is practicality. Entrepreneurs want practical applications they can put to use in their businesses today, without necessarily needing expensive professional counsel or complex strategies. They want to grasp the value of an idea then go make it happen! They can’t wait for the next quarter to see results. They want to make a difference now.
Included in this Article:
- What is a Brand?
- What is Brand Alignment?
- Why does Brand Alignment Matter?
- What is Practical Brand Alignment?
What is a Brand?
There are a plethora of definitions and perceptions of brand. My favorite, which our firm created and used since 1980, reads, “A brand is a promise wrapped in a delivery.” I like what it stands for, and how it simply states your business makes a promise and backs it up by delivering on that promise. And everything related to that delivery makes up your brand.
What is Brand Alignment?
Most people don’t know what brand alignment is. That’s troublesome because most businesses are out of brand alignment. It doesn’t mean your business isn’t successful, but if your brand is out of alignment you can be certain you are not maximizing your potential. Simply put, if your brand is not in alignment, you are leaving money on the table and may not even know it.
Only a few sporadic definitions of brand alignment actually exist because it is such a misunderstood concept, and the recent proliferation of brand nomenclature only adds to leaders’ confusion regarding the matter. To simplify the concept, I define brand alignment as, “Where perception meets reality throughout the entire customer journey.” Brand alignment is that magical moment when every single touchpoint of your brand represents what you want your brand experience to mean to others.
That is an especially daunting challenge in a world where your customer touchpoints are changing daily. Your ability to create a standard set of guidelines to embrace all of today’s unpredictable consumer attitudes on multiple communication channels isn’t a walk in the park. That is why brand alignment does not happen by accident. It’s the direct result of a well-planned and activated strategy. Great brand alignment is intentional.
Why Does Brand Alignment Matter?
A brand out of alignment creates customer confusion, loss of prospective new business, lagging sales, employee disruption and an erosion of trust across all stakeholder groups.
Brand alignment matters because there is truly no greater consumer joy than experiencing an aligned brand, and aligned brands are rare. When we encounter one, it creates a special feeling of oneness and appreciation, almost like the company created their brand just for us. An aligned brand usually brings its emotions and vulnerability to the forefront to create a sense of genuineness and authenticity.
A fully aligned brand is able to create an emotional connection with its stakeholders that goes well beyond the practical functionality of its product or service, providing multiple advantages for the company. It generates increased sales, inspires loyalty, and cultivates hard earned trust. When the buying experience is pure joy for the customer, you will usually find impeccable alignment between the brand promise and its delivery. When it flows well, it provides the customer an enjoyable, seamless process where everything just makes sense.
Aligned brands also build solid introduction platforms from which to launch new products or services, provide for enhanced customer retention, and generate a higher return on all of your advertising and social media spends. Last but not least, it matters because an aligned brand is contagious to your culture, which ultimately cycles back to improving your overall business success.
What is Practical Brand Alignment?
Practical Brand Alignment is all about the practical adjustments an owner can make in their business. It’s about the little things that make the biggest difference. Obvious things, like if you are running a country cafe, don’t play MC Hammer over the music system. If you own a workout center, don’t put bowls of Tootsie Rolls on your membership counter. It’s not rocket science!
Practical Brand Alignment is when an entrepreneur embarks upon his or her own journey to personally review their current situation, walkthrough their customer experience, assess if their brand is in alignment, and if not, identify the opportunities to make adjustments to put themselves into better alignment. Many leaders can do this without the guidance of a brand professional because the magic is in having the awareness and the common sense.
There is a reason very few organizations are in perfect brand alignment. It’s only achievable for those who are aware of it. It’s only a simple process for those who embark upon it with their eyes and ears wide open. Wherever you are in the discovery cycle, don’t wait to start your brand alignment journey. Every day counts.
