In the last post, we talked about the Significance and Need for Brand Audits. Going further in the series, we will detail out the steps in Brand Audits. The Brands & Business Establishments can observe the functioning and consumer perceptions of a brand, also the brand performance shall be measured in such a way that subsequent improvements can be done to keep the brand and branding efforts up-to date pertaining to the market conditions, competitor brands and changing consumer preferences. These changes mostly include – Making a change within organization, rebranding/refreshing current look, working on unsatisfactory internal communication and employee relations and to communicate what your brand stand for.

This is the Post 2 in Brand Audit Series. We will start with INTERNAL BRAND AUDIT

The main aspects we’ll be covering in this article would be:

• Positioning
• Brand Values
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP), brand promise, or brand essence
• Voice
• Culture
• Product / Service positioning

Positioning

It is very important that a Brand positioning is correct and to the mark. The positioning of a brand should be such that each & every employee of the organization can speak about the brand as an advocate.  There should be no identity crisis in the team, brand communication.

Profile and Brand Values

We need to make sure that the profiling of the brand is done in an accurate way. It should talk about the values, the goals and the bigger purpose behind the very existence of the brand.  The profile of a Brand is all about – Mission Statement, Statement of Purpose and Brand Values or Brand Philosophy.

A Mission Statement should be clear, focused and talk the very intent of brand.  A good mission statement can be Target oriented, a role model specific, it can be goal specific or it can be about all these. There is no specified length of a mission statement, it should be understandable concise and talk straight to the consumer.

A Good Mission Statement should be:

1. Simple in writing.
2. Treated as a goal and not as a statement while framing one.
3. Specific and not a sentence made up of heavy words.
4. Should define the intent & purpose of brand and not the emotions behind it.
5. Comprehensible and Inspiring.

Similarly, the Brand values & philosophy should be formulated with the key elements and intentions behind the brand; they should talk about the goals, the values a team plans to follow and the voice of brand. Values can be defined in the simplest words like – Young, Dynamic, and Collaboration etc.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)/Brand Promise

The world is full of ‘me too’ brands. And that is the reason enough to have a defined Unique Selling Proposition.  You need to create a space in the consumer mindset, make it impeccable so that there is a brand recall and appropriate action in favor of your brand.

A USP is created to stand out and to power-up the sales. While working on a USP one must keep the customer in mind and analyze the need-gaps and detail as how the brand is better than the competitor brand.  The USP should be a promise, a compelling statement to motivate the consumers for favorable buying decisions.

Voice

The brand voice holds great importance in Internal Branding too. It details the Brand attributes and reaches out the consumers in the right sense. The Brand Voice is detailed here.

Culture

Internal Audits need to include the assessment of culture. The culture of the brand includes – the culture inside the firm.  How important you make your people feel defines the Brand Culture.  A healthy brand culture provokes belonging and henceforth better brand image. It is important for positive growth and image of the brand and therefore the performance.

The audit of culture enables assessment of happiness quotient, clarity among the staff on core values, USP, mission and vision of the brand and as a result performance & advocacy.

Product / Service positioning

What it should be known as and known for, is the positioning strategy of the brand? A Brand positioning needs an audit because many a times it is observed that the offerings and the consumer preferences change at times.  The product/service needs an audit for a timely check on the characteristics of the offering and the key benefits. It is also important to assess that the product/service is perceived as intended by the marketer. This also helps in ascertaining changes/improvements in the positioning if required for the immediate future.

In the next post, we will be talking about the EXTERNAL Brand Audits and how they bring a noticeable difference to the consumer perceptions and overall Brand Image.