Aligned for success

Why your strategy, brand and execution need to be thought of as one if you’re going to get maximum value from everything you do

For an organisation to reach its potential, it must do three things. It’s got to make sure that it’s identified the right opportunity, is using the right strategy to capitalise on that opportunity and then uses its brand, marketing and communications in a way that connects with people and convinces them to buy. But in today’s changing world, you’ve got think about brand and strategy differently if you’re going to get those three things right and set yourself up for success in the long-term.

How did we get here?

For almost a century now, we’ve been taking a similar approach to business; management sets a strategy, creatives turn that strategy into a brand and then staff execute through touchpoints like marketing, call centres and shops.

The straightforward process starts with the strategic goals of the organisation, meaning management and staff supposedly moved together as one to achieve them.

A fast-paced world packed with information

The world is changing faster than ever before. Consumers are surrounded by brands and overwhelmed with information; recent estimates suggest we process around 5 times as much information today as we did just 40 years ago. This means people have far less time to make a decision and when they do, they’re constantly wondering about whether they made the right one. With all this information, a process that’s linear and starts with the organisation’s goals just won’t work anymore.

Why the old way doesn’t work anymore

You’re probably wondering why a process like the one above doesn’t work anymore. Does it really matter how a brand is developed? Surely all that really matters is that the brand is developed and that it connects with people in the desired way? It’s true that a brand must connect with people, but the way it’s developed has a massive impact on how well it does that. And the current way has quite a few drawbacks.

The process can be slow

For one thing, the old ways of developing a brand can take time and consumer preferences and wants are constantly shifting. We’re not saying that a good brand can be developed overnight, but it’s important to move quickly and have flexibility if you’re going to take full advantage of an opportunity.

A focus on the company isn’t the right approach

When organisations set strategy, they often think about what they want to achieve and how they’re then going to achieve it. But in today’s world, that just doesn’t work. Consumers want to feel as though everything you’re doing is for them personally.

Instead of starting with what you want to achieve, think about how you want to make your users feel. You can then build out a brand and strategy which are always looking to deliver those feelings. You’ll still need to set commercial objectives and they’re just as important to achieve. But when you put the customer first, you’ll find that those objectives are much easier to meet. (provided you’ve got sound operations in place).

It can fuel mistrust

People are more sceptical of companies now than ever before. Marketing that suggests companies care falls flat when sitting alongside news of the latest corporate scandals. Simply put, people don’t trust most of what companies say. Instead they judge those companies on their actions. And when “doing good” and “we care” has simply been bolted on as a marketing message, it comes across as disingenuous and like a cynical attempt to get people to buy. No matter how creative the advertising campaign is, people will often see through it.

Doing good is now so important that it must be “baked in” to the brand and strategy from the outset. When everything your organisation does is ethical, consumers will learn to trust you and will, therefore, choose you more in the long-term.

Staff don’t always understand strategy

Organisations have tried countless ways of educating staff on corporate strategies. From people dressing up, intranet sites and even video games, no matter how inventive the communication method is, trying to get staff to understand and then buy-in to corporate strategy is difficult. This is especially true if they’ve had little or no involvement in its development. And yet your staff are the most crucial part of making sure your brand delivers on its promises to consumers.

When strategy and brand trickle down from the top, it’s hard for staff and even middle management to understand exactly what was in the minds of the directors when they created them. This results in disconnect which spreads throughout the organisation and can lead to decisions which cause unintended and sometimes damaging consequences, for example investment in technology which doesn’t meet requirements or even messages which contradict each other. And the people that feel this? Your customers.

Every step is an opportunity for problems to creep in

The “trickle down” from the top mentioned above is a bit like playing a game of telephone; management decide on a strategy and after several layers of decision making, it’s executed by staff. But how does a member of staff know that what they’re doing is how you as management wanted it to be done? You might be lucky and spot the mistake, but it could either be too late, or expensive to fix. Even worse, you might never notice it.

Another way of thinking about this problem is building a tower of bricks; every brick being laid out individually is a decision being made. Provided the bricks line up perfectly, you’ll end up with a fairly solid tower. But if even one brick is out of alignment early on, you’ve got problems further down the line. And it gets worse as more bricks are added which are out of alignment.

So what? Does it really matter

Simply put, yes. Every time someone interacts with you, they’re forming an opinion of you. Collectively, those opinions come together and create their perception of your brand. And that perception is the only one that matters – it is your brand. You’ve got to make sure that every single interaction someone has with you creates positive emotions and makes them want to come back.

Consumers expect more

We’re in a world where people can summon taxis from their phones and get curated feeds of content they’ll like delivered straight to their inbox. The convenience revolution is in full swing and people not only like it when things are easy and personalised, but increasingly, they expect it. When organisations don’t make things easy, people move on to find an alternative that does. And all that starts from your strategy – it’s not just about your execution.

Long-term, it’s not a good look

If your organisation’s brand and strategy aren’t aligned and working as one, people will notice it. They’ll interact with you less, they won’t trust you and they’ll be far less likely to recommend you. Which means you have to spend more on marketing and customer retention efforts in the long-term. Eventually, you’ll have to make a change if you want to survive, but at that point, you’ll have to do a lot to regain the trust you’ve lost. We all know that preventing a problem is often much easier than having to fix one.

The solution? Create a framework which aligns everything and make it easy for people to trust you

Taking the brick analogy in the previous section, what if we created a framework which guided the placement of the bricks no matter what stage they were being laid? You’d have a tower which was stronger, but also bricks which were always aligned with one another. In other words, you’re able to make better decisions more quickly because there’s something guiding them and holding them together. When everything is aligned and (truly) coming from the same place, people are much more likely to trust you, choose you and return to you. And as your reputation for being an organisation which delivers on its promises grows, more people will naturally choose you over your competitors.

This framework we’re speaking about is your brand and strategy – they’re the same, and they guide everything you do and say.

Focus on doing the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way

Building a framework like the one described above takes some careful thought, and crucially, a good understanding of what you’re building it on. If you don’t do enough research, you’ll potentially build a solid brand and strategy, but it might not actually be relevant to your audience. After this, you need to make sure that your framework is sturdy and properly built, so that it ensures you’re doing everything in the right way and at the right time.

Research is key

To be successful, you’ve got to identify the right opportunity. And to do that, you’ve got to have the right information. Knowing what it is your customers and other stakeholders want from you should be the first step in building your brand and strategy. Think about what motivates them, what they want and how they want to feel. And crucially, validate this with them – never assume that you know what people want, or you’re effectively basing everything that comes next on hearsay.

As well as your customers, think about your general environment; your competitors and any other considerations which could affect how you do your business, for example laws and regulations. You want to get to a point where you understand your core strengths and how you can capitalise on them to deliver on your users’ needs and wants.

Shifting the focus

Notice how the process goes from being inside-out to both inside-out and outside-in. Rather than understanding what it is you do best and then offering this to people, you’re understanding what it is your ideal customers want, what it is you’re best at delivering, and how they match up. By developing a solid understanding of your core strengths and unique characteristics, you’re creating a framework which incorporates things that only you can offer. Which means every decision you make is focused on using your core strengths to their maximum potential.

Get your strategy right

Having got a solid understanding of the environment you’re in and what you’re best placed to offer, you now need to work out how you’re going to execute. This isn’t just about the how though; it’s also about the when. Delivering the right thing at the wrong time is just as bad as delivering the wrong thing at the right time.

The best way of understanding how to deliver your product or service is to target it at one specific user and build your brand and strategy around them. Refine everything so that it speaks to them on an emotional level and compels them to choose you over anyone else. This doesn’t mean you’re excluding other groups of people, but the focus on a single, ideal customer is what will help you to create a powerful brand which resonates and creates loyalty.

Stay focused and work as a team

Your core strategy will result in many sub-strategies which are focused on delivering on your brand promise at an operational level. Making sure that these strategies are consistent is crucial to create a brand that connects with people. Getting staff buy-in and including them in the process will mean you’re much more likely to not only succeed but do it in a way that’s efficient and keeps staff motivated.

Execute perfectly & consistently

Now it’s time to put the wheels in motion and bring your brand to life through touchpoints which build on your brand promise and keep your users happy.

Move beyond the customer

Remember, touchpoints aren’t just about customers; other groups like employees, shareholders and suppliers all interact with you on a daily basis too. You want to make sure that you deliver on your brand promise to every group. After all, an employee who doesn’t believe in your vision isn’t likely to work their hardest, and a supplier who’s always having to chase you for payment is much less likely to want to help out in times of need. Ultimately, a problem with any one of these groups will impact customer satisfaction and over time, brand equity.

This is about more than a new logo and brand identity

You might be thinking that the result of this process is simply a brand identity – visual and verbal guidelines along with a set of templates and brand assets. But this is about so much more. In fact, many organisations go through this exercise and do little to their brand identity – they just use it in a more refined and effective way. Your focus on the user is what will dictate whether you need to update or change your brand identity. If they’re happy with it, and it effectively communicates your brand personality and attributes, then there might be no need to change it.

We want to shift the focus from brand being about visuals to it being the only real way of winning customers over and keeping them in the long-term. Put simply, it’s how you obtain a sustainable competitive advantage.

Focus on the user

Remember what we said about people being time-poor? This is where it’s key to make things simple and easy. Even slight inconveniences can lead to reduced conversions and revenue. And long-term, frictions in the experience will erode brand equity and make it easier for competitors to step in and steal your users.

Your user is key and they’re all that matters. When you’re designing touchpoints, think about making things as easy as possible for them whilst also keeping your unique look and feel. By doing this, you’re creating positive feelings in their mind and associating those feelings with your brand, meaning they’re likely to view you more favourably.

Personalise the experience

In today’s digital age, we’re getting more personalised information than ever before. Adverts online, product recommendations from stores and even song playlists automatically created based on our tastes. These are just a few examples of the ways in which personalisation has allowed brands to create real connections with their users. But it’s also created an expectation; that all brands will do it.

This doesn’t mean you’re going to have to spend huge amounts of money on advertising or building algorithms which understand your customers’ behaviour. Even making sure that invoices go out with a cover note which is personally addressed, or that you email customers a voucher code as a thank you for shopping with you can help to make people feel like they’re valued. Similarly, giving employees choices when it comes to things like benefits incentivises them to work harder and provide a better experience for customers.

Be consistent

You want your users to come back to you. And when they do, you want their experience to be just as good as it was the previous time. For this to happen, you’ve got to make sure that every touchpoint feels consistent and has been designed to communicate and deliver on your brand promise. If something feels different or odd, it creates mistrust. Over time, this reduces confidence and means people are less likely to keep coming back

It’s crucial to make sure that touchpoints are designed from a set of guidelines which are flexible enough to allow for changes in things like channels and delivery methods in the future. At the same time, they need to be detailed enough so that users don’t feel confused or like they’ve interacted with a completely different organisation. You want to make sure that every time someone interacts with you, it “feels” like every other interaction. The language and tone of voice, the colours used, even things like the hold music. They all need to reflect your brand’s unique attributes.

This consistency is what allows people to become familiar with you and trust you, so you’ll spend less time and money in the long-term on marketing, whilst getting more return from every interaction.

Be objective

We’ve already said it’s not good to make assumptions, but it’s worth stressing that to make a success of any brand project, you’ve got to be objective. Get opinions from people outside your organisation and try and think about things from the user’s perspective. Objectivity is key to creating strategies and brands which stand the test of time and deliver positive results for you, your customers and everyone else in the long-term.

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