Is Your Brand Ready to Realign? Ask These 4 Key Questions

1. How well does your brand deliver upon its brand promise? 
2. Are you ready and willing to adapt your brand positioning?
3. Is your brand making a difference?
4. How do you realign yet remain true to your brand legacy?

 

Even brands that are household names typically refresh or overhaul their brand every 5 to 10 years. So, it’s not surprising that in times of change and upheaval, not only is it crucial to look at operations, it’s also important to assess your brand performance. Brand alignment covers far more territory than graphic identity, it gets to the core of who you are and what you do. And it all starts by asking a number of key questions.

 

1. How well does your brand deliver upon its brand promise?

Brand equity increases in direct proportion to how well your customers’ brand experience matches your brand promise. So, how well your brand delivers on its promise is an important indication of brand alignment – which largely determines brand equity. And your brand alignment is driven by how well your employees understand, communicate and deliver on your brand’s mission, purpose and values. Not surprisingly, that’s been a difficult proposition this past year. However, it’s more important than ever to hold your brand accountable. 

The bottom line is this: 

Are you giving your clients what they need? 

Have their needs shifted? 

Are they seeking support elsewhere? 

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” – James Cash Penney

 

2. Are you ready and willing to adapt your brand positioning?

The execution of your operations is not static or stagnant. It has to be flexible and adjust to the needs of your clients. That means it should always be under review. However, it should always line up with your brand positioning and promise. Has your organization changed in any fundamental way? How have you effectively communicated fundamental changes? While your brand must evolve in order to stay relevant, it must also remain solidly rooted in your brand values, mission and purpose. This is the sign of a healthy brand. Consider how you can demonstrate value and results in advance.

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill

Just prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, Illinois Collaborative on Youth (ICOY) had planned to build a website that would support online training for their membership. Little did we know that, due to the impending coronavirus pandemic, most of us would be working remotely, via Zoom and Teams. Not only did this require a radical brand realignment in terms of operations, a much needed rebrand worked to bolster this foundational shift to online learning. Ultimately, ICOY has been better able to actively support the organizations that support at-risk youth and their families.

 

3. Is your brand making a difference?

It takes more than making a good first impression. Your brand needs to make a real difference in the lives of all those that it touches. Be prepared to listen to your clients, your employees, your board, your investors, your donors. What matters to them? How is your brand positioned to offer a solution?

“If there ever were a time to dare to make a difference, to embark on something worth doing, it is now.” – Unknown

When Signature Health expanded the scope of its services to accommodate telehealth therapy, and to administer pop-up testing and vaccination clinics during the coronavirus pandemic, they reached out to designRoom for marketing support. Promoting pop-up COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics, building awareness of and a comfort level with telehealth services, and messaging an immediate need to hire qualified staff were among the urgent needs designRoom was able to successfully fulfill.

 

4. How do you realign yet remain true to your brand legacy?

For as many things that have changed, there are certain things that haven’t and shouldn’t. 

Reevaluate everything, but don’t compromise your core principles. This involves providing the information that can help your clients understand any changes you’re making and assist them in realizing exactly how an updated brand alignment will work to their benefit.

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford

designRoom client, Community Alliance, is committed to supporting quality of life and purposeful living for their client base. This presented a real challenge during the pandemic. The agency needed support introducing telehealth to Greater Omaha’s most vulnerable population. Not only did Community Alliance have mental health clients concerned about technological aptitude and issues of confidentiality, a number of clients were also isolated in rural areas of the state. Through a generous grant from SAMSHA and a campaign of education and awareness, Community Alliance was able to support their clients with WiFi-enabled tablets so they could take advantage of vital telehealth services. Today, telehealth is fast becoming the standard of care.

 

About designRoom

Whether creating a new behavioral healthcare brand or refreshing an old one, the magic is building a healthy relationship between the client and the branding firm. At designRoom, we believe in keeping things down to earth and down to business. We are designers, writers, and project leaders building healthy brands for healthcare organizations that help people. As an award-winning national branding and design firm, you can feel confident that our team can work alongside you to tell your story and promote your brand. Let’s talk about your brand and how we can make it healthy! Call us directly at 216-241-2020.