A Brand Audit Will Move Your Business Forward
A brand audit lets you know what's so now...
What's an audit? According to dictionary.com - the official examination and verification of accounts and records; or the inspection and examination of a building or other facility to evaluate or improve its appropriateness, safety, or efficiency...
When it comes to branding, a brand audit is a review and verification of your brand--printed and online; identifying communication channels and target audiences; and providing an analysis of what's working and what's not. It's an examination and evaluation with the target to improve the brand's effectiveness.
If you're considering a rebrand... start out with an audit
When you're ready to begin with a journey, you must have a starting place. When brand marketing audit has been designed to refresh, restage or reinvent the brand program to market more effectively, a brandname audit provides the foundation, the starting place.
A brand audit brings an objective assessment and analysis to all or any current marketing components. Communication tools, outreach efforts, and touch points for several audiences are reviewed, analyzed and summarized showing the best opportunities to create a stronger brand program.
It's similar to the foundational work done for seo... where traffic and keywords are analyzed, along with page visits and inquiries. A brand audit is the first phase inbrand optimization.
Once you know what's in place, who the audiences are and where you can effectively connect with them, it is possible to determine what fits, what's out of sync, where the opportunities are for increasing visibility, and what actions will move the business and brand forward.
A brandname audit will review:
Your present communication tools: including how your brand integrates online and offline, in traditional media and new media
Your target audiences: are they defined as audience personas? are you aware how each fits into the sales process and what role they play? can you understand what information they need in order to make a choice?
Your situation in your market: what do you offer? how would you fit against your competition? what exactly are perceptions or mis-perceptions about your company or what you offer? what makes you unique? where do your audiences discover the "wow!"?
Your touchpoints with your audiences: what's the context/touchpoint whenever your target audiences elect to engage? what are you experiencing in place? what's working? what's missing? what's out-of-sync?
Your most effective tactics: where are you getting the most new business? what is the sales cycle to attain that decision point, leading a prospect from interested to buyer?
Other areas to review include:
Changes in your industry or category. Past marketing successes or failures. Website analytics showing how audiences have found you. Trends in your industry. Feedback from your own front line people as well as your sales team.