Struggling with attracting top talent or closing on important business deals?
You might just have yourself a sticky little brand misalignment problem. Brand alignment asks that pesky but all-important question: do your employees and customers actually understand your brand?
Think you know the answer to this question? Here’s one for you.
Only 55% of marketers think their internal and external brands are aligned. (Source)
That’s because brand alignment isn’t just another marketing buzzword. It’s critical to the success of every business, despite the fact that many business leaders fail to latch on to this idea.
So let's get out the imaginary brand microscope and take a closer peek at all things brand alignment; what it is, why it’s important, and how you can use it to better get in touch with all your customers, both internal and external.
You’ll come away with a complete understanding of why aligning your brand internally and externally is essential for business growth.
What is Brand Alignment?
“Brand alignment is that magical moment where both internal and external stakeholders of a business understand (and buy into) a brand’s purpose and promise.”
If your brand is aligned internally, each of your employees and partners has a clear understanding of why your brand exists and the promise it makes to customers. If your brand is aligned externally, your customers understand your brand’s purpose and promise, and believe it’s making good on them.
Brand alignment is a measuring stick for how consistent and cohesive a brand is—from the inside out. Few things are more important than consistency when it comes to branding. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
How will it benefit my brand?
Trust or bust
Nothing builds customer trust more than reliability. A well-aligned brand delivers a familiar brand experience and makes good on its brand promise without fail. This is the hallmark of trusted brands and what wins them their greatest asset — brand loyalty.
Engagement metrics, not vanity
We’re not suggesting more knots being tied in your business, precisely the opposite. All brand alignment starts from the inside. When your employees understand your brand’s purpose and promise, they’re more likely to be engaged. It’s a simple equation really, employee engagement equals greater company culture, and this results in a far better customer experience.
More leads than a dog park
A well-aligned brand means more efficiency for the marketing and sales crowd. That’s because brand alignment means you’re clear on your brand’s ideal customer. You’re able to create targeted brand messaging that lands, boosting website traffic and customer leads. Sales staff also know how to speak about the brand in a consistent and compelling way.
Protect your brand assets
Outside of your people, brand is up there as one of your business’s most valuable assets. And like any business asset, you need protection. It gives birth to less headaches down the track. Brand alignment ensures your brand is running like a well-oiled machine. It protects against inconsistencies that erode customer trust and put a dampener on employee engagement.
There’s a raft of more benefits on top of the ones we’ve mentioned, but we’re on blog time, so less is more at this point.
Where to from here?
As we’ve hammered home, consistency is at the heart of brand alignment. If you were to conduct a brand audit on your brand’s many touchpoints, you’d soon see if you’re running a tight ship or a sinking one. If the answer is the latter, you likely have a brand alignment issue.
By taking important steps like building a strong employer brand, developing clear brand guidelines for consistent brand communication, you’ll be operating from a place of purpose and promise. You can read a few handy hints on how to do just that by clicking here.
Is brand misalignment crippling your business growth?
Taking you above the noise, we’ll make it easy for customers to choose you.
Your brand has a story. Let us help you make it unforgettable.
