What is a brand audit and why do I need it?

Like a lot of things, if you neglect your brand it will deteriorate, get out of shape or whither over time. Brands need to be nurtured, developed and paid attention to. When was the last time you took a step back and took a critical look at your brand and your brand promise? Not just the graphical representation of your brand but your brand in total.

In today’s crowded and increasingly competitive environment, your brand may matter more than it ever has before. Today, most customers are looking for authenticity and transparency in the companies they do business with. They want to do business and interact with companies that are reputable and deliver on their promises. When a brand gets tired or appears worn out, customers often choose to move on and find new organizations to do business with. You need to make sure your brand is as healthy, up to date and relevant as it can be.

What is a brand audit? 

Think of a brand audit as a periodic review of your brand. It is an in-depth review of your current position in the market, how well you are performing against the competition and how effective your current brand is at delivering on your promise. The brand audit process allows you to take a step back and take a deep dive to help you understand the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of where your brand is today and discover what parts of your brand are still effective and what parts may need updating or revisions.  

When should you do a brand audit?

There is rarely a single moment in time when you realize that your brand isn’t what it used to be. No crystal ball will predict it for you and no one will shine a spotlight on the dangers and pitfalls. Perhaps employee retention starts to decrease; maybe a decline in sales or maybe customer feedback begins to be a little more negative. This erosion of your brand happens gradually over time and may go unnoticed for years or even decades.

Your brand is a combination of your reputation, interactions with, and promises made to, your clients. It is also the most important part of your success. A well thought-out and clear brand can empower and inspire your employees as well as your customers. Most brands start with great passion, desire and a strong promise to customers that, in turn, drives the strategy. As the company matures and grows, priorities may shift, new market opportunities may open up or there may be changes in leadership at the top. All of these changes, and others, can weaken your brand and make it less attractive to your customers.

When your brand starts to weaken it is often manifested in higher than normal employee turnover, reduced sales and lower employee engagement. When your brand starts to diminish as a result, it is time to conduct a brand audit.

Some experts will tell you that you need to conduct a brand audit on an annual basis. I’ve always gone off a once-every-three-years rule of thumb. However, if things are rapidly changing in your markets or with your customers, or there is a disruption due to technology or other innovations, you should take a good look at your brand more frequently. You need to ensure that your brand remains relevant and able to adapt to those changes.

What’s included in a brand audit? 

Typically, a brand audit is made up of three key components or steps; perception (where we think we are), reality (where we really are), and the desired future (where we want to be).

• Perception – The first step of a brand audit is diving into a deeper understanding of where your brand stands in the marketplace. The way you think the market sees you may be out of alignment with how you are truly perceived. During this step of a brand audit, feedback is sought from your current stakeholders, customers, prospects, employees, vendors and partners.
• Reality – This step of the brand audit is broken down into two separate components, where your brand is currently and where the competitive market is currently. When analyzing the current state of your brand, all marketing material and messaging is analyzed. This includes the positioning statement, print and digital collateral, content, website, social media, thought leadership, and analytics. The second part of this step involves looking at the competitive marketplace to see how your brand stacks up relative to your competition. Do you have a good understanding of your competitors? Are there potential future threats that you’re aware of? Is your product or service clearly differentiated? Are you doing things and behaving the way you should in order to stay competitive, remain the leader or overtake your competitors?
• Future – This is the final step of a brand audit. During this step, all the information that you have gathered in the first two steps is analyzed, quantified and qualified. Any recommendations that come from the audit should be linked to the long-term business strategy, future desired outcomes, and opportunities. 

Should I hire an outside firm to do a brand audit?

When it’s time for a company to take an objective look at itself and its brand to make sure it is properly positioned for the next stage of growth and development, it is best to hire a firm that specializes in brand strategy, messaging and positioning. Hiring an experienced firm will help ensure that you get good and actionable results. The quality of the team that is coordinating and performing the brand audit does make a difference in the results you will get.  

Unlike trying to do an audit in-house, an experienced and qualified brand strategy team will be able to see things you don’t and will be able to be honest with their findings and feedback. Because of this, you will have an authentic and honest assessment of where things stand, along with a quality plan to move forward toward your goals.