Brand audit playbook.
Audit. There’s a certain stigma surrounding that word. But it’s not something to fear. In marketing terms, a brand audit is a useful tool to analyze how your brand stacks up in the marketplace compared to its stated objectives, and it’s important to do one to see how your business is performing.
Wanting to take a deeper look at your brand performance? At Matchbook, we’ve orchestrated brand audits for organizations large and small across many industries. Here are some of the key steps you’ll find when partnering with us for a brand audit:
Brand Audit Framework
The first question to ask surrounds a brand’s purpose, position, promise and what it values. An honest assessment of these elements will help you determine if your communications are aligned with your brand strategy and vision.
Your Brand vs. Marketing Objectives
Does your brand contribute to your business objectives? Answering this question will help you become clear on what you want to achieve. A critical part of this assessment is to identify your target audiences and their behaviors, needs and challenges. Next, you measure how effectively your brand is reaching those audiences and how they perceive you.
Then, you can determine if you need to invest more into reaching these targets and what you need to accomplish both in the short- and long-term.
Gather Audience Input
Gaining a mix of qualitative and quantitative feedback gives you a complete picture into how your audiences view your brand. The goal is to understand their world by talking to them and observing them. You can test your assumptions to see if they’re on or off base, but you need to find truth through data.
View Your Industry Landscape
It’s important to consider the competition when auditing your brand. It’s not just about you and the stakeholders, but also how you fit among your industry in the stakeholders’ eyes. A good audit tells you how you’re positioned and what sets you apart. In the end, you will see what changes are needed to better leverage your brand in a way that differentiates you from the rest.