Does your organization conduct ongoing research amongst internal and external stakeholders, your brand champions? Hopefully the answer is yes, or at least we try to. At least annually you should be asking your constituents what they know and what they think about your brand. The process of conducting interviews, focus groups, online surveys, social media connections and other research determines how much your brand is in alignment with your strategic plan.
This process will also help your organization determine what metrics work and which ones do not to measure the effectiveness of your brand strategy. Employee retention, customer loyalty, return on investment, fund-raising giving rates and other measures can be used to determine how well your brand performs against these metrics.
Some organizations call them employee satisfaction surveys. Regular check-ins with your brand champions that give your internal stakeholders an opportunity to have their voice heard and for your organization to listen. At a minimum there needs to be inclusion of questions concerning the mission and core values of your organization. These attributes represent the essence of your brand. If you do not know what people understand about your brand how can you expect them to deliver on your brand promise? How can you effectively recruit and retain brand champions without research?
Rex Whisman
Brand Champions Blog
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