Having a brand is a part of life. Whether or not we choose to think about it or do anything with it, we all have a brand – both personally, and as a CEO or business owner, corporately. We can’t escape or run away from our brand because it is not possible to erase the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes people have about us personally, and/or of the companies we lead. Once we understand this, we can begin to embrace how important it is to care for our brands, nurture them, and leverage them to our advantage.
If you’ve ever thought about how much power and influence your brand has, consider that at this very moment, your brand is:
- Attracting customers, turning them away, or not even being considered as they move through the sales cycle
- Properly represented or misrepresented by your staff, including your salespeople, which has a direct impact on your bottom line
- Understood or misunderstood by your employees, customers, and strategic partners
- Confusing or clear to the people you are trying to reach
- Able to charge a price premium or getting price shopped
- Receiving great reviews, getting beaten up by disappointed customers online, or nowhere to be seen, which makes it irrelevant
- Attracting or preventing top-tier candidates – the ones you need to lead in product quality, innovation, and service excellence – from joining your company
Everything that matters can be tied back to your brand – it affects your ability to compete, grow, and hire great people, and it has a direct impact on your company’s value and profitability.
How influential is your brand? How is it performing? If you’re unsure, take 10 minutes to go through the statements below, and assign each a value based on each statement’s brand impact factor. Add the total values to arrive at a score, and refer to the provided chart to determine if it may be time to revisit, revitalize, or perhaps even redefine your brand. I encourage you to ask some people in sales, customer service, product management, human resources, and other departments to go through the same exercise to see how your brand is valued from their perspectives.
Provide each statement below with a score. Note that each has a unique brand impact value in parenthesis. When complete, add your total and refer to the chart at the end of this document.
1. Our brand is well defined.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: ________
2. Our brand is unique.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: ________
3. Our brand is relevant to the people we want to do business with.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: ________
4. Everyone within our company who has contact with our customers knows and understands what our brand stands for.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: ________
5. Those employees within my company who rarely, if ever, directly connect with our customers know and understand what our brand stands for.
(6) 6 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: ________
6. Everyone within our company who has contact with our customers knows our competitive brand distinctions.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
7. Those employees within my company who rarely, if ever, directly connect with our customers know our competitive brand distinctions.
(6) 6 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
8. Our employees are proud to be a part of our company.
(10) 10 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
9. Our employees know how their individual contributions impact the success of our brand.
(8) 8 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
10. Our employees consistently give us their best.
(10) 10 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
11. Our employees understand our key performance indicators relative to their departments.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
12. Everyone knows who our competitors are.
(10) 10 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
13. Our salespeople are armed with a strong brand tiebreaker that quickly makes our competitors less relevant and helps us win new business.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
14. Our employees are our greatest brand advocates.
(12) 12 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
15. Our customers know what our brand stands for.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
16. Our brand has an excellent reputation.
(12) 12 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
17. Our sales cycle is shorter than the industry average.
(8) 8 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
18. Our brand attracts profitable customer and strategic partner relationships.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
19. Our brand attracts top-performers in the industry.
(15) 15=Agree, 0=Strongly disagree: _______
20. Our company does well, or at least better than average, when the industry is in a slump.
(10) 10 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
21. Our brand is an industry leader.
(12) 12 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
22. Our customers are loyal to our brand.
(12) 12 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
23. Our brand is consistently represented through all of our marketing and communication channels.
(15) 15 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
24. The brand we have is the brand we want.
(12) 12 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
25. Our brand is poised for growth.
(12) 12 = Agree, 0 = Strongly disagree: _______
Total:___________ = your brand Impact Factor Score
If your score is below 259, contact one of our certified brand consultants to discuss our strategy and proven approach to turn your brand into your greatest asset. If your score is in the single digits, contact us soon!