Now is a good time to revisit your brand strategy

Neil Hallmark

16/08/2024

Now is a good time to revisit your brand strategy

a flexible brand doesn’t just survive—it thrives

Regardless of your industry, product or service, data-driven updates to your presence and messaging can breathe new life into your organisation, strategy and team culture. Every brand has its boundaries. Some can be viewed as a barrier, a line in the sand that says “That’s your lot, this is the limit of your reach and potential”. But barriers can also be a horizon – move towards it, and suddenly there’s more horizon. It’s always a bit further away, tempting you with opportunities for growth and expansion.

As your organisation, your team, your product or service, and your audience grow and evolve, so too should your brand. In the fast-paced world of startups and scaleups, where ideas and approaches are quickly tested then implemented or discarded, your brand can end up forgotten, sitting on the shelf like an old road atlas. Remember those? Dusty old books with pages that stick together, showing you roads that probably don’t even exist anymore. Your business is zooming ahead, and your brand is just thumbing through old maps in the backseat.

But here’s the kicker—it doesn’t have to be like that. Build yourself a strategy that’s as adaptable as you are. One that evolves with you as you learn more about who you’re selling to, what you’re selling, and how you sell it. Make your brand futureproof, ready to roll with the punches, bend with the breezes, and keep up with whatever is thrown at you.

A flexible brand is a game changer and should be a point of competitive advantage as well as a roadmap for your future growth.

Here are some reasons it may be time to get that dusty road atlas off the shelf and switch it for something more up-to-date. Recognise your own brand in these anywhere?

  • Your website, that you threw up (sometimes literally from a messaging and design perspective…) when you founded your business no longer represents who you are, what you do and why you do it.

  • Your business strategy and brand strategy are misaligned strangers, they end up working against each other.
  • You’re super proud of your positioning but deep down, you know that when you compare it to all of the other ‘noise’ in the market, you’re saying much the same things as everyone else.
  • You’re absolutely flying and growth is off the charts, but your brand is struggling to keep up and you risk losing out on opportunities as a result.
  • Conversely, you’re no longer getting the results you want. A decline in sales or customer engagement could be due to a variety of factors, including outdated messaging, ineffective marketing channels, or a lack of differentiation from your competitors.
  • Everyone in your team, you included, has a different way of explaining to customers who you are and what you do.
  • Your team, nevermind your customers, don’t understand your vision for the business. Or they know what you’re trying to achieve but can’t articulate it consistently.
  • You’re having a hard time attracting – or retaining – top talent. Your employer brand isn’t strong enough, or is non-existent (see above comment regarding ‘vision’ too).
  • You struggle to keep your team focused on the end goal.
  • You seem to make marketing decisions on a whim, based on the latest trend or shiny new thing that you’re told you should be doing.
  • You don’t have a marketing team. Or you have a marketing team that’s mostly focused on ‘tactical’ executions that aren’t tied together strategically.
  • You lack clarity and consistency in your messaging, meaning confusion among customers and across your various communications channels.
  • Your customer profiles are unclear and you’re not sure who you’re selling to. Or you’re selling to ‘everyone’.
  • Your target audience has changed or adapted over time meaning you may need to adjust your messaging and marketing approach to resonate with this new audience.

A brand should not be a static entity, but one that evolves over time, even if ever so slightly. With business-changing events regularly taking place, it becomes that much more necessary to know where your brand stands, how you message and market, and how you impact your customers.

Sure, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the idea of overhauling your brand—like it’s a monumental task that requires an immense amount of time, effort, and resources. But the truth is, you don’t need a revolution to keep your brand relevant and thriving. Evolution is just as powerful.

Instead of aiming for massive, disruptive changes, consider the impact of small, consistent adjustments. Evolving your brand little by little allows you to stay agile, align with emerging opportunities, and adapt to shifts in your market without the need to start from scratch. By gradually refining your messaging, updating your strategy, and ensuring that your brand stays in step with your business, you’re setting yourself up for long-term success.

Remember, a flexible brand doesn’t just survive—it thrives. Embrace evolution, and you’ll find that these incremental changes can lead to a brand that’s not only up-to-date but also future-ready, capable of growing with your business every step of the way.

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