Why Brand Alignment is so important
True brand alignment results from having the brand in line with the customer and employee perceptions of an organisation and the activities and level of commitment and intent demonstrated both internally and externally by that organisation.
Differentiated sustainable brands invariably are founded upon strong organisational values. True strategic branding, we believe, must be an ‘inside out’ approach. After all, employees are the primary brand audience, the ones who will deliver the brand to customers. Brand Alignment between the internal and external is the lifeblood of brand-based organisational culture. If your people accurately know and understand ‘what your brand stands for’, this begets appropriate customer expectation.
Strategic branding must be communicated and understand internally before being executed externally. Employees carry the brand and therefore must understand that what they do on a day-to-day basis can significantly affect the brand position and purpose. Harvard Business Review was recently quoted that “95% of employees on average don’t know or understand their company’s strategy”.
Internal brand alignment is about each and every member of a company ‘living and breathing the brand’ across service levels, development of products, messages and experiences. Basically, achieving brand alignment starts with the organisation and its employees crafting experiences which cultivate the brand that consumers know and love.
Brand Alignment externally involves managing your organisation’s brand assets, communicating congruent brand messages and delivering products, services which gel with the anticipated experience in the mind of the customer. The brand’s activity must genuinely deliver on the claims it makes when communicating internally to staff, or externally across marketing, advertising and customer deliverables. Importantly, organisations should avoid creating consumer expectations that they’re unable, or for that matter, unwilling to fulfil.
Positive and memorable consumer experiences mean that these people will not only buy or use your products/services again; they’ll also endorse them which then perpetuates consistent brand perceptions and builds overarching brand equity.