Consumers buy and engage with brands for many reasons, but many are shocked to find out just how much of our purchases are driven by emotion. Understanding how consumers perceive your brand and what motivates them to buy has never been more important, and misinterpreting those driving factors can have devastating results. One of the most impactful things you can do to ensure you are aligned with your audience, is a comprehensive brand audit.
When it comes down to it, a brand audit is a examination of your position in the market. It involves analyzing various aspects of the brand, including its messaging, visual identity, customer perception, and market presence. A brand audit is a vital tool for assessing and improving the health of a brand, helping companies stay competitive in the market and better meet the needs of their target audience.
What should you gain from a brand audit?
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses:
By conducting a brand audit, companies can gain insights into what aspects of their brand are working well and what areas need improvement. This helps in developing strategies to leverage strengths and address weaknesses.
Understanding Customer Perception:
Brands need to know how they are perceived by their target audience. A brand audit helps in understanding the attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions customers have towards the brand, allowing companies to make necessary adjustments to align with customer expectations.
Assessing Competitive Position:
Analyzing competitors as part of the brand audit provides valuable insights into how the brand stands relative to others in the market. This helps in identifying competitive advantages and areas where the brand needs to differentiate itself.
Guiding Strategy and Future Goals:
The findings from a brand audit inform strategic decision-making processes, such as marketing strategies, product development, and overall brand positioning. It ensures that decisions are based on data and insights rather than assumptions.
Maintaining Consistency:
A brand audit helps ensure consistency across all brand touchpoints, including marketing materials, customer service, and product offerings. Consistency is crucial for building brand trust and loyalty.
After completing the brand research phase, it’s essential to summarize and analyze all the information you gathered. This involves evaluating the priorities expressed by your customers, aligning them with the messaging recommended by key stakeholders, and assessing the actual communication reaching the market. All the data in the world is meaningless if you aren’t able to take action on it. Be sure to note any themes or patterns that surfaced during the research, and dig deeper into what they mean. There are many next steps that can follow a brand audit– further research, testing strategies, new campaigns, updating procedures, even a rebrand itself. A proper audit is never a one and done activity, so be prepared to action on the findings for months and years to come.
