Have you ever wondered if you’ve got a strong brand? You’re probably aware of your strengths and weaknesses. But do you know you brand strengths and weaknesses or Achilles heel, shall we say. In today’s episode, I’ll be helping you evaluate and complete a full brand health check /audit for your brand. You’ll leave her with clarity on where your brand is currently sitting on the strong two weak scale, and where you should be focusing your time to improve. Welcome to the BrandMade show notes. If you’re a little busy right you can listen to the brand health check on Apple Podcast.
Why you should do a brand health check
Strong or weak, positive or negative? These are the two scales we should be and will be looking into today. Brands aren’t 2D still or black and white, they are three dimensional, constantly moving an array of colours it’s difficult to pigeonhole a brand into one specific category of scale, like strength is more of a balance or a mix and match type of situation. You could be a strong but negative or weak but positive. Why is it important to evaluate? Well, if you have a brand you have probably asked yourself, is it strong enough? Is obviously a perfectly normal question to ask, but has it stopped? Have you walked away from it and carried on with your usual routine, it might now be time to actually pause and reflect and evaluate. It is difficult to improve something if we don’t actually know where the weaknesses lie. So I’ll be sharing with you how to do a brand audit from home, you’ll leave knowing the exact area you should be focusing your energy on I’ll also be asking questions in each section. So if you do want to follow along, pause right now and grab a pen and paper.
Question One | Does a decent amount of people know about you?
Okay, so numbers, people can get a bit scared about numbers of sales, and customers numbers on what they’re all cracked up to be as one might think, especially when looking at small brands. Let’s not bother comparing ourselves to the likes of Nike and Coca Cola, because they’ve got 1000s of workers and resources that just small brands like us really can’t compare with. So let’s remember, size doesn’t matter as much. You can still just be as powerful with less. What I’m saying is your brand with 50 or 100 customers could be stronger or greater than a brand with 10,000. Because it has less to do with the number of customers and more to do with the cohesiveness of how your people know and perceive you through thoughts and feelings. So before you panic, do answer this question with a realistic focus.
Does a decent amount of people know about your brand? This isn’t just referring to the people that have obviously purchased or even worked with you through this through your services, but also potential customers. And if you do have a pen and paper, give yourself a score between 1 and 10.
1 – Barely no one knows about you…besides your mum.
10 – A solid tribe of people who know about me.
Question Two | Do people understand your service or product?
Score this between 1 and 10.
1 – Bombarded with lots of questions in my inbox about your products and service.
10 – Rarely get questions about my product and service.
A clear brand is key. The unknown is scary for customers and we are far less likely to buy something if we feel unsure or confused. It’s that simple. We want to feel clear that it’s right for us and ticks the boxes for our needs. So have you experienced any cracks within your communication? And how do we detect these? Has there been a time in the last six months when you told someone in passing what you do or sell whether that’s a product or a service and you received a blank or be it slightly puzzled expression passed across their face. If you can’t recall a time like this, then you can easily go back scroll through your messages you’ve received and just scan and see if you’ve got a lot of questions or they’re asking you to elaborate on something further. You may detect a pattern of people asking you similar things, and therefore your brand might not be as clear as you once thought. If you’re giving yourself a slightly lower score, maybe quickly reread through your website copy. And try not to sound overly fancy because you don’t really need to be also double check you’re not using industry lingo with your customers. A good rule of thumb is treating your customers as if they have no prior knowledge of your service and product. Frequently asked question page is always a good addition to any website as well.
Question Three | How active are you online?
Score this between 1 and 10.
1 – Usually sporadically post something every seven days
10- Regularly active on a roster of social media platforms.
Your brand probably already has something of a presence online either that’s a website, or social media page. Staying up to date and not hitting the snooze was so important. Being active online and in conversation, it helps you build connections, and keeps you from being a wallflower. Social media is great to show your genuine behind the scenes pictures and videos brings your audience closer and sort of invites them inside. Producing content regularly for your audience to consume is important to keep your brand fresh and in their memory, I don’t believe that we have to be active on 10 platforms, however, one isn’t probably going to cut it anymore. And if you think of it this way, the more active you are online, the increased chances you’ll be discovered by new customers. However, you don’t want so many that you’re kind of overloading your you’re workload. My advice is picks 1 to 3. That’s sort of the sweet spot I found.
Question Four | Are you getting repeat customers and referrals?
So now try and think back to the last six months and have you received repeat customers and or getting a consistent flow of referrals.
Score this between 1 and 10.
1 – You are receiving a lot of one off purchases and no referrals coming your way.
10 – You have a great consistent group of repeat customers and you up to your ears in referrals.
So why do we like repeat customers and referrals? Firstly, it tells us that someone has had a positive experience with our brand and are happy to come back. repeat customers are also easier to actually sell to, if you have had a customer that has purchased something from you a couple of times, they are actually 50% more likely to recommend you to a friend of theirs. So even a little word of mouth can double the impact of your marketing efforts. With repeat customers, it makes our job that little bit easier. It also shows other potential clients that are thinking about purchasing you that you are definitely trusted.
Question Five | Do you easily attract your ideal clients?
Score this between 1 and 10.
1 – You’re finding it really difficult to attract clients
10 – You have a steady stream of them coming in through the door.
Further think about does your marketing feel a bit like a chore? Do you spend a great deal of time and effort into it and just a bit fed up and frustrated you’re not receiving the reception you want? That’s why doing a brand health check right now is best. There could be many reasons why you’re finding it difficult to almost attract your tribe. But usually the reason is because you’re not presenting your brand right for the people you want. And you’re trying to be everyone’s cup of tea almost and therefore, no one’s 100% sure who you’re talking to, or if you’re going to be right for them. It’s almost if say you open up a coffee shop. And when someone asks for a cup of coffee, and you make a strong cup of coffee every time, obviously people who like it will keep coming back. And the people who don’t just will stay away and try and find somewhere else. But if you keep changing how you make it every day, so some days it’s weak some day’s it’s strong, you’ll probably start going back there because you’re just not really sure what you’re gonna get. So this is similar as a way to look at a brand and how you need to stay consistent and have a really solid idea of who you’re talking to.
Question Six | Do you spontaneously receive people asking you questions and praise?
Time 08:56
Score this between 1 and 10.
1 – No praise, no questions asked really.
10 – I’m overwhelmed by the amount of questions and praise.
So if you just hop on to your Facebook page or Instagram account, maybe even in your inbox, you have already received messages including questions, not questions about your brand or offer. But something that they are struggling with and that they’ve come to ask you and get an answer. This shows that your audience 100% trust you in your knowledge and advice and you’re becoming more known and seen in their eyes as an expert within your field. So your brand starts to be seen as a reliable source of information and therefore your product and service will be seen definitely worthy and the value and investment to so praise is also a great indicator that people admire your brand I understand we all have different types of businesses listening. So if you receive praise, maybe the way you package your deliveries or some free content you put out online, they could get in touch telling you how much they enjoyed it, or how you’ve helped them solve their x, y and z issues, then your brand is making a positive impact. Praise sort of confirms that you are showing up people are listening, people are remembering you. And you’re providing them with worthwhile experiences, and or valuable information. So if you are receiving that, obviously do keep going.
But do remember, if you scored lower, there can definitely be a correlation between how long you’ve been growing your brand. So don’t get discontent about it. Just remember to provide your audience with what they want what they need. So that one day, this will slowly start to happen. And I think there’s definitely a correlation between how active you are online and how much content you’re producing online to how much praise and people will just more likely getting in contact with you, if you’re quite quiet online, people are less likely to reach out because they just either don’t think you’ll respond, or you’re just a bit shut off. So it’s like body language, if you have your arms crossed, people are less likely to come up to you. So if you’re being a lot more open and chatty online, and when people obviously comment on posts and things and you’re responding and you’re active in conversations, then people are definitely more likely to come up to you and talk to you online. So that’s also another thing to keep in mind. If you have scored yourself lower on this one, but definitely don’t worry about it. I do think this can take a really long time and trust is built over time. It’s not just something you can quickly get overnight, so your brand will slowly grow. And hopefully, you’ll show them that your offer or product has value.
Brand Health Check
By now you should have a list of six different numbers either on a piece of paper or on your phone. Now these numbers will help you see specifically the errors your brand is overachieving and others that could be improved upon.
If you did you brand health check scoring even if it was just mentally, you’ve already gained so much more clarity than when you first arrived here today. It’s so important to evaluate and reflect so you know where to move forward. This Brand health check episode isn’t going anywhere. So feel free and even in a month or so to review your brand again and see your growth. If you are leaving here today with a lower score than you would have liked. I’d just like to remind you are in a far better position knowing that and completed a brand heath check now so you have the focus the clarity to do something about it and make changes and really grow your brand from strength to strength. It’s a good run of them to complete a brand health check every 4 to 6 weeks, to keep you on focus and on track.
