How can branding really deliver value in your business? And will your investment provide tangible results?
These are often questions we get asked in the early stages of engagement with new clients. After years of honing our process we now have some impressive success stories to prove results.
But what other evidence is out there to support the value of branding?
1. Branding builds employee engagement
In businesses where morale has dropped, when teams are distributed over multiple offices or hybrid working has impacted relationships, or any other reason that has impacted engagement levels – its really hard to begin to build positivity in the workforce again. Any negative feelings can directly impact your organisation’s reputation. And your brand is your reputation. What’s the solution then?
Well it could be to consider a rebrand. The right branding process which engages your employees and customers throughout can have an incredibly positive effect. A study by Gallup showed that companies with a highly engaged workforce have a 21% higher profitability. Happy employees are productive employees; and when they’re involved in a branding process they should have an opportunity to have their say. If they’re listened to, they will become more invested in its success.
We’ve seen this with our clients. One of our key clients said “During the branding process we included our teams, across each of our European offices. For some of them, particular in manufacturing, this was the first time they’d been invited to contribute to any business decision or direction. This was further supported by an employee engagement and communication plan. This had a transformational effect not just on their engagement levels but on productivity – we saw an increase in discretionary effort. This improved our revenues and profitability – as well as reducing employee churn. We hadn’t expected that”
2. Branding builds employee advocacy
In the B2B arena, the power of employee advocacy can be incredible. B2B relationships are built on trust and credibility and your employees can foster those through their professional networks. A study by LinkedIn suggests that employees of a company tend to have 10 times more connections than a company has followers. When employees share their company’s brand messaging, they’re not just amplifying the message; they’re lending it their personal endorsement. In industries where decisions are made after careful consideration and the sales cycles are longer, these personal endorsements can be influential in steering potential clients towards your business.
This inclusive approach also pays dividends when launching a new product or service brand too. Harvard Business Review says that buy-in across the whole of an organisation can create a compelling, unified brand message that resonates with both employees and customers. It’s the difference between a launch that feels like a corporate mandate and one that feels like a collective evolution.
3. Branding can fuel innovation
When we’ve worked with companies, especially in manufacturing, engineering and technology the diversity of job roles and responsibilities can be huge. It can be an amazing opportunity to bring together groups from across the different parts of the business into the research part of the branding process. We’ve consistently found that employee engagement from those on the manufacturing floor, to the engineers in R&D, through to the sales teams building relationships with customers – brings to light insights and ideas that might otherwise remain hidden – especially when that process is carried out by independent objective agencies. The MIT Sloan Management Review reinforces this, noting that the best innovation comes from cross-functional collaboration.
4. Branding creates sales opportunities
Additionally we would always recommend interviewing and surveying customers as part of your brand strategy. When this is carried out by an objective organisation – not your own team – it can reveal critical information. It can give you the heads up if there are any potential threats, challenges or disappointments – giving you time to address them and retain that customer. Often it highlights the challenges or requirements the customer is experiencing within their own organisation. These can trigger ideas for you to develop new or adapted solutions. But the most common opportunity revealed during the branding process, in our experience, is when a customer hasn’t understood the range of services or products you actually offer. This is especially the case within groups, global businesses or those with siloed propositions. It does happen with smaller businesses too, where the customer has pigeon-holed you as the provider of the service you originally delivered, and hasn’t gone beyond that.
The proof is in the numbers and the stories. When you walk through a business where everyone understands the vision of your brand and where they all feel a sense of pride, you’ll be building a stronger, more resilient and ultimately profitable company. When you better understand what your customers know, need and how you can support them, you will be strengthening your relationships which results in more revenue.
As brand strategists, our role is to facilitate this collaboration; to turn employees personal investment into commercial success and turn market and customer insight into sales strengthening opportunities.