How to Take a Step Back to Move Your Brand Forward
Look around, the landscape is always changing and evolving. Growth-minded owners and leaders understand that you cannot operate your business in a vacuum. Staying abreast of the landscape enables smarter action steps and pays dividends in the long term. It will open your eyes.
With new norms, there is no room for stubbornness or reluctance to change. Flexibility is required. This is the time to be open and embrace opportunities to refine your brand strategies and plans accordingly. Being in charge, means being at the forefront. That’s one, two, and even three steps ahead so you are positioned to serve your customers well.
In a recent survey with my community, I heard you express the desire to know what it takes to develop and refine a brand. The strategies that I’ve taken to develop brands over the years and connect them with customers to bring a brand promise to life, started with this first step.
Explore the Landscape of Your Business
I have to ask you to do something. Take a step back from the nuances of the day-to-day operations.
Occasionally you need to do this to shift your thinking and imagine a new success and move forward. This is your chance to think with the end in mind and answer for your business, “What am I doing?” and “What do I want to be doing?”
Free your mind to see things within the context of what’s happening around and understand what’s needed to move forward. This perspective sets the foundation for what’s ahead.
Don’t let another month go by with vacuum-focus. Below you will find five strategic approaches to taking a step back and seeing the big picture. Put these practices into place and explore the landscape of your business.
Pay attention to emerging trends in your industry. World dynamics concerning health, politics, and economics are a moving target. You can take this moment to operate your business in the present day by being mindful of emerging trends in your industry. New innovations and technologies are all over the marketplace and impact how customers are making decisions to engage with brands. Consider the emerging trends linked to your brand (ex. People are buying more fresh food with shorter shelf life, Productions are shut down, Online purchasing is up, Digital media is up, People are more aware of their well-being, Relationship is taking on new meanings).
Explore competitors and what they are doing. Look at similar offerings to your business as a great resource to explore and to learn from. I also recommend purchasing their products and taking part in services. Take this opportunity to review what they are doing and open up your mind to see new or different ways of doing things and also take note of their challenges.
Interview your target customers. Use this time to reach out and engage with your target. Ask them questions about their experience with your brand and similar offerings. Get into their shoes and ask, “It would be great if…”
Understand the marketplace dynamics. How people are communicating and engaging now is different than just a year ago. Evaluate what channels have really taken off in your industry to meet the needs of your customers. This is a great time to get a clearer understanding of how those you want to reach are evaluating purchases and where they are actually buying. With more than half of all US consumers above the age of 12 listening to podcasts. According to industry reports, nearly three out of every four podcast listeners in the US say they tune in to learn new things. Now is where you do the research and get to know where your target is getting their information from when it comes to engaging in your industry.
Determine what’s working and not working for you. To grow and refine, take a look at what you are already doing. Be sure to clearly outline what’s working in your favor. Use this time before evolving your strategy to identify the elements of your branding that need to be left behind.
Using this process will help you gain a better context. You can refine and have a more relevant brand moving forward once you’ve taken a step back and looked at the bigger picture.
Cheering you on!
Sharnell Weathersby
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