The More Brands You Have - The Better Off You Are. Right?

Yes. And no. It's not how many brands you have - it's what you do with them, their strategic importance, the investment behind them and the logic of their place within your company or organization.

Take a look at your brands. Then ask yourself these questions:

1. Do they provide clarity?
   
2. Are they synergistic?
3. Do they leverage one another?
   

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you need to take a deeper look and probably spend some time doing a bit of brand architecture.

If you're not familiar with the term, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's an examination of how brands within your company's portfolio are related to, and differentiated from, each other other. Brand architecture will define how the different categories of the brands within your organization relate to each other and support each other - brands and sub-brands alike.

The process needs to:

• Fit your company's vision and business
• Prioritize your markets and segments
• Support those that fit and eliminate those that don't
• Provide a foundation for new and extended brands - either self-created, acquisitioned or merged.
  

Done properly and conceived with the organization's brand promise built into everything, brand architecture will focus your resources on the brands that best support your business goals - driving financial performance and efficiency.

How Has the Recession Affected Your Brand?

According to most economists, the Recession is winding down, and the economy is starting to recover. It may be slow, but at least things are beginning to improve.

As you look ahead to 2010, how has the Recession affected your brand? What has it done to your marketing plan and products?

As you think about the answer, consider some of these realities that many companies have faced and will need to address moving forward:

• Out of necessity, you may have cut or eliminated your marketing budget, resulting in little or no marketing of your brand or products and services.
• Your staff may be a little leaner and meaner.
• Employee morale may be low.
• You may have had to cut some of your production or services.

Most importantly, ask yourself:

• Is your brand reflecting who we are now?
• Is our difference still compelling enough to motivate action?
• Can we still deliver our brand promise?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, it's time to consider some brand development. It' s time to become introspective - to look inside your organization and identify what separates you from your competitors, makes you more valuable to your customers and motivates them to select your products or services. It's time to re-energize your brand and your employees and move forward towards success and growth.

Don't Forget to Let Your Employees Know the Score

I read an article this morning about an area bank that's acquiring 24 branches of a bank in Chicago. That's good news all around - for the financial community, Northeastern Ohio and the economy in general. Another sign of recovery - all good.

There's plenty of work ahead for that bank - especially in marketing communications.

In addition to the myriad of legal, compliance and operational communications that are required during an acquisition, there are communications to current and new clients that are not only mandated but a good idea. It's critical that current customers retain confidence in the brand and that new customers feel comfortable enough to give the new bank a chance.

While all this is going on, one of the bank's biggest assets often is neglected: employees, especially those in the acquiring company. After all, they should be happy. Their company has acquired a new bank - more customers and the prospect of better stock prices and satisfied shareholders.

But in reality, this group also needs consistent, constant communication from management about what the acquisition will mean to them and what behaviors may need to change for them to continue as ambassadors of the brand. No matter how good the acquisition is for the company, change is stressful and needs to be managed.

When it is, and the internal communications are as good as the external, the rewards are significant.

• Morale is higher
• Turnover is reduced
• Employees are more productive

And who wouldn't want that?

Jumpstarting Your Brand for Growth

Even though economic experts are reporting that the end of the recession is near, these are still challenging times for businesses. You may have had to cut personnel and budgets, including your marketing communications budget, just to remain solvent.

According to a McKinsey article published last year: " Economies may be sluggish, but this is no time to hunker down and wait it out." Now is the time for smart businesses to get back out there and market their brands to lead the economic turnaround.

Here are five brand strategy guidelines to help you get started:

1. Go back to your business' roots, and establish - or reestablish - a unique distinction for your company and products that you can actually deliver. That's your brand promise to your customers.
2. Involve key leaders in your organization, who will be responsible for delivering your brand promise to the outside world.
3. Transform your employees into brand advocates.
4. Make sure that your company is set up to deliver your brand promise and that your brand goals are aligned with your business goals.
5. Communicate your distinction clearly, consistently and creatively.

No one said it was going to be easy. But the results will help your company move from survival mode into growth mode.

As a spokesman from the Prophet Corporation once said: "You can't escape your brand. Either you make the customer experience, or it gets made without you."

You Can't Hurry Change

When a President or CEO of a company comes to the realization that the company's employees need to become ambassadors of the company's brand to move the business forward, that's a pretty startling discovery. Like everything else in business today, once the decision is made, he or she wants it to happen fast, right now. After all, companies are supposed to be nimble.

But the fact is that transforming employees into brand ambassadors takes time. That may not be what the President or CEO wants to hear, but it's the truth.

Building brand ambassadors is not a 90-day program. It's a lifelong commitment that takes at least 3-4 years to truly seed. Efforts to create brand ambassadors within a company must be constant and consistent - and when you think you're there, you need to redouble your efforts.

It's critical that everyone involved - especially the President or CEO - be patient because the ultimate goal is sustainability. Remember: everyone in the company is a potential ambassador - and each and every one of them is the most powerful marketing tool a company can have. They are the voice and tone of your business - and can be your best advocates and evangelists.

So when you're ready to build brand ambassadors in your company, don't expect the change to happen quickly, and abandon your efforts. Believe me, if you take the time to properly develop your company's brand ambassadors, the reward will be great: better morale, reduced turnover and greater productivity.