Why Money Can't Fix Bad Branding
There's a lot of things in life you can throw money at to make better.
Branding isn't one of them.
There’s a huge range of creative professionals reaching for you to pass them your brand baton and let them execute a design or refresh.
But if you don’t design your brand compass “baton” before passing it on, it will inevitably get dropped.
Designing your brand compass first will give your brand a winning edge. Whether you intend to pass it on, or carry it to the finish line yourself.
The Problem With Brand Delegation
It's a jungle out there for entrepreneurs and business owners.
For most, branding is an afterthought until they see opportunities and profit they are missing out on and realize they aren’t reaching the audience they need to access both.
Say you want to scale or pivot into something you want to do, or already do well, but are not known for.
You start shopping portfolios and having discovery calls.
You hire a few pros that are genuinely skilled at the technical production of assets and beautiful tools.
But it’s a real drag when doing so still isn’t getting you any of the results you need.
You’re stuck with what didn’t hit the mark until you can shore up the budget to spend on new creative, often only to be frustrated again.
So many business owners and entrepreneurs get trapped in this cycle, but there is a solution.
It’s called a brand compass.
What Is A Brand Compass?
Ad agency account executives call it a brand bible: a tool they cultivate with their designers and content producers to detail their client’s aesthetic "brand vibe".
A lot of research and iteration goes into creating that "vibe" reference so it drives recognizable, memorable, and positive impressions that convert for that brand.
Screenwriters call it a "through-line" from which they develop and format the script, and storyboards. That through-line becomes a big part of how the movie gets sold and eventually marketed to drive box office sales.
A brand compass is a composite of both the business purpose features and benefits that tell, and the creative visuals that show the ethos of your brand “vibe”.
Ultimately, all of this needs to able to be communicated in the blink of an eye.
Creating your compass isn't something you can dial-in or hand-off without doing the following homework and communication clarification, yourself.
The Branding Effectiveness Gap
Let’s say you've had your discovery call with a potential creative agency or partner and you’re confident you’ve given them clear and concise notes about the results you desire.
The budget and general scope were discussed, the proposal contract was signed, and your newly hired team is off to the races.
A few weeks go by and the creative team circles back with a launch brief of the creative they've prepared for your approval.
It’s at this point one of these common scenarios happen:
You realize the feedback you gave them during your discovery meeting has not been implemented. As a result, the campaign is still not hitting what you thought was a well-communicated mark. Now you’re out of pocket and still not generating the right leads.
Or, the creative team delivered the creative, but the changes you now see need to be made are beyond the scope of your agreement. The creative team has already pushed past your budget, and wants to charge you for these additional changes.
You're frustrated, and unsure how to fix it and get your business to turn the profit it should.
The reason these scenarios are common, is because of that key word - scope. You can think of “scope” as a perimeter - defined as “the continuous line forming the boundary”.
When you agree on the details of any creative project, that boundary line needs to be clearly communicated so the creative producer has a “compass” that helps them know if they’re on track or not when it comes to your brand boundaries.
Both of these primary scenarios can be avoided if you create your brand compass and use it to detail the scope and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) deliverables for any brand initiative or marketing endeavor, before you sign any agreements.
Not all marketers and creatives can actually deliver on what they propose to do for you in terms of your expectations.
Employing your brand compass, mapping your KPIs, and detailing scope ahead of signing anything, helps you guarantee they do.
And when you guarantee they do, you build your bottom line.
How To Ensure Branding Effectiveness
Whether it’s a big-budget corporate, or small boutique project, it makes no difference.
Defining KPIs and scope are critical.
Set up your expectations with clear internal KPIs you want a brand effort or marketing campaign to impact in your business so you can accurately track them.
If you expect a digital SEO campaign to make your phone ring with 10 more qualified leads per week, be sure the firm you hire can clearly define how they will do that for you in the scope of your digital marketing agreement.
Then be sure every call coming into your office is being accurately tracked to verify there’s actually 10 more calls coming in per week, and they’re “qualified”.
So many business owners and entrepreneurs fall into a hands-off approach.
It's easy to overlook the vigilance required in defining scope detail and ignore the internal monitoring that proves the campaign is delivering.
Partially because of the work you’ve seen the creative partner you hired deliver for other campaigns.
Their great portfolio may have built your trust in their ability to deliver, but what you don't always see is how the brand they worked with actively participated in order to execute the campaign’s realistic effect.
A campaign partner can track external results if it’s part of your agreement.
Only you can track the internal, and that’s the most important metric.
The only way to retain/represent your resources in any scenario is to effectively perform your contribution to the project and document it all clearly for reference.
Effective creative is often a way-finding exercise of iteration and trial, but never error if you have a brand compass.
A brand compass will tell you faster, more clearly, and more cost-effectively, exactly what you need to change.
Be clear on scope and revisions, but remember the most important factor is your ownership even when delegating.
Here's how to ensure you have it:
Create a brand compass before you shop for creative partners
Outline clear and reasonably attainable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and conversion desires that align with your brand compass
Be accountable and legibly document your communication on the scope of the agreement details of any campaign you involve anyone in executing
Be clear on your and the creative partner's roles/responsibilities when it comes to performing the scope of the proposal/contract
BONUS TIP: Don't make the last point complicated to understand or reference
Focusing on the last point will make or break the results of anyone you partner with to implement your brand strategy.
And none of it will work if you aren't clear on your brand compass first.
brand strategy = the hopeful concept
brand effectiveness = trackable, profitable conversion
Map Your Key Performance Indicators
Some of us LOVE math, and analytics, and The Details.
Some of us DON'T.
Make no mistake, if you can't or won't put in place trackable conversion and performance metrics that clearly show you what conversions (profit) directly tie into to your specific branding efforts; then you don't have a business.
You have a costly hobby with a questionable future.
Some of us have more iteration experience when it comes to a well-rounded creative production ability, and some of us don’t.
It’s fine to rely on those that have a more developed creative sensibility — but that doesn’t mean you can let go of the driving wheel.
"Marketing" and "branding" is every interaction that your client or customer has with every aspect of your business.
From word-of-mouth, to the receptionist or answering service, to how your clients are billed, and whether or not they choose to refer, every touch is a part of your brand.
Those interactions and the conversions that result in your business growth, are your Key Performance Indicators.
KPIs are the lifeblood of successful branding and your business legacy.
Don't invest a penny in marketing or branding that you can't or don't track with clear KPI metrics.
TLDR/Summary
Branding isn’t just about making your product or service “look” appealing. To convert, you have to get specific about the exact kind of conversions you hire a branding partner to help you generate.
Save yourself a fortune and maximize your time and branding effectiveness by clearly defining scope before any branding project. Be sure to track your internal KPIs to generate the results you want to see.