Audit your brand
You know it’s been a minute since you’ve looked at your branding. It’s on your to-do list but it is just so darn overwhelming that you don’t know where to start!
We recommend auditing your brand every 3 years. This doesn’t mean things need to change every 3 years, but a brand is a living and breathing business entity, so you shouldn’t leave it up to its own devices for too long. Think of it like a teenager!
Here are 5 easy steps to get your brand audit done, so you can sit back, relax, or not because you’re probably busy running a business.
Get everything together in one place
And we mean everything!
- Pull up your website on your browser, and all your social media in multiple tabs.
- Pull your logo design
- Get every piece of writing, print design, promo, etc that you have ever had done together. This includes signage, ball caps, pens, business cards, banners, etc
- Get any professional writing or photography all in one place. This could be brand photos, product photos, headshots, or your biography and product descriptions.
- Did we mention that you need to get everything?
Think about your dream customer
Make sure you have a clear idea of who your ideal customer is. Some things we like to keep in mind:
- Age, location, marital status
- Kids, family life
- Career, income
- Hobbies, goals
Have your dream customer in mind for the next steps — don’t be afraid to take notes to keep them fresh in your mind, or even get one of your favourite existing customers to help you out!
Look for outliers in your materials
You have a big pile of stuff in front of you and you know who your ideal customer is. Now what? Take a look at everything and see if something looks out of place.
Is it really old, or did you do it yourself when it should’ve been done professionally?
Is something the wrong colour, or has the wrong font?
Set these aside and look at the cohesive elements of your brand.
Make some lists!
We break down brand audits into 4 categories, which you will sort all of your brand materials from Step 1, into:
1) It’s perfect no changes
This category is for items you need and use regularly and your ideal customer loves them. They look at these brand pieces and go “Wow! I can’t wait to get started”
2) I have it… but it needs some help
This group is for things that you have and use regularly, but now having reviewed your dream customer might need some work. Maybe the wording is wrong or they just don’t get excited when they see it.
3) Don’t have it, and I need to get on that
Oops, did you leave something on the back burner too long? It’s okay, we all have. This is an important category because these are your branding gaps! Make sure you action these first so that your customer can find you where they need to find you.
4) Don’t have it, don’t need it
Branding can be extensive AF. Think about brands like Coca-Cola and all the STUFF they have to manage. Coca-Cola is in every country in the world and has been around for over 100 years–don’t compare yourself to them! Not every brand will need every single piece of branding. If you’re a local handyman having a multi-national television campaign might not make sense for you, and that’s okay, make a list of those items here. Maybe in 3 years time, it’ll be time to pull the trigger.
Ask for help
It’s a lot. We get it. This is our job and we’ve been doing it for a lot of years! We have a handy-dandy digital download to help guide you through the process of a brand audit. As always, if you need more help be sure to contact us!