Choosing a Catchy Brand or Business Name:
Operationalizing the Brand
It's not enough just to choose the right brand name; It's now the time to align the brand with the entire company. The brand and the company must become one, in order to be successful.
In an August 2003 article entitled, "Operationalizing the Brand: Bringing it to Life Internally Strengthens Brand and Business," by Michael Dunn and Scott Davis, co-authors of the book, "Building the Brand-Driven Business: Operationalize your Brand to Drive Profitable Growth," the two authors discuss the steps to creating and building the right brand.
1. Align your brand with your business strategy -
Both the brand and the business strategy must be linked if the company hopes to increase decision-making and brand-building capacity.
2. Establish a consistent 'commitment of brand' level-
In order to align both the brand and the organization, the CEO must take charge in delivering the 'message' to the senior management team and to the rest of the employees, and making sure that the entire organization knows that the brand is the responsibility of them all.
3. Create an unfailing impression-
It takes every single employee to deliver the company's brand promise, across every customer interaction point, to achieve a brand-driven success. Each time a customer service rep speaks to a consumer, or every time a consumer reads an ad for your brand, you are making an impression. That brand impression should be paramount throughout the company.
4. Be a brand-
driven organization-Make sure your business or company thoroughly understands your brand's promises to customers. Every employee must be on-board and in-line with those promises and they must understand their role in bringing those promises to life. The goal is to bring that brand-connection to the employees, so they identify-as well-with the brand.
5. Continually measure brand-
building efforts-A good set of metrics will allow your business or company to develop the brand in a strategic way, by following these rules:
- Is it simple to use?
- Is it meaningful?
- Is it actionable?
- Is it repeatable?
- Is it touchpoint oriented?
