SIX Steps to Keep Your Brand Healthy and Relevant

What makes a brand havng strong equity and more appleaing and what not ..how to build a new good brand lets see

1. cheerleader

Having a C-suite leader is critical for rolling out and building engagement around your brand.

That leader needs to communicate why and how your brand system is strategically important to the company's success, that it's a valuable asset to be carefully managed, that it's a priority for him or her, and, yes, that everyone needs to do their part to bring it alive.

Your colleagues need to hear, from the top, that your new brand system is not cake icing––it's the ingredient that makes the cake rise.

2. useful documentation

People who commission, evaluate, and make communications (including outside consultants) need to know the strategy behind your brand system as well as the tactics for implementing it.

Good documentation ensures that the "why" turns into actual "whats" and "hows." It can be made available as a book, a pdf, or, via an intranet or extranet site (even a wiki!). Connect theory to practice through examples that people can relate to. Make unbreakable logos and print and digital templates available electronically.

3. big then small

This is your opportunity to build enthusiasm, transfer knowledge, and create buy-in. Start wide: Hijack the agenda of an all-company meeting (whether people are present in reality or virtually).

After the C-level introduction and endorsement, present the big-picture view of the brand system: from research, to brand strategy and positioning, to verbal and visual expression, and finally, a plan to reach constituents––along with highlights from the documentation. Show how it will be easier and more satisfying to communicate and behave "in brand." (All the while a brand elf has made the rounds distributing new business cards and branded mugs!)

Follow up this wide intro with group or departmental meetings (with documentation in hand). The goal of these meetings is to work with people to help them integrate new brand thinking into what they have to do, whether it's preparing a brochure for a tradeshow, answering the phone differently, or planning a sales strategy for solution selling.

There is always some resistance to change, so hear their concerns––and be sure to get back to them with practical responses that help them both do their jobs and build the brand.

4. Monitoring and govern

Convene a cross-functional brand group (if you haven't earlier in the process). Distributing ownership, monitoring, and governance further encourages buy-in and ensures that the brand project isn't thought of as the product of one department—that it's everyone's responsibility.

Together, evolve a system for reviewing materials before input is too late, for coaching those who need it, and for rewarding best-practices. Placing superior efforts on an intranet, for instance, encourages the right kind of competition among groups (everyone wants a gold star).

5. Tabs on progress

Is the brand taking hold internally? What additional tools are needed? What needs to be tweaked?

Externally, results come in different dimensions:

Some are tangible and immediate: You sold more software agreements and quarterly revenues are up.
Some results are less tangible: You're starting to be mentioned more in the blogs your customers follow, a result that should lead to more tangible results.
Some indicators are proxies for your brand taking hold: More people apply to work with you and there is more interest from potential partners.

6. Evolve

The best homework, process, decisions, and rollout only get you started. Continuing research is needed to see what's working and what isn't. And it's likely that your constituents' needs and expectations will change over time, as will the environments you operate within.

A strong brand system––one based on shared thinking and approaches, not rules––will have the ability to evolve as needs dictate, without breaking.

If your brand has been internalized by your colleagues, the time you've invested in coming up with clear notions of your value and position––and their visual and verbal expression––will pay you additional dividends: Shared thinking will help all of you to make smart decisions as each new challenge comes your way.