According to Score, a business mentoring association, small businesses are critical to vibrant communities in our society. As one resource in their mission to foster vibrant small business communities through mentoring and education, they explain how to do a brand audit in 10 simple steps. While our team has been doing brand audits long before this resource was published, it is a good reference for those who might attempt to do a brand audit on their own. Doing a brand audit can provide invaluable insight into your brand’s position in the marketplace, and it can lead the way to tailored marketing messages that will help you improve your brand’s position in the days ahead.
When Tile Liquidators approached our team in 2022 about the possibility of a brand audit and marketing plan, the newly hired marketing director was seeking insight into the foundation of the brand and ideas for how to build a marketing plan to meet their revenue goals. After detailing in a contract the steps we would take to meet their requests, the leadership team at Tile Liquidators was ready for our team to get started.
The first steps in a brand audit involve a great deal of research. Countless search engine queries, directory listing reviews, and social media account analyses later, and we began to compile a list of brand strengths and weaknesses, challenges and threats. The key points of note were compiled into a series of pages in a document being prepared for presentation of the brand audit. We reviewed the Tile Liquidators website for ease of use, appealability, and content. We reviewed the Tile Liquidators social media accounts for frequency of content and type of content being posted. We reviewed competitor websites and social media accounts for competitors in their marketplace and beyond, so we could glean how other brands in the same space were being built. All of this data was compiled into a succinct set of bullet pointed lists for review both in the presentation of the audit and plan and beyond for the marketing director’s future reference.
With an understanding of the brand in place, our team was now ready to help identify Tile Liquidators’ target audience and determine their unique selling proposition. It was clear that they were targeting home remodelers, home builders, and commercial remodelers and builders, but did they have data to help them further define this audience? In addition, what information had we gathered that could help them define their unique selling proposition? For starters, they were family-owned and operated and had been serving North Alabama for over 25 years. We continued to compile a list of points that would further help them define how their brand stands apart from the competition.
Finally, with the research organized in our hands, the brainstorming and strategizing began. We created a guide of practical ideas including but not limited to events, sponsorships, digital marketing and more that could help them move their brand forward in the marketplace. The guide included date specific items in a timeline for the following year. It also included ideas they had not considered before to help them grow into the different demographics of each market. The 34-page presentation booklet concluded with budget guidelines for planning purposes to help drive their marketing efforts in the following year. All of this was presented to the marketing team in a face-to-face meeting with a Q&A session to follow.
If you are intrigued by this process but overwhelmed by where to start, feel free to contact our team to walk you through the process and handle the hard work for you. We are passionate about brands. We would love to learn the story behind your brand and be part of crafting the story which will lead to brand growth in the coming years.