What do Patrick Mahomes, Michael Jordan, and Jeff Gordon have in common? You’re right if you say that they all are champions at the highest level of their respective sport.
But, why? It’s their keen sense of situational awareness, the ability to envision, create and lead a perfect experience amidst myriad movable forces. They see the whole field without looking and sense everything around them at once. Their mind shuffles through the ways situations might play out at speed. They are simply different.
I know. You’re not a Super Bowl champion quarterback, but to achieve brand alignment in your organization you need to act like one. Aligned brands are few and far between because they demand Super Bowl champion leadership and vision.
Are You an Entrepreneur Superstar?
As an entrepreneur, you need to have the courage and willingness to assess, own, and address the realities of the marketplace and your organization in real time. You must be able to see and speak truth about your brand, even when it hurts, having a keen understanding of the infinitesimal nuances of your brand. Winning brand alignment takes courage and conviction.
I’m the son of a legacy champion high school basketball coach. You might say that I grew up with a competitive mindset in every aspect of my life. It was when I introduced those attributes and instincts into my branding beliefs that I discovered the importance of leadership in brand alignment. I knew that the point guard in basketball was the floor leader. He, or she, had to see every player both on the team and on the competition. It was critical for that point guard to make accurate and fast decisions all the while considering the culture and competencies of his team.
It’s essential for you to be the floor leader on your team to achieve your organization’s highest potential. That means ensuring that every aspect of your company consistently delivers on your brand’s core values and promises.
As an entrepreneur, you must model a cohesive brand identity that resonates both internally with your employees and externally with your customers. You are the point guard of brand alignment. The plays you call and the audibles you make are crucial to brand alignment success. Winning in brand alignment rests of your shoulders. Everyone is watching you to make decisions about your brand. So, how do you become a brand alignment leader?
Understand Brand Alignment
Brand alignment occurs when your company’s outward communication – marketing messages, customer interactions, product design, and more – matches your internal culture, values, and practices. The result is a seamless experience for all your stakeholders with a clear, concise, and coherent brand image. Read my book. Listen to The BRAND ON! Show podcast, read ALL of my blogs and put yourself in the position to fully understand the power of brand alignment.
None of the players on the team question their role or how they best represent the brand. As a brand alignment leader, you rely on all the individuals who touch the brand – every player on the roster – to deliver the brand with consistency down to the last detail. It’s a consistent exercise in excellence, and, when done effectively, builds trust, loyalty, and long-term success. It requires meticulous attention to detail and consistency in execution. It all starts with the clarity of your organization’s vision and mission.
Model Your Vision & Mission
One of your primary roles as a brand alignment leader is to clearly communicate your organization’s vision and mission. These foundational elements guide every decision and action your team will make. They also frame how the marketplace views your company daily. It’s your responsibility to craft a compelling vision that encapsulates your brand’s essence while inspiring both your employees and your customers.
It’s important to “walk the walk” as well as “talk the talk.” Your actions are the most visible in the company. It’s imperative for you to call the right plays, keep the team in alignment, and consistently reinforce the culture, values, and mission of the organization.
Communicate Clearly
Aligned brands are few and far between because they demand great leadership and vision. As a brand alignment leader, you will communicate through a variety of channels from social media to everyday conversations. When you personally champion your brand’s vision, you set a precedent for alignment throughout the company. You are the role model to whom everyone will look.
Some entrepreneurs inherently can see all their customers’, clients’, or patients’ journeys at speed. They know what their customers want or need, what they will buy, how much they will pay for it, how to find and keep them. If you are that gifted individual with acute situational awareness, that’s great.
If you’re not, find that leader or counsel who has the unique ability to activate and maintain your brand alignment. Bring them into your leadership team and empower them to guide your brand alignment success. You can try to teach it, create awareness for it, and train for it, which may yield some success, but there is nothing that matches up with having the actual gift. Regardless of the path you pursue, know that strong leadership and vision are the primary resources you need for success in your brand alignment initiatives.
Promote Consistency
Consistency is key in brand alignment. As a brand alignment leader, you must ensure that your company’s message is uniform across all marketing and operational channels. This includes product design and packaging, marketing materials, media channels, customer service experiences and internal communications.
Document the brand voice, tone and key messages in a manner that is clear, concise and consistent. Make your organization’s brand guide accessible to everyone in the organization and ensure that all communications align with the brand identity. Foster collaboration to ensure that everyone is on the same page. It does little good to call the right play if all parties do not know how and when to execute their respective role.
Hold regular meetings to reinforce the importance of brand consistency and to avoid brand blur or confusion. This may include training sessions to provide your stakeholders with the knowledge and resources to make them effective brand ambassadors in everything they do. There’s nothing more powerful than a fully aligned and empowered team manifesting your brand in the marketplace in a clear and consistent manner.
Drive Employee Engagement
Engaged employees are much more likely to align with the brand and act as brand ambassadors. As a brand alignment leader, you play a crucial role in fostering this engagement. Engaged team members understand your brand’s value promises and are motivated to deliver them to the marketplace. You can boost employee engagement through transparent communication, empowerment, and investment in professional development.
Enhance Customer Experiences
Your brand alignment leadership extends well beyond internal stakeholders to your customer experiences. You must ensure that your brand promises are delivered consistently to your customers at every touchpoint. This requires an intense focus on quality, confirming that your company’s products and services consistently meet or exceed your customers’ expectations. Quality is one of the most tangible expressions of your brand’s value.
Maintain a customer-centric approach, responding to feedback in a prompt and efficient manner, continually refining product and service offerings to meet market demands. Finally, equip customer-facing employees with the skills and knowledge to deliver exceptional customer service, infusing brand value messages throughout the product delivery cycle. This will require training your employees on how to articulate and represent the brand in all customer interactions. Every member of the team needs to be able to deliver a “post-game” interview, reinforcing the value they were able to deliver to a winning customer experience.
Manage Innovation
In a dynamic market environment change and innovation are inevitable. As a leader, you will play a crucial role in managing these transitions while maintaining strategic brand alignment. Whether it’s a shift is strategic direction, a new product launch or rebranding a service line, you must navigate the innovation to carefully preserve your brand’s integrity.
This will require early and clear communication of the reasons for the change and how it aligns with the brand’s vision. It will warrant involving stakeholders, both internal and external, in the change process. Make them feel a part of the journey to promote a sense of ownership in the change and brand alignment in the innovation. Continuously reinforce the brand’s values and visions throughout the change process with regular updates and feedback sessions to keep everyone on track.
Measure and Adjust
As an effective leader, you will understand the importance of measuring brand alignment and making necessary adjustments. This will involve regularly assessing internal and external perceptions to make certain that your brand remains on course. You can measure brand alignment through surveys and feedback sessions that reinforce positive impressions and highlight areas of misalignment that need attention.
Monitor key performance indicators (KPI) such as customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and market share. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) to the brand assessment process speeds up the ability to manage large amounts of data in real time. Based on the feedback and collected data, brand alignment strategies may be adjusted as needed. Continuous improvement is a key to maintaining brand alignment in the dynamic business landscape.
Get Your Game Face On
Equipped with these strategies you are ready to go into the game and provide brand alignment leadership at a championship level. Think about the importance of situational awareness, seeing the whole field at once. Exceptional teams are led by outstanding individuals who walk onto the field, up to the free throw line, or in the seat of a race car with the confidence of knowing all parts of their brand are fully aligned.
You too can have the experience of these sports leaders in your own game. You control all the variables to align your brand with your performance and create a culture to support it. You can relentlessly keep your brand promises in a manner that exceed market expectations on a regular basis. Snap on the chin strap, focus on the rim, and grab hold of the steering wheel. Brand alignment is within your control. Lead, and Turn your Brand ON!!
If you are ready to amp up the power of brand alignment, get more information at https:// brandoncolemanjr.com. For more valuable insights on brand alignment and business growth, tune in to The BRAND ON! Show. My podcast drops every Tuesday morning.
