Should you build on your organization’s history and culture, making a series of subtle changes? Or should you create new messaging that targets new audiences and reintroduces you to consumers who are already familiar with your products and services? An effective discovery process can help you determine the best direction to take.
WHERE DOES YOUR BRAND STAND TODAY?
You’ll want to take a close look at all your current messaging to see what resonates. You might think you know what your strong points are, but does the data back it up? It’s also critical to be aware of what your competitors are saying—regardless of whether their messages are authentic—so you can identify the space where you can tell your own unique story.
BE FLEXIBLE TO FIND OUT HOW PEOPLE FEEL
You’ll also want to talk to key audiences to understand how they feel about your brand. You’ll need to consider internal audiences as well as external. After all, your people play an important role in conveying your message. External audiences might include influencers and decision-makers as well as consumers/end users.
Your research methods could include:
Your approach will depend on whose input you need and the constraints on their availability. The key is to make it as easy for them to participate in the process as possible.
WHATS THE POV ON YOU
It can be helpful to give audiences a framework to talk about how they see the brand today and how they might see it in the future. It might be as simple as asking participants to complete key blanks in a sentence about the organization. Another approach is to use a brand archetype exercise that looks at an organization’s perceived purpose and associated characteristics in terms of human archetypes. Do audiences see your brand as an Explorer or a Caregiver? Does it represent Mastery? Belonging? Understanding? The results can provide a foundation for creating a brand story that feels authentic.
TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT
Measurable data is necessary in order to know whether your perceptions are accurate and whether you’re on the right track. But while numbers tell a story, words provide valuable nuance. Verbatims—direct quotes from those whose input you’ve solicited—can highlight features of characteristics that other aspects of the discovery process didn’t reveal. Incorporating words and phrases that seem to resonate with key audiences into your messaging can be powerful.
COMPILE RESULTS IN A CLEAR FORMAT
After you’ve completed your research and analysis, distill the information you’ve gathered into a key findings document. It should include:
- An explanation of your objective and the methods you used to collect input
- An executive summary, which can support recommendations beyond how to tell the brand story
- Text and graphics that clearly convey your findings
Depending on your organization, you may want to share these findings before you go on to create your brand story, or you may include them as the lead-in when presenting your new brand story internally.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Before you start writing your next chapter, be sure you understand what you are saying now, how your audiences see you and where they might like you to go. Whether you are looking for a brand story evolution or revolution, a thorough and objective discovery process is an important first step.
