While branding starts at the top, it lives in the middle. That’s why brands that look beyond the C-suite when implementing a rebranding strategy get it right.
When rebranding is an insular effort that only involves the top floor, executives and brand leaders are letting unmined gems linger in departments that deal directly with customers.
Put simply: effective branding always goes beyond the C-suite.
What the C-suite Doesn't Know Can Hurt It
In reality, the C-suite is almost never the department with the most customer contact. The executive-customer relationship is bridged by data.
But, data alone can’t drive a rebranding effort. Why? Customers are nuanced.
What’s more, data can only tell you what it knows. It doesn’t always capture the frustrations and bottlenecks that slow your brand down. This is where old-fashioned human intelligence beats data in a big way. That leaves the question of where C-suite members should be channeling their data from when plotting a rebrand.
Look within. The departments within your organization hold key pieces of information that can elevate a rebrand. The big ones to bring in for insight-finding studies and meetings are sales, product development, and front-line associates. These team members interact with both products and customers on a daily basis. While they know the ins and outs of what is and isn’t working with your brand, they don’t share this information simply because they’re rarely asked.
These departments aren’t just useful for pointing out problems that are invisible to the C-suite. They also have great insights about brand assets that are needed to increase their ability to do their jobs with great precision, innovation, and effectiveness with customers.
Any well-oiled brand that people associate with positive name recognition already does this. An integrated, holistic rebranding that doesn’t detach the top floor from the “boots on the ground” is the secret to clicking with customers. Meanwhile, brands that take the “C-suite knows best” approach miss out on a goldmine!
Comprehensive Branding in Action
“As we work with our clients to complete a brand build-out, we have various listening exercises and games we will play to help the client’s team really dive into who they are and what they offer to the world,” shares Sasha Clark, Founding Partner at Clutch Creative Marketing. Clutch is a leading rebranding firm that specializes in helping brands to get to the heart of their product offerings and business personalities quickly to orchestrate effective brand leaps.
Ultimately, the success that firms like Clutch are generating adds weight to the idea that internally linear branding strategies are necessary for success in a landscape where customers have the option to be choosey.
