Weaving Brand Strategy Into the Fabric of Your Business

Having a strong brand strategy is crucial. However, the real challenge lies in implementing it effectively throughout your organization. Without a clear path forward for how you’ll use your new branding, it won’t have the impact or ROI intended. The most impactful way to bring your brand strategy to life is by weaving it into the fabric of your business.

 

Start with Hiring

When coming up with a new brand strategy, the question of your brand values comes into play. Your hiring process is the first line of defense in building a team that aligns with those values. Instead of focusing solely on skills and experience, consider creating a checklist that evaluates candidates based on your brand values. 

Ask yourself:

• Does the candidate demonstrate behaviors that align with our values?

• Can they articulate how they identify with our values?

• Are they genuinely inspired by our company vision?

• Do they express ideas on how they could contribute to achieving that vision?

By incorporating these questions into your interview process, you’re more likely to find candidates who not only have the necessary skills but also fit seamlessly into your company culture. This alignment can lead to higher job satisfaction, improved teamwork, and better overall performance.

 

Evaluating And Encouraging Team Members

Your brand strategy shouldn’t stop at hiring; it should be a continuous part of how you evaluate and develop your team. Use your brand values and vision as a framework for performance reviews. Recognize team members who exemplify these values in their work and interactions. This approach reinforces the importance of your brand strategy and encourages employees to embody it in their daily tasks.

Recognition is a powerful tool for reinforcing desired behaviors. Create a culture of celebration around your brand values. If a team member exemplifies the brand’s values in how they interact with a client or their approach to solving a problem, they should be recognized for it openly. This not only motivates the individual being celebrated but also sets an example for others to follow.

 

Making It a Habit

Implementing your brand strategy doesn’t have to be a grand, overwhelming project. Think of it as a series of small steps, much like an athlete training for a mountain climb. Each day, look for small opportunities to incorporate your brand values into decision-making, client interactions, and team communications. Over time, these small actions will become habits, weaving your brand strategy into the fabric of your organization.

 

Measuring ROI

Understanding the value of implementing your brand strategy is crucial for maintaining buy-in from leadership and team members alike. Consider the long-term impact of hiring based on values alignment. For instance, think about a past hire who didn’t work out and had to be let go within a year. Now imagine if you had chosen a candidate who was perhaps less skilled but more aligned with your values and culture. You might have invested in training their skills, but you would have saved on the costs associated with a bad hire, including decreased productivity, negative impact on team morale, and the expenses of recruiting and onboarding a replacement.

By making values-based hiring decisions, you’re likely to see improved retention rates, stronger team cohesion, and better overall performance – all of which contribute to a healthy ROI for your efforts.

 

Conclusion

Implementing your brand strategy throughout your business operations, from hiring to daily tasks, is not just about maintaining consistency in your external image. It’s about creating a strong, values-driven culture that attracts the right talent, motivates your team, and ultimately drives business success. By taking small, consistent steps to integrate your brand strategy into every aspect of your operations, you’ll build a more cohesive, effective, and successful organization. 

Remember, your brand is not just what you say it is — it’s what you do and how you do it, every single day.

To discover more about how to use a new brand strategy to its fullest potential, tune in to this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast to hear more from our guest, Karley Cunningham.