Brand analysis is something that can assist any business in understanding the current situation that your company or brand is in. It is usually conducted by an outside party to provide objective recommendations. The output includes what can be improved, how your brand compares to your competitors, and what is working well for your brand. We’ve put together some details to help break down what a brand analysis covers, why it’s important, and if it’s something you should execute.

What is a Brand Analysis?

A brand analysis, also known as a brand audit, identifies how your brand is supporting your marketing and sales efforts. It assesses who your customers are, what they’re looking for, what your competitors are doing, and how your brand is meeting your customers’ needs. It looks at current and historic content and results of the brand (brand inventory) and also at the brand’s style.

Often, companies with a large marketing team will already have a brand analysis in place, as they had to do the research to determine how their business or product idea would compete in the market. Brand analysis is more helpful for companies who haven’t taken an in-depth look at the current market or are looking to rebrand.

Your brand is more than your logo and website, it is about how customers perceive you, and how they feel about you that determines whether they will be a long term customer. In fact, buyers who emotionally connect with your brand are 60% more likely to consider purchasing from you.

Two out of three B2B companies say generating leads is their biggest challenge. But, 38% of salespeople say it’s becoming more difficult to get a response from prospects. If your brand could be affecting response rates from prospects, it is time to conduct a brand analysis.

Think of a brand analysis as the foundation of your brand strategy and systems to achieve your goals each year. Until your brand perfectly reflects the products and services you provide it will leave customers confused.

What’s in a Brand Analysis?

A brand analysis covers each of these areas:

The company’s background
Your goals
Measured milestones and results
Target markets
Customer personas
Your brand voice (the written style of language and tone you use)
Competitor analysis

How is a Brand Analysis Helpful?

Your brand has a significant impact on many aspects of your business so it’s an important step that shouldn’t be missed when you’re assessing your market position. It’s also important to note that there is often “brand drift”, this is when a brand slowly changes over time as different people make small edits to the brand’s visual elements. This can slowly take it out of alignment from your target audience. Often a rebrand can be very time consuming and resource-intensive; a brand analysis can be something that is less costly than a full rebrand or brand overhaul.

It provides an outside perspective

Usually, a brand analysis is conducted by a third party so the big picture is seen from a new set of eyes. You and your team see your brand every day, so over time you can go snow blind. This makes it easier to identify and explain problem areas you may not have seen yourself; it is very hard to remove that internal bias. Stepping back and letting another party conduct the brand audit also allows the third party to remain objective and pitch your new ideas.

It boosts marketing efforts

Everyone needs to be on board and fully immersed in the brand to be able to sell the product/services effectively. A study done by McKinsey found that B2B decision-makers are impacted by your brand, with the brand alone accounting for 18% of the purchase decision.

It enables you to set measurable goals

You don’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. If you have no metrics to benchmark your results against, it’s hard to determine the impact your brand or marketing has on the bottom line. The brand analysis identifies things like revenue projections, market share, lead generation quotas, and other metrics so you know what it takes to grow. It makes it way easier for all those involved to determine a plan of action that will be profitable rather than basing your decisions by a finger in the wind. Why guess when you can know?

Updating your brand whether it’s outdated, out of alignment, or is undergoing a transformation is important and has a huge impact on your bottom line. In fact, the average company sees a 9% increase in revenue from a strategic rebranding and realignment.

Once the foundation of a brand analysis is set, a brand realignment or a new brand strategy can then be developed to identify the overall personality of the brand, the position you want to have in the market and also the brand architecture of how your products/ services will live in a hierarchy of offerings. Then you’re able to move on to the fun part of developing brand systems that include things like logos, colours, taglines and identities. The systems must be completed last so there is a solid plan already in place. Not following this process of analysis, strategy and systems can lead to needless expense, underperforming brands, and potentially an expensive rebranding exercise when the mistake becomes clear.

What is a Brand Analysis