In this article, I will review five common dilemmas in branding and how to shift the perspective to make the best out of it to maintain your brand relevance and build engagement.
In this article, I will review five common dilemmas in branding and how to shift the perspective to make the best out of it to maintain your brand relevance and build engagement.
Profit vs Purpose. Big vs Small. Being vs Doing. Short term vs Long term. Play vs Win.
Why I'm saying these dilemmas are misleading? Because you don't have to choose between them. They happen together and should be aligned as part of one ecosystem. So let's understand each one.
Purpose-driven brands go further. Purpose drives the business decisions, actions and strategy, helping create a long-term vision for the company's future. Profit, on the other hand, is the oxygen of a company. A business doesn't exist without profit. Therefore, purpose and profit should be aligned. When you have a clear vision of who you are and where you want to go, you will profit from it.
Independent of your business size, you need to commit to growing. By that, I mean to invest in generating brand equity. Branding is not only for big companies; every business needs a strategy to leap and achieve growth, even the small ones.
You build value when you reflect purpose in actions and intentions. Starting doing without knowing where you are going will get you lost, which is a waste of energy. So that's why it is essential to build your purpose and act with a true intention. By keeping aligned your being with your doing, you'll create consistency and clear brand perception.
Branding is not just a long-term job. Yes, in the long run, you generate recognition of who you are and get closer to your purpose, but branding also means aligning your strategy with the day to day of the business. You quickly align your daily bases strategy when you look back to your core.
Every organization needs to develop a strategic mindset. We can win a match, but this is not the game. We are playing what is called the infinite game. So we need constantly look to the detractors and understand what could be removing value and generating a bad experience for our customers. Also, we need to look at propellers, which stories and elements propel us. And last but not least, we need to look at the accelerators, which components speed up the process. This is a constant game and requires a strategic mindset.
When you have these factors aligned, you build value for your brand and your customers generating engagement and increasing sales. So don't let tabus decide for your brand's future. Instead, be an entrepreneur, invest time, money and knowledge, and play the game with a strategic mindset to grow your business and achieve your goals.
