Do you have a strong corporate brand? Is your corporate mission clearly defined? You might be inclined to answer “yes” to both questions. After all, you spend a lot of time with your enterprise. You know its brand well, or at least believe you do.
However, you are not the real audience for these questions. Your customers and prospects are — the people and organizations you hope to convert to your cause. If your brand is not clear to these groups, and if your corporate mission is not well defined in their minds, then you risk losing business to competitors who have done this work. In addition, you do not want to wait until a crisis arises to do this work. By then, it could be too late to mitigate the long-term damage to your reputation.
Organizations that recover well from crises tend to do so, because they have already done the hard work of clarifying their role in the world. That is how Asiaciti Trust rebuilt trust in the wake of the Pandora Papers release, while other affected organizations floundered. It is how companies like Patagonia prepare for the public relations crises that they know will come.
Tips for Clarifying Your Corporate Mission and Brand
How does this happen in practice? Let us review some well-worn tips and strategies for clarifying and strengthening your corporate mission and brand.
1. Use Consistent Colors and Logos Across Your Entire Digital Footprint
Your brand needs a consistent “look,” regardless of context. This requires you to invest in an aesthetically pleasing yet eye-catching set of visual cues. These immediately let prospects know they are interfacing with your brand — before they read or hear any marketing messages.
This means that you need to:
- Make a high-quality corporate logo that reflects your brand’s purpose and message;
- Choose a consistent set of colors for your digital properties, to appear in sidebars, backgrounds, wallpaper, and so on;
- Use consistent image settings, regardless of subject, so that viewers associate specific visual features with your brand; and
- Use a consistent font library for any text that you can modify directly, such as your website and newsletter content.
2. Make Your Mission Statement a Top Page on Your Website
Your mission statement should be clear as day. It should also be easy for your audience to find.
Start by making it a top page on your website. Anyone who visits your site should be able to find a “Mission” navigation bar at the top of the page or a line item in the main dropdown menu. Do not bury your mission statement in a footer or subpage. Many visitors will not make it that far.
Do the same for your social accounts, as well. Your corporate LinkedIn page should state your corporate mission above the fold, so that users do not have to scroll to it. Your corporate Twitter handle should include your mission statement in a pinned tweet.
3. Use Your “About” Content to Reinforce Your Mission Statement
Your “About” content — basically, your corporate personal statement — should not simply be a long-form version of your mission statement. However, it should reinforce and expand the themes expressed in your mission statement. Work the “why” and “how” behind your brand into this statement — not just the “who” and what.”
4. Avoid Corporate Buzzwords Where Plain English Will Do
Corporate jargon serves no one. Excise it from high-level material about your brand, such as your “About” content and mission statement. Make sure it is not present in marketing messaging or website content, either. No matter how complicated its activities, your firm’s public persona is to be accessible to the average person.
5. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Do not just say you support the causes you care about. Show that you do, and do not be shy about publicizing your charitable activities.
Patagonia is just one of many brands that do this with immense success. It is not as difficult as you imagine, and it creates network effects that enhance your organization’s appeal to prospective employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders.
6. Never Hesitate to Go on Offense
Sometimes, the best brand defense is an assertive offense. Monitor news and social mentions of your brand closely, and do not hesitate to respond proactively if you sense a threat to your reputation. Allowing allegations to fester unchallenged is a recipe for brand erosion.
Your Brand Deserves Better
It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of your organization’s brand. If you are not paying as much attention to it as you do to your supply chain or employee morale, you are doing yourself a disservice.
As seen, brand management is an ongoing process. In addition to one-time or occasional tasks like reimagining your logo or updating your corporate website, you and your team must “walk the walk,” rather than just talk the talk. Otherwise, your prospects will not be convinced.
Moreover, there is no time to waste. Your competitors are already putting in the work.
