Critical Steps when Conducting a Brand Audit

If your business has suffered a drop in profits & needs to pick back up, a brand audit is a great way to find out why there are issues & how you can fix them.

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Ramzi Chamat / 8 Ways Media
2014-05-07 11:59:00

If your business needs a little boost in the right direction after the loss of customers or a dip in revenue, then a brand audit is the perfect way to get your business back on track.

Today’s business environment is incredibly competitive which is why countless businesses, big and small, struggle to keep up with the cutthroat competition. To keep up with the competition and differentiate your brand from the crowd it is essential to perform a brand audit. This will help you to improve image building and devise an effective brand strategy.

Why should you Conduct a Brand Audit?

A brand audit is an essential way to establish how your business is performing. It helps you to:

  • Determine your business’ position
  • Implement some effective strategies to improve image building
  • Discover the strengths and weaknesses of your brand strategy
  • Create techniques to more accurately appeal to your clientele
  • Gain clarity on the positive or negative perceptions of your business

1. Step 1 when Auditing your Brand

The first step during the brand audit process is to develop a framework that includes a list of topics you will cover during the brand audit. This helps gain a clearer picture on everything that relates to your business, whether directly or indirectly.

The following elements should without doubt be considered for a brand audit:

  • The purpose of your website
  • Your primary competitors
  • Your target market
  • Your product niche
  • The strengths and weaknesses of your product and brand strategy
  • Your current trends
  • Anticipated future trends
  • Your market positions amongst your competitors

2. Step 2 when Auditing your Brand

The next step is to assess web analytics in depth. Web analytics should include traffic analysis, bounce rate, page views and conversion rates. This information gives you a clear cut understanding of where your traffic is coming from, how long people stay on your website for, your most popular pages and the number of visitors who actually perform a desired activity through your site.

Checking the above information on a consistent basis is fundamental for your business’ growth.

3. Step 3 when Auditing your Brand

The next step during the brand audit is to question your customers. How do they perceive your brand? What is their impression of it? Run an online poll to ask your customers how they feel about your business. For a more in-depth assessment of your brand set up an online survey. There are plenty of online tools available to help you devise your survey.

4. Last but not least…

Once you have completed your brand audit you then need to take action! Using your findings, create a detailed report that lists the issues found from the audit. Create an action plan with your anticipated results, as well as a timeline indicating when you endeavour to achieve these results.

Keep a close eye on your progress and remember that the brand audit process is a continual one that should be carried out regularly.

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