Why the whole leadership needs to be on board

The days when ‘brand’ simply applied to ad campaigns and logos are long gone. Increasingly savvy consumers are demanding authenticity from the businesses they choose to interact with, and they can sniff out fakery a mile off.

But what does that mean for the internal workings of an organisation? It means that every department needs to be held accountable for delivering the brand experience, no matter which area they operate in.

It is just as critical for the warehouse team to be considering the brand experience when they pick and pack the products as it is for the graphic designers when they create web pages and marketing materials. A consistent and authentic brand experience doesn’t mean always using the same pantone (though that’s important too), it means being the same on the inside as you are on the outside.

And that’s where the leadership team come in. They are responsible for role-modelling Values and Behaviours, for setting priorities and for helping their teams understand how they connect to the brand and business objectives. Encouraging positive actions that build brand equity and calling out instances where people fail to meet the expectations set out in the brand strategy is crucial, but it will look different in Finance than in Marketing or Sales. Committed leaders need to find ways to apply the brand appropriately within their teams.

The minute one member of the leadership thinks it doesn’t apply to them, gaps will start to appear. Infighting will occur, calls of unfairness will begin and the culture will start to erode. Not to mention that all the while brand reparation will be compromised.

But how do you do make sure everyone is on board? That’s down to the CEO or Managing Director. If they are serious about building and maintaining a sustainable brand that grows stronger over time, they need to build brand KPIs into each department’s deliverables. Only then will people sit up and take notice.

READ MORE: Connecting all employees to your brand