Building your internal brand

The Brand Vision

The first step in implementing an internal brand development program is to start with a brand vision. The brand vision can be defined as the long–term strategic position of the brand in the market and in the minds of customers.

A good brand vision has three characteristics:

• inspirational – A good brand vision will motivate and inspire employees. Individual values will be aligned to the organization's values. Brand visions need to be inspirational so that the brand has room to grow and improve in the future.
• definitive – A definitive, clear, and focused long-term vision can connect with customers. It will help create an emotional affiliation to the brand, increasing brand loyalty and longevity.
• simple and easy to remember – Typically, a brand vision statement should be simple and be easy to remember. Consumers and employees should recognize it easily, remember it, and be able to quote it readily.

Developing a clear brand vision will help direct the organization effort and encourage senior management to reach consensus on long-term brand growth objectives. This avoids an over-reliance on a reactive, short-term approach. A brand vision will also guide research and development.

A good brand vision ultimately engages all stakeholders with the company's vision for the brand. Stakeholders include management, employees, and consumers. A good brand vision helps develop an emotional or rational attachment with the product or service. It helps the organization connect to its consumer via "touchpoints" such as the retail environments, advertising, word of mouth, and social media.

Creating a Brand Vision

You need to follow a number of guidelines when creating a good, sustainable brand vision. 

• involve top management – It's important for the brand to maintain synergy with the corporate strategy. This is the reason why the top management team must play a key role in the development of the vision. When the brand's vision is aligned with corporate vision, it helps ensure a sustained investment and support for the brand's continued growth.
• focus on customer needs – Brand visions should be created with the customer as the focal point. Focusing on customer needs will help organizations create visions that are practical and connect with the customer. Customers will also be able to relate to the brand vision since the vision is created with them in mind.
• involve employees – If employees are expected to "live the brand vision" in their interactions with each other, and with the customers, they must believe in the vision. Therefore, involving employees in the creation of the vision is much more likely to empower and inspire them.

The first step in creating a brand vision is to work with top management in order to answer a number of questions: 

• What's the position of the brand?
• Which stakeholder needs does it satisfy?
• What can be inspiring for the customers and the employees?
• What can support growth?
• What's clear and simple to understand for the customers and the employees?

Utilizing the Brand Vision

The brand vision gives the direction and inspires both employees and customers. It involves the brand vision to match the brand promise and the internal promise.

The brand promise is the benefit to the customer. The internal promise is the translation of the company's organization values toward its employees. 

The aim of internal brand development programs is to make employees progress from a position of awareness of the brand vision to a position where they accept and support the values. They are then in a good position to deliver the brand promise.

The brand vision is the long–term strategic position of the brand in the minds of the customers, leading to longevity in the marketplace. A good brand vision is simple and easy to remember, definitive, and inspirational to both employees and customers.

There are appropriate guidelines to follow when creating a good brand vision. It's necessary to involve both top management and engage employees to align the vision to the corporate strategy. Together they can focus on the needs of the customer.

An effective brand vision matches the brand promise with the internal promise.
Author - Vicky Sarin