For those of you out there who think a strategic brand workshop isn’t for them, or are a little cynical of the process – perceiving it as marketing jargon – allow me to talk you through it.
In truth, it never ceases to amaze me what an enjoyable, fascinating and productive process it actually is.
It really does ‘lift the fog’ on a company’s direction for success and is instrumental in clarifying its differentiators and personality.
Clients, usually the CEO or MD, come to the table with key people from relevant departments such as sales, production or product managers and start by presenting the company’s business strategy, aspirations and objectives.
This is followed by a series of proven interrogation techniques which are effective in establishing compelling truths about the brand and its place in the market.
It can also bring to the surface any negatives or misunderstandings and confusion the team may have. I’ve even witnessed a CEO talk about what they believe to be the strengths of the company’s offering and the salesforce declaring “I didn’t know that” or “I never sell that proposition”.
A great example was a global company who’d built up a manufacturing base in the UK over a number of years. During this time, Directors and personnel came and left but, at the workshop, the Chairman felt the real strength of the company stemmed from the intellect and experience to develop, test and research new innovations with their customers as well as providing their existing products.
This really set them apart from their competitors, yet the salesforce simply weren’t aware of importance of this facility and simply went out and ‘flogged product’ making them a commodity provider.
The workshop analysis, to everyone’s surprise, highlighted this fundamental issue and helped us to turn around their sales and marketing model.
Importantly, apart from establishing clear brand values and positioning, the benefits of a brand workshop can go way beyond marketing and internal communications and change or revolutionise a company’s operating processes making the time spent a real investment for the future.
