Brand strategy is not a one-time exercise, but a continuous process of learning and adapting to your customers, competitors, and market conditions. To ensure that your brand strategy is effective and relevant, you need to test and validate it regularly and learn from your feedback. Here are some ways to do that.
Before you test and validate your brand strategy, you need to define what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Your goals and metrics should align with your brand vision, mission, values, and positioning. For example, you might want to increase brand awareness, loyalty, advocacy, or differentiation. Your metrics could be quantitative (such as surveys, web analytics, or sales data) or qualitative (such as interviews, focus groups, or social media sentiment).
I agree but your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. How you treat your customers, employees and strategic partners is evidence of your true brand.
Depending on your goals and metrics, you can choose different methods and tools to test and validate your brand strategy. Some common methods are A/B testing, usability testing, customer journey mapping, and brand audit. Some common tools are online platforms, software, or apps that allow you to create, launch, and analyze your tests. For example, you could use Google Optimize, UserTesting, or Hotjar to test your website or landing page.
Use whatever software, format that works best for you. No one can tell you what to use. Go be great and do what has been working for you and success.
To get reliable and relevant feedback, you need to segment and target your audience based on your ideal customer profile, buyer persona, or market segment. You need to identify who are the most likely to engage with your brand, what are their needs, preferences, and pain points, and how do they interact with your brand touchpoints. You can use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Audience Network, or Mailchimp to segment and target your audience.
You can gauge also by who is interacting with what you post or videos you share to create your target market. More information on how to track your target audience in also in the insights to each of your social media pages.
Once you have launched your tests, you need to collect and analyze your data to see how your brand strategy is performing and where you can improve. You need to look for patterns, trends, insights, and gaps in your data. You can use tools like Google Data Studio, Tableau, or Power BI to visualize and interpret your data. You can also use tools like Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, or Typeform to collect feedback from your audience.
Based on your data analysis, you need to implement and iterate your changes to your brand strategy. You need to prioritize the most impactful and feasible changes that will help you achieve your goals and metrics. You also need to monitor and measure the results of your changes and compare them with your baseline or previous data. You can use tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday to manage your tasks and projects.
The last step is to communicate and share your learnings with your team, stakeholders, and audience. You need to explain the rationale, process, and outcome of your tests and validations. You also need to highlight the key takeaways, recommendations, and next steps for your brand strategy. You can use tools like Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Prezi to create and present your reports.
The primary objective of a brand strategy is to establish a brand with a strong foundation, enabling effective connection with your target audience and differentiation from your competitors. If the brand strategy encounters challenges, it suggests that it may not have been well-conceived initially. Therefore, research, testing, and validation must be integral during the brand strategy creation process not after. Additionally, any potential areas for improvement or adjustments, such as shifts in brand direction, should be revisited annually to ensure that the brand strategy remains aligned with the evolving brand and messaging you wish to convey.