Did the challenges of 2020 push your brand through a process that felt like a mix between a brand audit and a stress test? Are you starting 2021 with a long list of things you’d like to improve? You’re not alone. Many businesses learned they need to become more nimble, more consistent, and more aligned with what their customers expect.
If your list feels a little daunting, maybe consider an approach more toward evolution, and less of a revolution. Here are some ideas to help.
1. Clarify and prioritize your goals with the data you have
Everybody thinks data means and requires numbers. Numbers help quantify and measure, but anything can be useful data.
Locate where you can have the most impact, and focus as much energy there as you can. The benefits of that will provide the data to help you expand and extend the changes to other aspects of your work and your brand.
2. Focus on what costs you the most, in terms of energy, as well as budget
If your energy goes to just keeping loose ends tied together, or patching holes in leaky processes, that isn’t helping anyone. Consider using some of your budget to invest in resources that improve processes and solve the problem versus continually applying “band-aids” to get you by. It may be more involved initially, but in the end will allow you and your teams to give your best energy to the brand projects that have the most business impact.
3. Develop a simple plan and implement it
By creating a plan that’s simple and only has a few steps, you’re much more likely to see it through and get results. If it’s complicated, it won’t work!
4. Think in terms of rituals and intervals
Goals and changes require consistency and commitment to become reality. Rather than get stuck on a treadmill doing the same ineffective things day in and day out, carve out time where you spend time reviewing your plan and progress every week, and evaluate how it’s working. Simple plans are easy to adjust as you learn along the way.
Good luck, and If you get stuck or would like help in the process, give us a call.
Helping create, manage, and deliver brands from start to finish.
In collaboration with Bluebird Branding