A Qualitative Process

Part of the initial process comprises qualitative interviews with internal and external audiences. The internal interviews are conducted at all levels of the organization, from frontline staff and backroom support personnel to senior management and the Board of Directors. The interviews with external audiences will include key customers, end users, joint venture or other business partners, shareholders or other stakeholders, suppliers, distributors, retailers, prospective customers and partners, government officials, senior media people and other outside influencers, competitors, and members of the general public.

The objective is to gain an understanding of the market’s perception of the organization by its customers, partners and competition, and to contrast these perceptions with those held by its own employee and management staff. Another aim is to identify the organization’s internal willingness and current acceptance levels for change. The interview process answers these key questions

• How is the corporate image being portrayed and projected today?
• How is the organization perceived by its key internal and external audiences?
• How does the image of the organization compare with those of its competitors?
• How does the image of the organization compare to the image desired by management?
• Will the current corporate image enable the organization to reach the goals and objectives set for it over the next three to five years?

By starting the corporate brand development process with a review of the existing corporate brand perceptions, the organization has a clear view and understanding of where it is today, an important criterion when trying to decide how one wants to be perceived in the foreseeable future. From here, you can conclude it is a matter of relatively simple steps to create a well-defined corporate brand positioning platform that is supported by the core attributes of the organization and a series of strategic image marketing objectives that will help to guide future business directions and brand development.

Your corporate brand image needs to be thoroughly thought out, planned, nurtured, executed, monitored and, when necessary, modified. It’s the organization’s most valuable commodity and deserves to always be treated as such.