The process of developing a brand

Part of the initial process to developing a powerful corporate brand comprises qualitative interviews with internal and external audiences. The internal interviews are conducted at all levels of the organization, from front line 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 influences, competitors, and members of the general public.

The interviews focus on how the organization is currently perceived by these key audiences and what perceptions are held about the company's directions for the future and its capabilities to handle or execute change. 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 various levels its own employee and management staff. Another aim is to identify the organization internal willingness and current acceptance levels for change.

While this research is qualitative in nature, the issues to be examined and discussed during the interview process are highly strategic in nature. The benefit of the one-on-one qualitative interview methodology is that it allows each respondent to focus on those points that are of the greatest importance to him or her. Due to the extreme sensitivity of the topics to be covered during the discussions, an outside resource is definitely required to handle and analyze these interviews. Also, the outside resource must completely ensure the confidentiality of each participant and in no way reveal to the client any details or particulars about which comments came from any individual.

The number of interviews required for this process to be effective is usually a minimum of between 25 and 40, depending upon the size and complexity of the organization. It is best if the interviews are conducted by two or more researchers or consultants, who then compare notes at the one-third point to see if any trends are already developing or if the questionnaire needs adjusting. This methodology will yield a tremendous insight into the present corporate image of the organization, as perceived both internally and externally. Because of the open-ended nature of the specific questions used, the feedback can be readily interpreted into specific observations and recommendations that can be actioned later in the corporate image management process.

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, 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.