Service

Stakeholder Engagement

It's important to understand that companies have multiple stakeholders including employees, customers, business partners and the communities within which they operate. And It is critical to involve representatives from them stakeholder groups in your branding process and take them on the journey one step at a time. Not only will they add value from their own perceptions about the organisations strengths and weaknesses, but they can highlight unforseen issues that could be solved by a rebranding effort.

All this goes towards building a more comprehensive, watertight business case for what your rebrand needs to achieve from a commercial perspective. Involving your stakeholders throughout raises potential issues earlier in the process, before they evolve into larger obstacles. And it gives you the opportunity to tackle these issues through more specific customer research or audience interviews. 

"So much business is based on the belief that we should do whatever we can within legal limits to make as much money as we can. Ben & Jerry's was based on values, and we try to operate a business that not just sells ice cream but partners with all our stakeholders - whether that's suppliers or customers - to bring about a more sustainable world". Jerry Greenfield

Every stakeholder group has strong thoughts and ideas about what's in the best interest of their group, as one would expect. Our concern is what's in the best interest of the whole organisation.

Building brand value should be a collaborative discipline owned internally by every employee as well as external stakeholders.

Brand architects are optimistic realists. We take a diverse number of stakeholders, extract needs, concerns, and dreams, then create a beautiful yet tangible solution that is loved by the users and the community at large.

Engaged stakeholders make the best brand advocates

Best of all, once your stakeholders are on-board, and understand why change is necessary and beneficial they will become huge advocates of change and drive it throughout the organisation whilst rallying others to the cause. 

Expecting resistance to your rebranding effort?

Sometimes it's easier to tread lightly and conduct a survey among key stakeholders to determine how they are feeling about the organisation and its brand first. This would include their thoughts on the strength and relevancy of its unique value proposition to audiences, how it weighs up against competitors and any concerns they have. Without being biased or leading, this will help stakeholders come to their own conclusions by getting them to think about issues that could be solved and creating more discussion around the need for change.

If discussion is kept to strategy it avoids the issue of individual attachments people may have to specific brand identity elements or change in general. And it opens the door for more customer research which could help fine-tune your brand positioning framework or strategy. 

Let’s talk

If you are considering a rebrand and think you might like to refine your strategy please get in touch on 01189 835 510. 

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