In a branding endeavour, research is important.
At Cocoonfxmedia, we enjoy talking business since we have both a business skill set and a design thinking attitude. The first step is to gain a thorough grasp of the organization. What are the mission and vision statements for the company? What are their objectives, target markets, and organizational culture? Conduct a SWOT and STEEPLE analysis to determine environmental threats.
Internal politics and agendas can obstruct branding efforts. Hiring external organisations like ours allows us to gain a clear understanding of the business. Assuring that all solutions and initiatives are aligned with the company's objectives.
Brand research information
We would gather information on the organization prior to any face-to-face workshops or interviews. This will vary based on the company's size, but it usually includes the following:
Mission Statement
A mission statement identifies a company's line of business, as well as why it exists and what purpose it serves. Every business should have a clear statement of purpose that enthuses employees about the work they do and encourages them to join the team. A mission statement, which is usually a few sentences long, should also outline the company's corporate strategy.
Statement
A vision statement outlines what a corporation hopes to accomplish in the long run, usually five to ten years, but occasionally even longer. It displays a future vision for the organisation and establishes a clear path for the planning and implementation of corporate-level goals.
Values Statement
It's a message that expresses the company's, organization's, or team's values and priorities. This communicates to your clients and employees what is vital to your company and what kind of culture it has. A value statement's true power is that it can be utilised both inside and outside. It serves as a guideline for operations as well as a means of marketing to your target market.
Mapping Stakeholders
The visual process of laying out all of the stakeholders of a product, project, or idea on one map is known as stakeholder mapping. A stakeholder map's key benefit is that it provides a visual depiction of all the people who can influence your project and how they are related. People frequently mix up stakeholders with shareholders.
Business Plans
A business plan is a document that outlines a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. A business plan lays out a marketing, financial, and operational road map for the company. Business plans are used by both startups and established businesses.
Marketing Plans
It's all about determining where you are now, analysing where you want to go, and mapping out a path to get there. It serves as the foundation for all marketing efforts and, ultimately, the company's long-term objective. A marketing plan, if you've been schooled by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), can be a rather extensive document.
Existing Research
You never know where inspiration will strike, so don't dismiss previous reports just because someone is attempting to start from scratch. Previous studies may indicate why things haven't succeeded in the past.
Press Releases
We can gain a sense of how an organisation presents itself by looking at these. We'll list any prospective news stories about the organisation that we didn't have any influence over, as well as the impact these stories had if any.
Online Footprint
Analyze your data to establish a baseline for where you are now. This page can provide you with useful demographic information about your target audience. What devices they utilise, their age, gender, and the most popular content are all factors to consider. What keywords are people using to locate your site, and what keywords are you not utilising? A website can assist us in comprehending what it's like from the standpoint of the audience. Is it easy to navigate, and can we simply understand what the product is?
It's time to let things simmer.
After we've gathered all of this data, we'll need to take a step back and let it all sink in. Collect all of the diagrams and numbers and post them on the wall. Make a series of brainstorming diagrams and let the connections emerge. Everything else revolves around the vision and mission statements (along with the audience). We can go on to face-to-face discussions once we have a better understanding of the organisation and where it fits into the greater context.