After an exhausting year, many teams and businesses need a fresh start. This could include refreshing goals, messaging or work environment. Here are a few tips to help refresh your brand or your workplace to help promote positive energy and momentum:
- Reflect on your positioning
After a year like 2020, your brand may have strayed from its original positioning. Now is the perfect time for a gut check to make sure your branding components are still on point. Here are a few areas to review:
- Brand promise – Often your tagline, it’s the message that you’re sending to your customer that tells them what to expect from your brand.
- Tone of voice – How does your brand present itself to others? If your brand were a person what type of personality would it have? Maybe funny, casual, professional or innovative?
- Mission statement – Concisely describes your vision for the company.
- Brand pillars – There should be two or three of these and they are your brand’s core values.
- Target audience – You’ll likely have two or three target markets as well. If you haven’t tried to create personas for your target audience yet, give it a shot!
- Creative assets – Make sure your brand colors, imagery and other assets match your other branding. If your messaging doesn’t like up with your visuals, it can be jarring for your customer.
If you can confirm these are all still accurate, great! If not, it may be time to change your trajectory or change your overall branding.
- Set achievable goals
Many businesses had lofty goals for 2020, which promptly got put on hold. This year, we know (mostly) what’s around the bend. We’ll likely be status quo with the pandemic for at least the first quarter of the year, with restrictions gradually lifting throughout 2021. Instead of setting goals for a normal year and setting yourself up for failure, set challenging, but achievable goals for a year in the midst of a global pandemic. It’s okay to reassess goals and set reasonable benchmarks. - Invest in employees
Keeping up employee morale is already hard enough, but this past year has been even tougher. If there were ever a year to invest in your employees, it’s 2021. Consider all facets of your workplace including technology solutions for remote work, employee education and advancement, company culture, and employee safety as they prepare to return to the office full time or with a hybrid schedule. Figure out what you need and then invest in these areas.
A fresh start
The new year is a perfect time to reflect on your brand and plan for a refresh if needed. Think about your brand messaging, business goals and workplace environment. By reviewing these three areas and adjusting where needed, you’ll have a strong 2021 even with the pandemic in the mix.