I know, it’s the season of Galas, Awards, Year-End Reviews, and Christmas Parties… but I’m writing about what inspires me from my daily work…

After last week’s filming at INOVEO, I reconnected with our recent clients and those from 15 years ago. And it’s just the beginning…

One of the hot topics I discussed with one of them was brand evaluation. Measuring a brand’s reputation is a comprehensive process and involves using various methods, often combined, to achieve a thorough assessment.

There are different approaches and methods, and the selection depends on the specific objectives of the evaluation. In the context of business evaluation, including for sale purposes, the following methods can be used to measure a brand’s reputation:

1. Qualitative Market Study: Through individual interviews and focus groups to gather feedback from customers and evaluate their perceptions of the brand: recognition, trust, or associations with certain values.

2. Social Media Monitoring: Analyzing expressed conversations, the tone of these conversations, customer engagement, and, eventually, the evolution of perception.

3. Media Analysis: Monitoring media coverage, press appearances (print and TV). Here, the tone of articles, the extent of media coverage, and the overall content are tracked to evaluate the impact on reputation.

4. Online Metrics: Website traffic, online conversions, and online feedback can provide data about consumer behavior and the level of engagement with the brand.

5. Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures the likelihood that the customer base will recommend the brand to others.

6. Mix of Financial Analyses: Auditors typically combine these to produce the cleanest report possible: cost-based method, market-based method, and income-based method. This report usually carries the most weight in the eyes of the involved parties because it is quantitative, not qualitative. Evaluating the brand’s financial performance provides a perspective on its impact within the business. Financial indicators like sales, profitability, and margins reflect and influence the brand’s reputation.

7. Benchmarking: Comparing the brand’s performance with that of competitors within the industry.

Hence, the importance of branding, which is not a one-time project.
It’s not a design project.
It’s not just a logo.
It begins when the entrepreneur starts paying close attention to the brand (through re/branding: brand DNA, brand architecture, brand identity, touchpoints, customer journey) and continues from then on. The entire life of the brand. All brand activations are based on values, not just creativity… All efforts must be aligned for the coherence of the 4-5-10 Ps or however many are in use now: product, price, placement, people, promotion, physical evidence.

PS. And entrepreneurs attentive to the above will reap Awards @Galas.