The Three Perspectives that will Change your Brand Strategy
How to Get More and Better Insights
Most CEOs, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit leaders treat brand strategy like a solo project. They sit down, think about what makes their company unique, and craft messaging that resonates with them. But what if you're missing the most important perspectives that could help your brand truly stand out?
The reality is that building a successful brand requires more than just internal brainstorming. In today's crowded marketplace, where AI-generated content makes everyone sound similar and customers can spot inauthentic claims from miles away, you need genuine insights from the people who matter most: your employees, customers, and partners.
This approach isn't just a nice-to-have. Research from the science of creativity demonstrates that diverse teams consistently generate better ideas, process information more thoroughly, and outperform homogeneous groups in tackling complex problems. When you apply this principle to brand strategy, the results become the game-changer you need to grow and scale.
The Number One Brand Strategy Mistake
In my 30-year career working with businesses of all sizes, I've seen the same mistake repeated countless times: companies going it alone with their brand strategy. Whether it's a marketing team launching a rebrand without input from sales or operations, or a business owner delivering a new brand to their team without involving customers and employees in the process, the outcome is the same. A brand strategy that fails to take hold.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
The good news? Including diverse perspectives in your brand strategy isn't just more effective, it is also more engaging and fun.
Why Your Employees Are Your Brand's Secret Weapon
They Know What Customers Really Think
Your customer-facing employees hear things you never will. When a frustrated customer calls support, they don't hold back the way they might in a formal survey. Your sales team knows exactly which objections come up repeatedly and which competitors’ prospects mention most often. Your project managers understand the real reasons clients choose to work with you again.
This frontline intelligence is gold for brand strategy, but it often never reaches decision-makers.
They Make Your Brand Real Every Day
Here's a hard truth: your brand strategy can be brilliant on paper, but if your team isn't committed, it will fall short in practice. Every interaction your employees have with customers is a brand moment. If your brand promises to be proactive but your team only responds when customers reach out first, you've created a disconnect that erodes trust.
Consider what happens when a customer calls with a question about your brand, and the person answering doesn't understand or believe in your positioning. You've lost an opportunity to strengthen that relationship and possibly earn a customer’s loyalty.
Getting Your Team Involved
Action Steps: Ask your team, “What’s one thing you can do in your role to show what our brand is about?” Their answers may guide where your strategy goes next.’”
Pro Tip: Create regular opportunities for employees to share customer feedback and observations. This process doesn't require fancy systems, but may be as simple as a monthly team meeting where people share what they're hearing from customers, which can offer valuable insights.
Your Customers Hold the Key to Real Differentiation
The Problem with Inside-Out Thinking
Most business owners know too much about their products and services, but only from their own perspective. You understand every feature, every technical specification, every advantage over competitors. But your customers don't buy features; they buy solutions to their problems.
In developing a brand strategy, customer input becomes essential for differentiation. Asking your customers what sets you apart is essential to truly understanding the problems you solve for them.
The Jobs to Be Done Framework
One powerful approach to understanding customer motivation is the "Jobs to Be Done" (JTBD) framework. Instead of focusing on demographics or product features, this method emphasizes understanding why customers choose your product or service.
For example, a customer doesn't buy accounting software—they hire it to reduce the stress of tax season and free up time to focus on growing their business. Understanding the problem you solve and the deeper motivation of your customer opens up new ways to position your brand and communicate your value.
Getting Customer Perspectives
Hearing directly from your customers is a powerful and memorable experience for leaders and employees alike, and it always makes the brand strategy more on target. Having a facilitator trained in Voice of Customer interviews reduces the discomfort some owners feel when asking for feedback or hearing customer praise.
Another effective way to gather customer insights is through one-on-one Voice of Customer interviews. These conversations reveal not just what customers think about your business, but the exact language they use to describe their challenges and your solutions. This language becomes invaluable for creating marketing messages that truly resonate.
Pro Tip: Go beyond current customers. Include prospects who match your ideal customer profile and even former customers who can offer honest feedback about why they left.
Partners Provide the Market-Wide View
An Outside Perspective on What Sets You Apart
Your partners and vendors work with multiple businesses in your industry or related fields. This role provides them with a unique perspective on what you do well compared to others. While you might focus on product features as your main differentiator, a partner may recognize that your real strength is your exceptional customer service or your team's ability to solve problems quickly.
Insights into Future Trends
Strategic partners and key vendors often have their finger on the pulse of market trends and emerging opportunities. Including them in brand strategy discussions can give early insights into where your industry is headed and how your brand can remain relevant.
Market Intelligence
Partners can also offer competitive intelligence that is difficult to gather on your own. They observe how other companies in your space operate, helping you to identify your strengths and potential opportunities.
The Real Payoff
Building a brand strategy alone might seem quicker and easier, but it rarely leads to lasting results. By considering the perspectives of employees, customers, and partners, you develop a brand grounded in reality, embraced by your team, and truly differentiated in the marketplace.
“None of us is as smart as all of us.”
The process takes more time upfront, but the reward is significant. A strong brand strategy that really works, team members excited to put it into action, and customers who see authentic value in what you offer. Your brand strategy shouldn't be an inside job. The best insights are waiting just outside your office door. You just need to ask for them.
Ready to Get Started?
Begin by choosing a small internal team and a few customers to include in your brand discovery process. When you’re ready to explore this together, feel free to schedule a discovery call with me. I’m happy to help you get the most out of these valuable conversations. Start Now.
Resources:
Christensen, C. (2016). Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice. Harper Business.
Hong, L., & Page, S. E. (2004). PNAS: Diverse problem solvers can outperform high-ability solvers on complex tasks. PNAS