How it works
Workshop
Great brands are authentic. Brands like WeWork have shown us how far you can fall when your ‘values’ aren’t a true reflection of who you are. That’s why I start with an all-hands workshop so everyone in the business has a chance to feed into the strategy. It’s designed to ensure that everyone – introvert and extrovert, junior or senior – gets their voice heard. And it’s fun. It’s really, honestly a great way to spend two-three hours. It brings the business together and means whatever you end up with, it’ll be a true reflection of who you all are.
2. Interviews
It makes sense to get a deeper dive with a few key people before you go into strategy mode. I conduct 45-60 minute interviews with relevant stakeholders, customers, cold leads, investors – whoever you think would be useful to hear from. It’s a chance to get that 360 view and make sure you start any process with a clear, unbiased understanding of your positioning and reputation.
3. Synthesis
Then we bring it all together. Inevitably themes will emerge. There’ll be things you won’t want to hear, some things that’ll make you smile or surprise you. Other things you’ll have known all along. This is when we figure out which direction(s) we want to pursue. Even if you stop here, you’ll have a report that gives you an idea of your internal and external reputation, what makes you great, where your challenges and opportunities are and probably a few quotes you’ll want to mount on the wall.
4. Strategy
Most businesses already know what they’re about but are struggling to articulate or translate their story. The aim of the strategy phase is to distil that story down to its simplest, most compelling form. It needs to be something that inspires you, that everyone can say when they’re hungover, surprised or only have thirty seconds to explain what they do and why. Sometimes we turn your strategy into brand guidelines, sometimes we don’t. You get to choose the format that works for you.
5a. External
There will be lots of things that need fixing when it comes to how you communicate what you do to the outside world. There’ll be plenty of ways you’re shooting yourself in the foot by saying one thing and showing the other. It’s fine. Whether your visual brand needs a refresh or it’s just a bunch of clarified key messages, this is where we make sure you’ve got the right tools/assets/logo to make good on your strategy. I’m not a designer, so for this phase I’ll work with your internal teams or designers I trust.
5b. Internal
We also look under the hood to make sure your business makes sense internally too. Things like which KPIs you care about, how you structure your team, even your perk policies all need to align to your strategy. A wellness brand can’t incentivise people to work when they’re sick, a company that’s all about loyalty might not want to outsource their customer service. It sounds obvious, but often decisions are made without an eye on the big picture. This is your chance to join the dots.