BRAND and CULTURE

A business's culture is sometimes short-changed but it is vitally important for any company's success.
Culture increases productivity and is certainly a factor in retaining employees and reducing turnover. It also improves customer satisfaction.

But, culture isn't enough by itself - it must be integrated and interfaced with the company's Brand.
A mutual and re-enforcing relationship must be established between what your business does on the inside (Culture) and how it is perceived on the outside (Brand).

The Culture must:
- express your brand's purpose and value
- develop employee mindsets and behavior that enable them to deliver on-brand experiences
- get everyone on the same page regarding the company's unique challenges and opportunities.

Your goal is to integrate the Culture and the Brand so together they give the company sustainable power. To do this you must:

- Adopt a Single Brand Purpose: to inspire, focus, and guide what the business does, what the Brand stands for. This defines the purpose of why the business exists.

- Articulate One Set of Core Values: that permeates inside and outside the organization. One set of core values that describes the way you do things, both as an company and brand.  You must engage your employees and customers with the same set of values.

- Assess the Existing Alignment and Integration: of the Culture and Brand of the business. What values should be embraced by the business to achieve the desired Brand - fusing internal Culture and external Brand is essential.

Culture and Brand go hand-in-hand, they must be developed together and used in tandem for both to be successful.

Jim Lavorato