What five questions should I ask about the brand before January?

The brand is not reviewed with a long exercise. Five questions, answered honestly and in writing, say much more than a lengthy document. They can be done in an afternoon, alone or with whoever works with you, and what comes out of them serves as a starting point for next year.

Question 1: who is our customer, and what do they want?

Describe the customer you most like serving: what kind of person or company, with what need, at what moment they come to you. Not "everybody". If the answer is vague, or different depending on who answers, there is work here. To write the sentence, read how to write a value proposition in one sentence.

Question 2: what do we promise, and can we deliver?

Write the promise the company makes: on the website, in proposals, in conversation. Then, beside it, write what actually happens. If the promise is "we reply the same day" and the reality is two days, you have two ways out: change the promise or change what you do. The brand lives from the difference between what is said and what is done.

Question 3: why do they choose us?

Do not answer from memory: ask five customers. Why did they choose us? What made them stay? What would they tell a friend? The answers tend to surprise, and they say the true difference of the company, in the words of those who live it.

Question 4: how do we sound?

Read aloud three recent texts from the company (an email, a post, a proposal). Do they sound like the same person? A person you would like to have as a counterpart? If there is a lot of variation, or if it sounds like template text, it is time to define the tone. See how to define the tone of voice.

Question 5: where are we mismatched?

Gather ten materials and look at what varies: colours, typefaces, names of services, how the customer is addressed. See what signs show the brand is misaligned. Each difference is a rule waiting to be written.

How to use the answers

1. Write the five answers on one page, in short sentences.
2. Mark in red what is vague, contradictory or depends on who answers.
3. Choose one red point to deal with in the first quarter. Only one.
4. Show the page to someone who does not know the company and see what they understand.
5. Keep it to repeat in a year.

If the answers show a bigger problem

Sometimes the five questions reveal that the issue is not consistency but direction: the customer changed, the offer changed, or the market changed. If so, read how to know if your brand needs repositioning. In Brand Strategy, the five questions are the start of the conversation, and the answers guide the rest.

The five answers on one page

Open a sheet and write the five questions, leaving space between them. Answer each in two or three sentences, without consulting anything. Then ask a customer and someone on the team the same thing (the first, third and fourth work well). Compare the answers with yours. Where they match, the brand is clear; where they differ, the work is. Write at the end one sentence with the only thing you will deal with in January, and the date you will review it. Keep the sheet: it is the starting point for next year.

In short

• Five questions: customer, promise, reason for choosing, tone and mismatches.
• Answer in writing and compare with the views of customers and the team.
• Choose a single point to deal with in the first quarter.
• If the answers reveal a problem of direction, look at repositioning.

Quick questions

How long does it take?

An afternoon, if you ask customers by phone or message during the previous week.

What if the team's answers are very different?

That is the most useful result: it shows where the brand is not yet clear. Write one sentence for everyone to use.

Should I repeat these questions?

Once a year, in the same period, and when the company changes services or audience.