In the book What Great Brands Do, Denise Lee Yohn identifies seven brand-building principles employed by successful companies — practices that, as Yohn describes, “separate the best from the rest.” The first principle concentrates on setting (or resetting) a strong corporate culture.
It’s not just about crafting a mission and vision statement with commonly-used words like “trust” and “integrity” and displaying it in the hallway of the executive team. It’s a deeper brand DNA that can be more clearly identified or understood through a few research exercises.
After your discovery process has been fully vetted and validated, the bottom line is to define or refine your corporate brand positioning. What is the brand promise from the customer’s point of view? This will need to manifest with all audiences — employees, investors, channel partners and customers alike — and serve as an internal rallying cry.
Ultimately all successful brands own, breathe and celebrate their brand culture day in, day out.