Why your Organisation needs a strong Brand-Culture Connection
Introducing the Brand Culture Strategy Series…
Strong Brand-Culture alignment is crucial for building organisational trust and business growth… yet so many leaders struggle with this – or have yet to make the connection!
In this series on Brand Culture Strategy, we break down the basics over 3 articles:
- Why your Organisation needs a strong Brand-Culture Connection
- How to assess your current Brand-Culture Connection strengths and gaps
- Guidelines to building a better Brand-Culture Connection at your organisation
#1: Why your Organisation needs a strong Brand-Culture Connection
At NWC, we focus our work with organisations on how their people connect with and communicate the company brand, and how they align the culture to that brand, to build trust and value across stakeholder groups.
Why does an aligned Brand and Culture matter for your organisation?
No matter what the business or the challenge… success hinges on building TRUST – internally and externally.
Build TRUST internally
Team members who feel connected to a clear and important message about ‘who we are’ and ‘what we stand for’ (your culture) are more engaged at work, produce better results, and are more likely to speak positively about the organisation to their networks, attracting more of the right future employees.
Build TRUST externally
Team members who have the language to talk about the business (your brand) will more confidently ‘sell’ your products and services to existing and future clients or customers. They will make a better impression with all your stakeholders and audiences, strengthening those relationships.
Connecting Culture and Brand: Your Strategic Foundation & Today’s Marketplace
When you combine these two core aspects of your business – Culture and Brand – you provide clarity of communication on ‘who’, ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ – a powerful foundation from which to develop your Organisational Strategy, your Leadership and People Development Programs, your Marketing and Communications Plan… and everything else in the business. Clear, aligned messaging that is meaningful to everyone helps everyone to move in the same direction, while contributing in unique and authentic ways.
To build trust, organisations today need to be responsive to the changing expectations of their stakeholders, including their people, their consumers and their wider audiences. People want to engage with businesses that stand for something – your ability to first clearly communicate what you stand for, and then build structures that enable you to live up to those promises, is what builds and maintains trust in today’s marketplace.
“People want to engage with businesses that stand for something – your ability to first clearly communicate what you stand for, and then build structures that enable you to live up to those promises, is what builds and maintains trust in today’s marketplace.”
When you give your team members the opportunity to engage with and create clear language about your organisation’s brand and culture, and to make it authentically their own, you inspire and empower them to become stronger advocates for the organisation – increasing trust, increasing visibility and ultimately… increasing growth.
Next week: Article 2 in the Brand Culture Strategy Series will help you start to assess the strength of the Brand-Culture Connection at your organisation.
