How To Conduct a Brand Audit

Use brand audits to ensure your messaging remains consistent and effective over time.

When you're involved with a business as an owner, leader, or decision-maker, you invest a lot of time, money, and emotional energy trying to make the business successful. In the process, you develop your own perception of the brand you worked so hard to help build, and this perception you develop as a stakeholder in the business may make it difficult to recognize areas for improvement. 

A brand audit is an opportunity to zoom out of your own view of the business as a stakeholder, see your brand as consumers see it, and how your brand compares to competitors in the same industry. Through this process, you can better understand the ways in which your brand is succeeding and how your branding can be improved to resonate with more consumers.

To give you a better idea of how other companies have done brand audits, we've consulted with other small-business leaders about their own brand audit process and tips they learned along the way.

What does it mean to audit your brand?

There's a big difference between your company and brand. Your business brand is more than just the products and services you offer: It's your story, values, logo design and colors, slogan, website, social media presence, email presence, content strategy, employees, and your company culture. 

When thinking about your brand, consider the following: 

• Internal branding, which includes company culture and onboarding employees so they understand your company's values and mission.

• External branding, which includes your backstory and customer-facing marketing materials, such as ads, website, email and social media campaigns, and content. 

• Customer experience, including quality of customer service interactions and rates of content engagement. 

According to Gartner^[1], looking at only one of these areas may result in blind spots for your business, and a more holistic approach would include looking at how these pieces, as well as representation of employees and leadership, all work together to define your brand.

For example, consumers aren't privy to your company culture and the onboarding process for new employees. However, if your onboarding process isn't properly training new employees on your company's values and mission, this disconnect may seep into external facing processes, such as marketing materials and customer service.

Disconnects such as these may not be obvious amidst the hustle and bustle of so many business processes running at once. A brand audit gives you the space to investigate these processes, how your customers relate to your brand, and how your brand occupies space, whether physical or digital.

A real-life brand audit example

Thomas Newman^[2], founder and CEO of VIVA Financial Tuition, an online education service designed to help aspiring accountants prepare for certification exams, noticed his company's messaging wasn't achieving the results he wanted. He and his team didn't know why this was happening, so they decided to conduct a brand audit. 

Over the course of three months, Newman and his team conducted surveys with both their current customers and potential consumers, organized focus groups by reaching out to students through newsletters and social media, and engaged in niche educational forums to learn how they could spice up their branding and messaging to appeal to their target audience of students preparing for accounting certification exams.

And these actions revealed insights that were both validating and surprising. 

"​​What stood out was that students craved 'learning companions' over plain 'study materials'," Newman said. "While we were aware of some areas needing improvement, the strong preference for a more engaging and supportive content format was something we hadn't fully anticipated."

In response to this finding, Newman and his team decided to shift their content marketing strategy to foster community, acting as students' companion and support system rather than a static warehouse of resources. 

The results spoke for themselves. "Our conversion rates went up by 23% post-rebranding, which was fantastic validation," he said. 

Newman's brand audit was successful, not only because the audit itself revealed a disconnect between the company's messaging and what the target audience actually wanted, but also because Newman and his team acted on these insights, making the changes necessary to make sure their brand stood out amongst competitors.

"Be ready to pivot and adapt based on the results."

Thomas Newman

founder and CEO of VIVA Financial Tuition

How to do a brand audit

The results of a brand audit can (and should) inform short- and long-term strategies to make your brand stand out among competitors and remain relevant for years to come. 

Here are seven steps of the brand audit process and how small-business leaders such as yourself approached them according to their unique industries and goals. 

1. Develop a brand audit framework around what you hope to achieve

Amber Dixon^[3] is CEO of Elderly Guides, an organization dedicated to providing resources for caregivers and senior citizens, and within the last year, she and her team decided to conduct a brand audit. 

"Our primary goal for the brand audit was to ensure consistency and effectiveness in our messaging and branding across all platforms," Dixon said. "We wanted to better serve our target audience and strengthen our brand's identity."

With this goal in mind, they developed a brand audit framework that focused on their external branding and guided the entire process. They started this part of the process by researching common practices and then customized the criteria to fit their specific goals. In this step, Dixon and her team: 

• outlined their goals and objectives;

• identified key aspects of their branding and messaging, such as logos, taglines, color schemes, and tone of voice;

• determined the platforms and materials they needed to assess, including their website, Facebook, print materials, and customer feedback. 

By first looking inward, Dixon and her team were able to develop a framework based on their own goal and conduct a comprehensive and targeted assessment.

"Set clear objectives for your brand audit, and involve your team members in the process to ensure a comprehensive and accurate assessment."

Amber Dixon

CEO of Elderly Guides

2. Gather web and social media analytics

Shawn Davies^[4] decided to conduct a brand audit of his online technology publication, Digital Connect Mag, to assess the effectiveness and consistency of his brand messaging across various channels. 

He focused most of his brand audit efforts in assessing the company's website and social media presence. In this process, he focused on metrics that helped him understand the overall engagement level of his audience, brand visibility, and how consumers interacted with his brand across a variety of different channels.

As a result, Davies gained important insights into his business. 

"What I found was that my brand was strong in terms of its mission and vision, but it needed improvement in terms of its positioning and marketing materials," Davies said. 

In this stage of the process, you begin to look outward, taking a pulse on how consumers interact with your brand online.

"I focused on metrics that directly related to my brand's key objectives, such as increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, and fostering customer engagement. By tracking these metrics over time, I could identify trends and make data-driven decisions to optimize my brand's online presence."

Shawn Davies

founder of Digital Connect Mag

3. Collect feedback and surveys from consumers and employees

Alastair Hazell^[5], founder of The Calculator Site, conducted a brand audit to better understand the brand’s positioning, understand user feedback, and refine the brand’s digital strategy. Hazell and his team started first by looking inward with an intense internal review, analyzing the brand’s unique selling proposition and mission and interviewing employees.

Next, they turned outward to collect feedback from the customers themselves, conducting surveys, gathering data, and, most importantly, listening to what customers had to say. They found that while internal branding was strong, external branding was falling short of the brand’s goals. This part of the auditing process, Hazell says, was like striking gold and offered valuable insights about how users saw the brand compared to how Hazell and his team saw it. 

"We realized that while our internal team clearly understood our core values, our audience wasn't quite getting it," Hazell said. "They appreciated us as a valuable educational tool, but they didn't quite connect us with the core values of accessibility and trust that we hold dear."

As a result, Hazell and his team were able to change their branding strategy to resonate with more users, who were looking for solutions, clarity, and guidance from the company's brand.

"Conducting a brand audit isn't exactly a breeze. It can feel like attempting to complete a 1,000-piece puzzle with only 900 pieces—challenging, puzzling, and sometimes downright frustrating. But the rewards make it worth the effort."

Alastair Hazell

founder of The Calculator Site

4. Evaluate external marketing materials 

Consumers see your brand through its marketing materials. This is why when Ryan Ratkowski^[6], founder of Cascade Interactive, a digital services company, did his brand audit, he and his team thoroughly examined their marketing tools. 

They looked at their logo, brochures, website, and social media presence, searching for inconsistencies in their brand voice, narrative, and messaging. They found that their website and social media messaging were sending mixed signals. 

Their website, for example, sent the message that they were the perfect digital marketing agency for larger companies, while their social media messaging was more inclusive of smaller businesses as well. 

"The mixed signals could be off-putting, making potential customers scratch their heads, wondering if we're the right match for them," Ratkowski said. "So, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work, focusing on unifying our message across the board."

First, Ratkowski and his team worked to fine-tune Cascade Interactive's brand guide, clearly defining its brand mission, vision, and target audience. Then, they updated their website, social media, and marketing materials to reflect the same brand voice and message. 

They gave the brand's logo a makeover, improved the user experience of the website, and updated the brand's tagline.

As a result, they've seen more engagement from their audience, noticed website visitors staying longer, received more inquiries about their services, and, Ratkowski says, most importantly, experienced more conversions than before the brand audit.

"Delving into a brand audit last year, I can assure you it's akin to spring cleaning for a business. It's about clearing the cobwebs and making room for innovative approaches."

Ryan Ratkowski

founder of Cascade Interactive

5. Conduct competitor research

David Ciccarelli^[7], founder and CEO of Voices.ai, an AI voice developer platform, needed clarity. His business was doing well, but Ciccarelli needed more insight into the platform’s brand positioning. 

He and his team identified goals, did an internal branding review, analyzed marketing materials, examined social media presence, and collected feedback from consumers. From these steps in the brand audit process, they gained insight into their own brand, but now it was time to look even further outward. 

"Understanding ourselves wasn't enough," Ciccarelli said. "We had to delve into our competitors' branding. We analyzed their marketing material and digital presence from a consumer's viewpoint."

By looking at competitors (i.e., businesses that offer similar services or products to yours), you can gain valuable insight into how your brand stacks up. For example, how do consumers interact with your competitors' social media content? If your competitors' content enjoys more shares and comments, why might this be the case? Perhaps they are approaching their social media strategy using different types of content or capitalizing on certain trends. 

This is also an opportunity to further develop your brand identity. What does your brand offer that other companies in the same space do not? Identify unique selling points and emphasize them in marketing materials moving forward.

"Don't view competition as adversaries. Instead, see them as a resource, offering an external perspective on your brand. Learn from them; their strategies might reveal insights that might have slipped through the cracks."

David Ciccarelli

founder and CEO of Voices.ai

6. Take action

Branson Knowles^[8], head of the U.S. digital banking segment at Top Mobile Banks, a site dedicated to digital banking, says he and his team saw their brand audit as a medical check-up, but for their brand. 

And the results surprised him, especially the gap between how they and consumers saw their brand. 

"Our perception of being a 'youthful, dynamic brand' was only partially accurate," Knowles said. "Our customer feedback showed that while they did see us as dynamic, the 'youthful' part was a little off the mark. We were seen as reliable and trustworthy—attributes typically associated with more mature brands."

This finding was unexpected and led to them making changes to their brand strategy, using different modes of communication, and stepping outside of what was expected. 

One of the ways they did this was to use storytelling to give their content added dimension and show how the brand’s products can be used in real life, rather than just presenting technical features and benefits of his company's digital banking products. 

For example, instead of just describing an auto-saving tool that helps customers save money for their long-term goals, Knowles says they designed a campaign featuring a young couple saving up for their dream home. The campaign reflected on the couple's journey, their dreams, the challenges of saving money, and how the auto-saving tool made the process of saving money easier. 

"This narrative-based communication not only highlighted our product feature but also created an emotional connection with our customers, showing them how our services could bring a real, positive impact on their lives," Knowles said. 

As a result of the brand audit, Knowles and his team were able to make changes necessary to make their business content resonate more deeply with their target audience.

"Embrace the process, accept the findings, and be ready to act on them. It's like navigating a ship—you need to constantly check your compass and adjust your course to reach your destination."

Branson Knowles

head of U.S. digital banking at Top Mobile Banks

Newman, Dixon, Davies, Hazell, Ratkowski, and Ciccarelli all approached their brand audit differently, but something they all have in common is that they took action and implemented change based on their findings and their original goal. 

Let's take a look at how each business leader took what they learned from their brand audit and turned their findings into actionable change.

7. Share results and conduct regular brand audits to remain agile

As you are going through the process, it's important to consistently add your findings to a brand audit report. 

This type of document can help you summarize your key findings, outline an action plan based on audit results, and inform future decisions. Having everything in one place will also make it easier to share with key stakeholders, such as company leadership, your marketing team, and other departments. 

Sharing the results of your brand audit are essential to make sure everyone is informed about the findings and pending changes and improvements. 

This can also help prove the return on investment (ROI) of your brand audit, paving the way for future audits, which are necessary for long-term success. 

Emily Onkey^[9], co-founder and chief marketing officer of Aplós, a non-alcoholic beverage company, stresses that brand audits are recurring.

"A brand audit is not a one-time event," she says. "These periodic assessments also help you identify where you can adapt to new cultural and market trends, as well as changing customer expectations."

By conducting brand audits on a regular basis, you can make sure your brand stays relevant to consumers, consistent with evolving values, and aligned with your business goals.

"As your business evolves and dynamics change in the marketplace, you'll require new tactics to stay competitive, and regular brand audits allow you to monitor and measure the effectiveness of your current strategies so you can create benchmarks for the future."

Emily Onkey

co-founder and chief marketing officer of Aplós

Consult with a branding service provider to get more out of your brand assessment

Thomas Newman and his team did the bulk of the brand audit process in-house, however, they decided to consult with a third-party brand audit professional for niche expertise on competitor analysis and assistance understanding market trends.

As a small-business owner, you and your team may simply not have the time to conduct a brand audit in-house, or may need targeted help with certain aspects of the brand audit process, like Newman and his team. 

In either case, consider outsourcing this task to a branding agency or service provider to take some or all of the auditing process off your plate.