The natural state for brands, if left alone, is one of decline. As competitors deliver better performance, or the same performance for less cost, consumers’ needs change, cultures evolve and existing users grow older, brands can quickly lose their relevance.

Unless a brand offers values that their audience can relate to and engage with, a brand has no real substance and cannot move beyond reference – which is no basis to build loyalty.

5 key outputs that are essential to building your business / organisation in 2023 and beyond.

1. Clarity

Great brands start from within. Organisations need to develop internal clarity, not only about what the brand stands for — its values, positioning, and proposition — but also about its target audiences and what drives them.

Understanding what drives target audiences allows brands to more efficiently focus their efforts on appealing to them.

Employees — particularly younger ones — want to work for organisations that are building toward the future with a clear purpose.

2. Relevance

A business / organisation cannot gain support if it does not communicate effectively with its audience and how much its services / products are needed. At the same time communicating to potential customers its relevance.

3. Differentiation

You need to drive customer experience in order to grow. Even if your services / products are relevant, it’s a distinct experience that convinces audiences to choose to support you.

Without the right information, the audience cannot make an informed choice.

The organisations that clearly communicate their distinct stories are the ones that stand out - and break through.

4. Presence

In the social media led audience-centric ‘Age of You’, brands need to be everywhere its audiences are.

It used to be that being present in traditional media would be enough. But by investing in traditional media alone, emerging brands will miss out on crucial audiences.

5. Engagement

Digital media is essential for your brand. By maintaining a digital presence, brands and their marketers can react in real time to events and engage in direct conversations with their desired audiences.

Engaging audiences is not about one-way conversations — today’s consumers don’t want to be talked at, they want brands to see them eye to eye and to be able to communicate their needs.

Holding two-way conversations is how emerging and successful organisations of the future will build a loyal customer base and drive up margins.