How To Analyze What’s Happening On Your Brand

As a senior brand leader, I have to confess a frustration when I knew the details better than my Brand Manager.  And it’s not just that senior leaders micro manage, it’s really that they can just analyze situations faster.  They taught themselves the fundamentals of analysis. And they know when a Brand Manager hasn’t done the deep dive thinking.  Opinions are great.  Every brand leader should have one and be able to articulate their views.  But it’s best when you can layer it in fact.  One good rule for communicating your opinion is something I learned in my first year Logic class:  Premise, Premise, Conclusion.  Try it out, next time you’re engaged in debate.  Just make sure the premise is backed by fact.

 

How to go Deeper

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The best way go deep on your analysis, ask “so what does that mean” at least five times and watch the information gets richer and deeper.

Looking at the Gray’s Cookie example above, intuitively, it makes sense that going after Health Food Stores could be one option put on the table.  But to say you need to be better, without digging in remains an unsubstantiated opinion.   As you dig deeper, you see that going after Health Food stores, who are highly independent is labor intensive and the payback is just not there.  Yes, you’re way under-developed.  But it’s more expensive than other options.  When you bring the option of going after mass into the mix, which is head office driven, you start to see a higher return on the investment.  This is just a fictional example, but look how the thinking gets richer at each stage.  Force yourself to keep asking “so what does this mean” or “why” pushing the analysis harder and harder.

 

Analytical Tools:  SWOT, PEST, FORCE FIELD

A good analytical tool helps to separate out attributes on the brand that may contribute positively or negatively, are happening vs could happen.

A SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.  I have found it used best for a new launch where strengths are untapped assets the brand can unleash and weaknesses are things that must be over come.  Always force yourself with strengths and weaknesses to look at it through the lens of impacting revenue.  So instead of “boring name”, you’d change that to “name unknown, and lacks inspiration to drive a price premium”.  Always connect your analysis to the P&L.

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PEST stands for Political, Environmental, Social and Technological and is best used when the brand is in a highly sensitive market or one that is filled with conflicts, controversies or at the leading edge of market trends.  This can be added to either of the other two or stand on its own.

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A Force Field analysis is best served for those brands in a sustaining position where marketing plays the role of driving innovation and creativity within a box.  Always keep in mind that Drivers and Inhibitors are happening now.  You can see the impact in the current year.   Anything in the future gets moved down to Opportunities and Threats which are not happening but could happen.  Invariably, people mix this up and things that could happen move up when they really shouldn’t.

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The best thing about the force field is you can easily take it into an action plan, because you want to keep the drivers going and overcome the inhibitors Then take advantage of the opportunities and minimize or eliminate any serious threats.  It’s a great simple management tool.

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To read more about Brand Analysis, i’d encourage you read: How to Go Deeper on Analysis

The Tools Help Frame Your Thinking but Never Replace it.

photo credit: Elvert Barnes via photopin cc