Brand identities remain timeless. But organizations keep on turning a blind eye to their importance. They shouldn’t.

One word bounces around a lot in boardroom meetings, interactions with buyers and vendors, and internal communications.

Brand.

The reverence the word holds is immense. And why wouldn’t it be? Brands are giving people a sense of belonging, appeasing our tribal nature in all the right ways.

That’s why every great leader speaks of their brand with reverence, love, and care. They have to! Because that’s what people are buying for— they are buying from the brand. The saturated marketing is full of similar products, and the only thing standing between the buyer and the vendor is the perception.

The brand image, so to speak of. And brand images are formed only through an identity deeply rooted in the organizational mission.

As time passes and our computing powers evolve to create content with autonomy, this brand identity will become crucial to survive. Without it, companies will find themselves adrift, competition racing ahead of them.

But what can organizations do about it?

There are many options, and the short one, the tl;dr, is to embrace your process, your mission.

That is your identity.

Your brand.

However, for those who want the long answer. There are two vital ones that we’ve been able to find.

Before diving into the meaty parts of the discussion— let’s reintroduce the concept.

The identity of a brand is what it does.

What is brand identity?

Generally, brand identity is the visual and contextual cues your brand represents. However, brand identity is not limited to such a definition— this is just one side of it. Brand identity, as a more inclusive definition, should mean:

1. The unique activities a brand performs are its identity
2. The experience they deliver to their users
3. The mission they embody
4. How well they embody that mission
5. The impact of the actions of the user
6. Perception of the user

Many think that brand image and brand identity are two distinct concepts; they are not. The perception of the audience— is brand image, which is an intrinsic part of the identity.

Brands are never disconnected from what they do.

Average brands fail at this.

There is a reason so many organizations lose face value with their customers— they lack this authenticity. They show something they are not, and their buyers quickly grasp this fact.

Their identity isn’t forged in their mission. Fortunately, the modern buyer is more aware than ever. And they are actively looking for markers that foster trust. Their brand interactions, especially during consideration, are done with a fine pick comb.

Any sign of distrust will thrust brands to the bottom of the barrel.

First in, last out.

Brand identity is forged in the heart of the organization.

The question is, what can you do about it? A lot of organizations usually peddle inauthenticity— they simply cannot walk their talk because, well, they aren’t doing what they are saying.

It’s disingenuous. However, brands with strong identities may fail, and an inauthentic brand may not. That is the truth.

Yet, brands that drive revenue through inauthentic means begin failing sooner or later. And if the buyers decide enough is enough, the business will run dry. That’s why so many organizations pivot. They have lost the battle with the buyer and need to save face.

Time and again, brands with a powerful identity and reputation manage to survive even the harshest of critics— it’s because they align with their goal and deliver on it, even if sometimes the process might be messy.

The question is: Can you replicate it?

Possibly not. The answer to this is easy. Every brand has to discover itself through an arduous and creative process.

While no one can walk your hand through crafting your brand identity, there are frameworks you can use. Here’s one:

1. Why was the organization founded, and what is the vision driving it?
2. What roles do your employees play in your organization?
3. What do you do to make sure the vision is realized?
4. Deeply understand what you’re offering the buyer.
5. Why are you offering it?
6. What’s your opinion on the industry you’re serving— essentially, what are the holes you have noticed?
7. What are you doing to fill these gaps?
8. How are you doing it?

Reflection of such kind will help you gain clarity. As Ciente has echoed many times, strategy is about performing unique activities. And these unique activities are the ones that give identity and meaning to your brand.

It gives a non-living thing the properties of personality and charm.

The two answers and the importance of brand identity.

There is a lot of data that answers why brand identities are so vital. But there are two pieces of literature that we must draw our attention to.

The first is HubSpot’s 2024 Sales Trends Report, and the other is Barry Schwartz’s Paradox of Choice.

While they may seem disconnected, they discuss consumption and the role of choice in these habits. The report outlines what B2B marketers have known for a while— 96% of B2B prospects do their own research before speaking to SDRs.

They advise that organizations form a consultant-consultee relationship with their prospects by educating and delighting their buyers. Essentially, brands will have to add value to buyers’ lives.

But will they trust any brand?

No. And that’s why brand identities are important.

They will trust the brand they feel familiar with and the one that has made them feel heard. Without this identity, organizations won’t be able to gain buyer mindshare.

HubSpot suggests adding more choice in the mix, giving power to the buyer— letting them self-buy and serve. However, a severe problem arises here: 60% of software buyers experience regret.

Why is that? It’s the paradox of choice— faced with many choices, people experience fatigue and enter analysis paralysis. And to escape from the discomfort, make choices that might not be aligned with the overall goal.

The paradox of choice outlines that facing an overwhelming number of options can lead to decision paralysis, increased effort, and dissatisfaction.

It’s a logical fallacy.

And here, in this messy fallacy, lies the ability of brands to survive by crafting an identity that helps buyers break away from this paralysis.

So, what can brands do here?

Their identity, the core, must speak to their intended buyer. But you may think that it might limit your impact. Not at all.

When you speak to one group of people or speak their language, you start creating value that is timeless. And people favor such timeless wisdom— they enjoy knowledge that helps them tackle multiple scenarios at once.

The importance of brand identity isn’t limited to knowledge. It’s also about reducing choice by giving people a sense of belonging and security.

In the always-on world, brand identity is a survival metric.

If you provide multiple options to the buyer, their fatigue will guide them towards a brand they know. However, some brands don’t get it.

They do everything yet forget to form an actual personality. Dull and uninspired messaging will not work. Look at AI and its replication quality and speed— nothing can match it.

But AI systems will not replace personality, charm, and voice— things that require originality.

Understand that your brand identity stands between you and the loss of your business. Explore Salestech.

It’s the driver of economic certainty.

Building robust brand reputation takes time. And even a miniscule mistake could prove costly. How can brands proactively manage this?.

The modern buyer is self-aware. With digital resources and channels at the doorstep, they can leverage research, instigating a shift in their buying patterns. It has led to heightened demand and dynamic expectations.

And what happens when these expectations are not met? Criticism, scrutiny, and endless social debate.

In this digital-first era where social media is at the forefront of every public opinion – shared and discussed, brands take consumer opinions quite seriously. This prolonged noise seems unmanageable, especially when customers often want businesses to respond to their pain points straightaway.

And digital transformations have accentuated these concerns.

From social proofs to online reviews, consumer opinions deeply impact a company’s market positioning. Tech innovations have also put them under a microscope. Now, it’s easy to detect, augment, and scrutinize any error – when they deter from an ethical pathway the audience has already framed.

These could range from tiny slip-ups to data breaches to poor consumer reviews. Any divergence significantly affects their brand reputation, leading to a loss of market share and their status. The brand should be a priority – the value it entails and the relationships forged.

With digital innovations accessible in a blink, businesses are rethinking and regrouping. With modern challenges in tow, they are developing unique solutions and strategies to address and counter them. If tech can work against them, it can also benefit them.

Because market value isn’t merely about the numbers, most of it is dependent on brand equity and other immeasurable metrics. These incite holes in form of weaknesses across the brand, making them susceptible to reputational damages, which may directly impact sales and customers.

What Should Remain the Priority: Risk Mitigation or Crisis Management?

“Too often, we’re tempted to address the symptoms of a problem rather than the root causes or conditions,” asserts the Managing Director of Achievers Workforce Institute.

In line with how companies can mitigate reputational risks, the Forbes Council voices a similar opinion. They agree that brands should frame a proactive approach to safeguard their reputation instead of waiting for the problems to fester.

Precaution before cure has been a motto that has worked effectively in every road of life. It similarly applies to the business landscape.

This is where risk management and crisis management differ from each other. Addressing brand reputation risks is crucial before any sort of crisis management. It requires a reactive approach.

Why?

When a brand has a positive reputation, the perception is that they’re providing more value to their audiences. These organizations entail loyal customers who access a broad range of services from them or apply for premium. It proves how tangled customer experience and brand reputation are with each other.

Is Brand Reputation All About the External Image?

Here, we highlight another facet of this discussion – brand reputation is relative and subjective.

For example, an expert opinion of a business might differ from the audience’s.

However, at the end of the road, there are similar goals – invite trustworthy partnerships, successfully launch products into the market, and safeguard against competitors.

But doesn’t understanding reputational risk involve defining “brand reputation” beforehand? Brand reputation focuses on the value – of what people perceive externally to build an internal (trusted) relationship with the business.

An old article by HBR implies that reputation is all about perception. But to what extent is it true? Generally understood as a socially constructed notion, the magnitude of the hit isn’t driven by a speculative allegation but depends on its credibility. A brand reputation might take years to construe, but a tiny hiccup or obstacle to disrupt – it encompasses the value expression.

A business can capitalize on this – attracting investors and boosting clients amidst other factors interlinked to its growth and success.

In a research paper titled – “Corporate Reputation: Being Good and Looking Good” (2019), the author questions – is reputation about having a positive image or doing good (ethically)? The modern challenge identifies a cross-connection between both these aspects. It’s the same angle that the HBR article provides on reputational risks – identification of the gap between the perceived image and the reality.

This could introduce a wide rupture in the public perception and the actual standing of the business.

The consequences?

Negative marketing could lead to a dip in sales and challenges in customer retention, damaging the overall reputation. This is why business leaders should draw on creating value through strategic reputation risk management.

How to Effectively Implement Reputation Crisis Management Strategies?

Reputation management evaluates how the market perceives a business and then seeks to execute strategies that ensure a positive image. For a long-term and noticeable effect, reputation management should be integrated and adapted to align with the business-wide processes. Here, stakeholders’ perspective goes a long way.

Building back a positive and streamlined reputation – whether an internal or external overview – requires management insight. This ensures that the beliefs and long-term requisites align with stakeholder expectations.

Moreover, a proper reputation management strategy should be followed by significant performance indicators, illustrating which factors affect a brand’s reputation. Only then can an organization continue to build a roadmap.

However, this isn’t all. Reputation management is a consistent process that requires dedication. For robust reputation crisis management planning, the following take the front wheel:

1. A thought-out code of conduct

What if a stakeholder, an employee, or a partner instigates a reputational crisis? What is the primary approach to managing such a crisis? To handle conflicts, an organization has to be aware of the model behavior – the conduct and ethics everyone who’s part of the organization should follow.

In 2019, following the #MeToo movement, organizations decided to hold CEOs accountable, ramping up ethical standards at the C-level. This was on the basis of professional and personal conduct and led to over 120 CEOs resigning and 580 of them stepping down.

When specific stakeholders are directly tied to a brand’s identity, this could hit the brand’s reputation and create a crisis in their market perception.

However, a well-planned and meticulous code of conduct helps establish what is and isn’t acceptable in a professional setting. And when these rules are not followed appropriately, corrective measures should be placed.

When well-designed code of conduct highlights core values and purpose – it’s much easier to map a smooth pathway in handling a crisis. The organization then entails an offensive solution when a stakeholder or employee gives root to a crisis such as the one mentioned above.

The brand’s code of conduct holds them accountable and establishes their awareness regarding how one should behave. It also includes evaluating employee sentiments along specific ethical indicators such as accountability, trust, and decision-making. It has to be an inclusive process where the attributes resonate with diverse stakeholder groups.

Thus, to influence the ideal behavior in the organization, these standard codes have to be woven within the organization’s culture and mission. This way, it extends across departments and hierarchies.

2. The philosophy behind the brand’s vision and mission

It’s true that a brand doesn’t receive a bad reputation overnight. There are specific mistakes leading to such a displacement in brand positioning and loss of market trust.

Here, the primary thought is questioning where the business stands and what the values it stands for. If there are any hiccups between what the audience expects and brand values, rebranding could be a potential next step.

If a business loses its direction toward engaging its audience, it could be time to reassess its mission statements and values. It is specifically fruitful in aligning with where the company hopes to be and its overall strategic framework.

The current channels and partner websites on which your brand is present should reflect the edited messages, descriptions, trademarks, guidelines, and logos.

3. Periodic audits

Periodic audits investigate what the market is saying across variable platforms – social media, review websites, user reviews, and Google searches, amongst others.

These require extensive research, offering a different perspective on where your team is lacking in its crisis management strategies. The point is – people are already talking, so you need to know where.

The in-depth research will help assess the extent of damage done – what exactly happened, the subsequent backlash, and how it affected the company. It’s important to continue tracking the scenario – whether the backlash is increasing, moderate, or decreasing.

Doing so will highlight the areas of the crises which require primary attention.

4. The following steps are monitoring, reacting, and improving the reputation.

Once you’ve mapped the conversation around the brand, it’s time to take some measures. What if the reviews and comments are negative or moderate? The next step is to think over strategies to improve them.

You have to turn the tide. But how?

Study the market trends and customer experiences. Both these factors are revealed through the conducted audits. Create a consistent management strategy around this:

1. Who will oversee/monitor the implementation and evaluation of these strategies?

A brand reputation manager or a new group of employees? Building a team leveraging employees who indulge in customer-facing activities could contribute toward effective communication.

They’re already talking to customers, so they are aware of the tone and messaging they should use.

However, businesses must acknowledge that those on top are sometimes the only ones with the resources to preside over reputation crisis management. The communication isn’t merely with the customers but also with the stakeholders who decide whether a risk should be managed or avoided.

Additionally, there should be a brand reputation manager, i.e., the point of contact, who will help bridge the gap with the decision-makers and improve coordination.

2. Do the reviews or comments deserve responses?

Legitimate and genuine feedback, whether positive or negative, that transcends trolling should be responded to. Arguing with trolls online may backfire and damage the reputation further. However, addressing real concerns and providing them with solutions could improve the derailing opinions.

It could additionally prove that, as a business, you care about the well-being and time of your clients.

3. Establish readiness, even for favorable audits

Even if the audit reports demonstrate consistency in maintaining a positive brand reputation, a business should be ever-ready. Crisis could easily be deviated by undertaking efficient precautions.

Because once it occurs, there should be a previously thought-out plan on handling it.

Planning for emergencies will also help develop the ideal response.

Execution of brand crisis management requires a reactive and all-inclusive approach.

The rupture between the reality of a brand and its reputation should materialize into a positive public perception instead of deteriorating. Media in the age of information overload plays a modular role in shaping the market’s perception.

This is why there should always be a communication and a trust-building strategy set in stone. Companies also undertake PR managers to build robust plans to manage media images.

But image and reputation aren’t the same. Reputation is built on a long-term collective opinion, once destroyed, takes decades to reinstate.

This is why a reactive approach to crisis management is the key – an actionable route to assuring audiences of the guidelines the brand values.

Modulating the strategies according to the source of the crisis can be a vital step in reputation crisis management. If it was due to data breaches, execute new cyber policies; if it was due to employee/stakeholder misconduct, develop a standard model for the ideal behavior.

And, there is one aspect threading them all into ball of yarn – strong communication. Technology has increased the stakes for everyone involved. When someone has a negative experience, the news travels faster across social platforms. This works reversibly as well – in case of a positive brand reputation.

Customer journey orchestration is about building genuine connections with prospects and customers. Why is a customer-centric approach crucial in today’s omnichannel environment?

Customers interact with brands through various touchpoints, both online and offline, in today’s omnichannel market environment. Throughout their journey, customers engage with multiple departments, such as marketing, sales, support, and operations. Workflows and technology that are compartmentalized usually make this connection difficult. For marketers, this complicates the process of mapping the customer journey. Consumers anticipate frictionless interactions across all platforms and channels, and they will rapidly become irritated and choose to do business with someone else if the journey is chaotic. And that’s when customer journey orchestration becomes useful.

Delivering a standardized and customized customer experience across all touchpoints and channels is known as customer journey orchestration. Businesses can use it to increase revenue, enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction, and streamline processes. In this article, we will explore what customer journey optimization entails and why it matters.

What is Customer Journey Orchestration?

Marketers use Customer Journey Orchestration, a unifying and customer-centric solution, to connect and coordinate every interaction with a customer across any or all channels over their lifetime journey. Put differently, marketers use data resources to precisely forecast customers’ next course of action. They guarantee that a consumer’s connection with a business is always pertinent and customized for that specific customer.

A customer’s experience with a brand is the main focus of a customer journey orchestration strategy and toolset, not the consumer’s path to purchase. This emphasizes boosting a client’s lifetime value and guaranteeing a satisfying experience, starting with the initial point of contact with the consumer and continuing through post-sale and support.

Customer journey orchestration is revolutionary when it comes to improving the customer experience and fostering smooth interactions.

Why Should Marketers Focus on Customer Journey Orchestration?

1. Empowered clients

Companies can offer highly customized real-time consumer communications and interactions. With the most up-to-date information and communication available, clients’ demands are satisfied at every turn. This lays the groundwork for solid, enduring partnerships by showing clients the appropriate consideration and care.

2. Relevant data

You may gain valuable insights that can aid your learning and development by combining customer experiences from various channels and touchpoints to get a comprehensive picture of the customer journey. For instance, you might be able to spot any disconnects between touchpoints or pinpoint areas of friction that need to be addressed.

3. Enhanced team efficiency

When customer journey orchestration isn’t in place, different departments work independently towards their goals using their own resources and data. These interconnected internal processes significantly influence customers purchasing decisions. Businesses that use customer journey orchestration systems may be able to facilitate information sharing and teamwork among teams to improve customer service. With this kind of access, employees who work directly with customers may help them more quickly and efficiently, building trust, loyalty, and connections in the process.

4. Higher revenue and better performance

Customer journey orchestration enables companies to provide convenient service, prompt responses, and amiable and informed customer support conversations. Customer experience plays a significant role in customers’ purchase decisions, and better CX results in higher sales. However, a poor customer experience can be expensive, and after just one negative experience, consumers may stop doing business even with the company they love.

Wrapping Up

Customer journey orchestration is essential to providing a seamless and customized client experience. Businesses may better understand and serve their clients’ demands at every point of their journey by leveraging data and automation, which can boost client happiness, loyalty, and income. It does, however, call for collaboration, observation, and ongoing optimization, depending on client input. To improve the customer journey, assist consumers in achieving their objectives, and maximize brand success, customer-centric brands are increasingly selecting journey-based strategies, like customer journey orchestration. Making the switch to customer journey orchestration from traditional customization can provide you with a competitive advantage and increase your revenue.