How to Audit Your Brand
Your brand is more than just a logo or color palette—it’s the entire experience your clients have with your business.
A brand audit can help you assess both your brand strategy and visual identity to make sure they’re aligned, cohesive, and working for your purpose-driven business. Auditing your brand is an important activity, something you should do every few years to make sure it’s aligned with your ideal clientele and vision for your brand.
But how do you go about it? Where do you start? What matters and what doesn’t?
Here’s a quick overview of our approach:
1. BRAND STRATEGY
Do you have a clear, purposeful strategy that clarifies why you exist, where your audience is, and how to stand out?
A. Brand Purpose
Can you clearly articulate what your brand stands for - and WHY you do what you do?
Your brand purpose is the first element of your brand’s foundation. Every decision you make for your brand should stem from - and relate back to - your purpose. When you think about what this is for you, you don’t need to over complicate it. Some people may have a very deep moving story for why they started their business, and others’ could be because of a funny anecdote. Whatever your purpose is, the truth will always resonate with your ideal client.
Pro Tip: If you’re struggling to identify your brand purpose, take a moment to journal about what led you to start your business and what life was like prior to your launch. Use our Brand Purpose Worksheet to get 15 thoughtful prompts that will help you clarify your raison d’être.)
B. Audience Fit
Do you have a crystal clear vision of your ideal client?
Is your messaging speaking to the right audience (e.g., their needs, values, and pain points)?
Are your offerings aligned with what your audience truly wants?
The key part of making sure you have the right audience is understanding who your ideal client is. This may be the most difficult part because it can be easy to use vague indicators. You might say your ideal client is, woman, married, age 28-45, and family oriented. While this is a good start, the best way to make sure you’re attracting the right audience is create an individual client persona. It’s best to get hyper specific about who you’re talking to because this allows your audience to resonate with different parts of your ideal client creating a pool of people who need exactly what you offer.
Once you understand exactly who you are talking to, you will easily be able to identify multiple different pain points. This then flows naturally into what you offer. In the process of creating your ideal client avatar, you may even realize you need to update your offerings - and that’s a good thing! Brand clarity should help you find more opportunities to serve your ideal clientele.
Pro Tip: Survey or talk to your clients regularly to make sure you’re in sync with their evolving needs.
C. Brand Positioning
How are you different from your competitors?
Can you identify your unique value proposition (UVP)?
No one will offer what you offer, the way you offer it. Sometimes you just need a little help articulating that difference. Brand positioning is what I like to call the “crux of branding.” It’s the way you clearly state how you stand out in the crowd. It can also be really hard to lean into what makes you different, so don’t be afraid to ask people who know you best to give you a hand. It could be the way you talk, your unique eye for aesthetics, or your specific life experiences! When thinking about your brand positioning, consider your unique value proposition - one statement that succinctly expresses your difference.
Pro Tip: Your brand’s “onlyness” (a term from Marty Neumeier) should be unmistakable—lean into what makes you distinct. How are you the “only” one in your market?
2. VISUAL IDENTITY
Now that you have a clear picture of your brand strategy, your visual identity should be in harmony with everything from your brand purpose to your brand positioning.
A. Color Palette
Are your visuals aligned with your brand’s strategy and values?
Is your color scheme aligned with the emotions you want to evoke, according to color psychology?
Do your colors feel cohesive across all platforms? Do they pass the digital accessibility guidelines?
Did you know your color palette can - and should - align with your brand purpose? Consider the emotions behind your purpose and what you want your ideal clientele to feel when they work with you. How do you want people to experience your offers? Are you creating an electric, vibrant experience for your customers? Or is it a more peaceful, calm dynamic? Turns out there is a very specific science for this called color psychology. That’s not to say you have to use these rules, but an understanding of them will help shape your visual identity. You also want to make sure that whatever color scheme you use on your website is cohesive across all platforms. People should be able to see your specific shades of green and blue (for example) and know that it’s your brand!
Pro Tip: Check the psychology behind your colors—are they saying what you want them to say?
B. Typography
Do your font choices align with your brand’s tone (e.g., serious, playful, modern)?
Are your fonts legible across print, web, and mobile?
Similar to color palettes, typography will also reflect the experience you want your clients to have. The style of lettering you use is another way to visually communicate the feeling you want people to have when they experience your brand. For example, a brand looking to portray luxury and elegance may opt for a serif typeface. Adding a handwritten script font as an accent can make your designs feel more personal. Whatever fonts you decide on, it’s most important that they are legible across print, web and mobile. You can’t tell your audience anything if they can’t read it.
Pro Tip: Stick to a few fonts to avoid overwhelming your audience and cluttering up your design.
C. Logo & Iconography
Does your logo style / symbol represent the essence of your brand? Is it versatile?
Are your photos and illustrations aligned with your brand’s story?
Are they consistent in style, tone, and quality across platforms?
Along the same lines as your colors of typefaces, your logo and other iconography should evoke a feeling. The style of the logo needs to belong with the overall visual identity, and be crisp, clear, and easy to read. The purpose of your logo is to be recognized and remembered so you should have a suite of logos that are versatile and can be used across a variety of media and platforms. Iconography and illustrations need to tie in to the overall aesthetic in terms of style, line weight, and degree of detail.
Pro Tip: Take it a step further and assign certain icons and illustrations to correspond with your offerings.
3. CONSISTENCY CHECK
A consistent brand has benefits beyond just looking nice and cohesive, it can actually significantly increase revenue, with reports showing that consistent brand presentation across platforms can boost revenue by up to 23% (Forbes). Are your brand strategy and visuals consistently applied across all touchpoints?
Is your brand strategy expressed throughout your imagery, messaging, and experience?
Do your visuals (logo, colors, typography, imagery) feel consistent across your digital presence?
Does your messaging sound the same on your website, social media, and print materials?
Is your customer experience consistent from start to finish (from first interaction to ongoing service)?
If you’re feeling like your brand isn’t working for you, we’re here to help. Let us do a thorough brand audit that will help you see the areas of opportunity for your brand - from strategy to visuals to messaging. We’ll have a quick 30-minute call to understand your goals and challenges and then assess your brand strategy, identity, messaging, website, and social media. You’ll receive a customized audit that includes your strengths, areas for improvement, and specific recommendations on how to create a purpose-driven brand.
