A culture is the DNA of the organization. While a brand is a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a company.
“Culture” has been a buzzword in the corporate world for several years, and we see many organizations move towards cultural transformation without understanding the importance of aligning their culture to their brand to succeed. But brand and culture need to align. If a brand exists without a culture that supports it, it will not prosper and if a culture exists without a brand, it will fail to meet the purpose and values of the organization.
A culture is the DNA of the organization. While a brand is a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a company. Brand and culture are two sides of the same coin because a brand is much more than a name or logo. A brand is about creating a story that customers want to be part of and motionally connected to.
Moreover, for your brand to shine, it is important to keep in mind that your people are the main assets for this to happen. They are ultimately your brand. In the end they are the ones who will embody the brand identity and they are the ones who will represent the values and mission of the organization to customers.
And to do this people must be aligned with the core values of the organization to help live up to the purpose of the company. They will represent the brand by becoming a real part of the brand identity. And that is what makes for an effective culture. Moving forward, looking at most organizations they are usually profit oriented which means they lose the meaning of having a great brand culture and focus on gaining profits. Yes, profit is important, but that should not be the only focus. For example, we see many organizations competing on price, which makes them stand on the commodity level. Meanwhile other companies that focus on building a great brand story with an aligned culture enriched with strong values that are built on powerful and meaningful purposes – these organizations stand out from solely profit-oriented organizations.
A great brand and a strong aligned culture are vital to create a powerful engine of competitive advantage and growth. A strong and differentiated company culture contributes to a strong, differentiated brand. And an extraordinary brand can support and advance an extraordinary culture. And that is why brand and culture are two sides of the same coin.
A Gartner study states that alignment between an organization’s workforce and its brand culture can lead to up to 9% better performance against revenue goals, improve employee performance by up to 22%, and lead to up to 16% better reputation outcomes for the company. This study leads us to delve deeper into the importance of aligning brand and culture:
- When brand and culture are aligned, operational efficiency, accuracy and quality are improved. Increase competitiveness in talent and customer loyalty with an intangible asset that cannot be replicated hence, bringing your organization closer to that vision.
- When company culture is aligned with brand identity, people are more likely to make decisions and take actions that deliver on the brand promise. If you want to build a great brand, you must cultivate a strong brand led culture inside your organization.
- For your brand to survive and thrive in today’s business environment, you need a culture that allows your people to see themselves as part of the brand promise your company is trying to market. People are essential to building a great brand. Thinking and acting independently within the company allows us to project our own identity and image to the outside world.
A person cannot live without food and water, the same principle applies to culture and brand. As Doug Conant says, “To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace”. If a company does not nourish themselves internally, they would lose their image externally.