Courtney and I love to share information about marketing and the best practices to make sure that your website can actually sell things to your customers.
We know the information that we share because we’ve been in the marketing field for a long time and we spend a lot of our time researching and watching the changes that are happening in the world of digital marketing – that’s what we do.
We also use that knowledge to provide our clients with excellent organic marketing and conversion optimization services. One of those services is a Comprehensive Brand Audit.
We are asked about what that means when we talk about it – so I’m here to answer some of the questions we’ve received about getting an audit for your brand, staring with the most basic:
What is a Brand Audit?
“Brand audit” can mean a lot of different things, depending on the main focus of the person/company performing the audit.
When we talk about what it means to have a brand audit for your business, our main focus is on the larger, holistic picture of your entire brand. This includes everything from your social media to your website to how your engagement compares to your competitors.
That’s because, to us, a “brand” is an amalgamation of your messaging, imagery, social media presence, email initiatives, and the ease of use on your website.
To someone else, a brand audit could mean they just make sure your logos are in the right place. Or just find out whether you’re receiving similar engagement as your competitors.
In all cases, a brand audit is a deeper look at your brand and how it’s functioning. A good one will give you actionable items to improve along with things you’re doing well. If you’re considering paying for a brand audit, make sure that you ask what that means and what it entails for your brand.
More Brand Audit FAQS
How Important is it?
In a nutshell, having your brand audited is very important.
Why? Because how your audience and your customers experience your online brand, matters. A lot. As in, this is the most important thing in brand building.
If you’re not communicating with your customer the way that you should, you need to know that sooner rather than later so that you can fix it!
OR what if your conversion rate is lower than it could be because of a simple fix and you don’t know, how much money are you losing while you’re not fixing this issue? (a lot).
Can I do an audit myself?
In some cases, yes. But for the vast majority of people, auditing your own business is going to be very, very difficult.
This is simply because you know about how your business works and (hopefully) you’re already the expert on whatever it is you’re selling. Your website already functions the way that works best in your mind.
All of those factors make it easy for you to understand everything in your brand’s sphere, but it doesn’t necessarily help your potential customers to figure out your brand.
At what stage of brand building do I need an audit?
We love this question! We don’t suggest getting an audit before you’re ready.
In the beginning stages of brand building, shit can go haywire. Every decision feels pretty big, and the slightest change to a product or service can change the whole cast of characters you’re talking to. That’s not the best time to have a brand audit because you’ll need one every time something changes.
We advise getting a comprehensive brand audit once you’re in a position that you’re communicating regularly, your product/service/niche/industry have shaken out, and you’re working towards finding balance in your brand rather than defining it.
An audit doesn’t help you if you’re still trying to figure out what you sell and who you sell to. You want all of that solidified so that your brand audit can answer, “am I selling my stuff to the right people, the right way.”
The Dandelion Comprehensive Brand Audit
Think you’re ready for your brand audit?
Ready to level up your organic traffic and your conversion? BOOM. Now is the time to chat with us about having a Comprehensive Brand Audit done.
How do we structure the audit and what do we look at?
Why, thanks for asking!
We start by sending over just a couple of questions like, “who do you think your ideal customer is?” and, “what’s the biggest struggle you’re having digitally with your brand right now?”
Then we figure out who you’re actually talking to, who your competitors are, and whether your branding makes sense for your industry.
Then it gets nitty gritty. We start digging deep into your website and all of your messaging there. We start to get a feel for the best way to position your brand, and identify what you’re doing really well, what could be improve, and what needs to change asap.
That means we’re reading your website and diving into your pillar content with a careful eye. We look through all of your social media, and we sign up for your email list. We look at the type of imagery you use, and actually walk through the process of contacting you and making a purchase so that we can see what it’s like for the people acting as customers.
At the end, we identify ways that you can make improvements for your fans and customers in a multi-page report that includes all of our notes and observations – PLUS a checklist of high priority items!
Our reports can mean the difference between making money and shuttering the doors for the brands we work with.
How long does a Comprehensive Brand Audit take?
This depends on the size of your brand right now, but usually it takes both of us an entire working day of collaboration and hands on work.
We stop everything else we have going on for what amounts to an entire day to focus all of our attention on you before we ever even build your report – which typically takes another couple of hours.
The turnaround time for a brand to receive their full audit is typically 7-10 days.
How much does it cost?
A comprehensive brand audit from Dandelion Branding costs around $2500.
We spoke with several large and small companies offering a service that they called a “brand audit” and what we discovered is that the definition for this and thus the price for it, ranges everywhere from $100 to $5000.
Because we work with small businesses, we wanted to offer the $5000 value at the lowest possible price that still made sense for the time it takes. We landed at the $1200 figure purely by looking realistically at the time and attention we give to a single brand here, and then removing all the fluffy stuff.
If you want to talk to us about a brand audit, send us an email or click here to schedule a call.
