Organizing For Brand-Building

Viewpoint by Mitch Duckler, Partner

Most senior-level marketing executives agree that building organizational capabilities is essential to achieving and maintaining profitable, brand-driven growth. But what specifically does this entail? There are essentially four distinct, yet interrelated components that comprise effective organizational capabilities development:

1. Visionary leadership and strategy. This requires a business and brand strategy that is not only well-formulated and articulated, but also widely-understood and interpreted throughout the organization.
2. Organizational design and culture. Ideally, an organizational structure (and the resulting environment and culture) should foster curiosity, an appropriate level of risk-taking, and performance accountability.
3. Skill-building and knowledge management.  This requires an ongoing effort around formal and informal training and knowledge-sharing.
4. Tools and processes.  This includes consistently-applied approaches, methodologies and templates which should be put in place to ensure all employees are able to succeed in their respective roles.

With these components in place, organizations are far better equipped to build and cultivate the strategic asset known as brand.