This is the last article in our 5 part series on Dimalanta’s vision for branding and marketing. We explored what it means to make marketing plans when we let go of perfection and, instead, step into psychology. We revisited, redefined and rediscovered the big MVVP. We created strategy pyramids to successfully determine goals and objectives. We discovered new ways of thinking about marketing budgets. Now, we’re going to combine all of this knowledge and reveal ways to measure how it’s going through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
First, ask the question, what does success look like in the various facets of our business? What is success going to look like on social media? What does success look like in terms of revenue? What does success look like for team culture? How will we measure whether or not our entire marketing plan is built for success? The answers to these questions are called, Key Performance Indicators. As you collect your answers, glance over your MVVP statements and assess whether or not your ideal answers align with them. After you complete this assessment, find some tools that will help you evaluate your success.
Here are some that we love!
Our team is just beginning to use Brene Brown’s Braving Inventory tool as a KPI for team culture. Brown explains how the tool works in her book, Dare to Lead. “Each person fills out the BRAVING Inventory independently, then meets one-on-one to discuss where experiences align and where they differ. It’s a relational process that, when practiced well and within a safe container, transforms relationships.”
The BRAVING Inventory:
Boundaries: You respect boundaries, and when you’re not clear about what’s okay and not okay, you ask. You’re willing to say no.
Reliability: You do what you say you’ll do. At work, this means staying aware of your competencies and limitations.
Accountability: You own your mistakes, apologize, and make amends.
Vault: You don’t share information or experiences that are not yours to share.
Integrity: You choose courage over comfort. You choose what is right over what is fun, fast, and easy. And you choose to practice your values.
Non Judgment: I can ask for what I need, and you can ask for what you need.
Generosity: You extend the most generous interpretation possible to the intentions, words, and actions of others.
(Brown, Brene. Dare to Lead: brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts. New York, Random House, 2018.)
If your team can answer these questions honestly and discuss them together, your team culture is very healthy! Maybe you want to come up with your own inventory that is more suitable for your culture. The point is create one and use it to measure how everyone is performing in ways that matter. This work will cause a positive ripple effect on every other facet of your business.
Another one of the key performance indicators to gauge how your business is thriving is to carry out a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is a tool to help businesses hone in on key factors that affect the success of their strategy. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors like your team, intellectual property, and marketing strategy. Opportunities and threats are about external factors, like market fluctuations, competition, price of materials, and consumer trends. Set a clear goal when diving into a SWOT analysis. In this case, we recommend the goal: to discover where we are thriving and where we need growth. A SWOT analysis helps unlock your business’s potential and utilize your business’s strengths to cultivate opportunities.
We suggest using these questions from Miro to begin your SWOT:
- List your organization’s Strengths: what do users like best about your product or process? What do you do better than competitors? What unique advantages does your organization have?
- Find your company’s Weaknesses: what problems or complaints do you hear most from customers? What do you see as your biggest current obstacles? What advantages do your competitors have that your company does not yet have?
- Next, list Opportunities you can potentially pursue: how can you improve your customer service? What messaging resonates most with your users? Are there resources or tools you could further leverage to your advantage?
- Threats can be wide ranging: specific or emerging competitors, high staff turnover, or market volatility, for instance.
As you do this work, remember, if you are reading this article right now, you’re on the right track. In Dare to Lead, Brown writes, “There’s a saying from the Asaro tribe in Papua New Guinea that I love: ‘Knowledge is only rumor until it lives in the bones.’” Work your KPI’s until they live in your bones and your business is guaranteed to reach success!
For more information on SWOT analysis visit the link below:
