Creating A Master Brand: The 3-Step Checklist Every Business Owner Needs

It's a new year and you have big things planned for your business. We know running a business is a lot of work. That’s no secret. But layering on an expansion into multiple locations creates an entirely new set of challenges, including operations, finances, staffing and maybe even inventory. And, on top of that, there’s marketing. Perhaps there’s a name change happening, or you might be entering a new market. These things add up quickly, right?

Now, here’s a question for you. How do you make sure your brand’s foundation is solid enough to cascade throughout all your locations? Simple: time, intentional thought, and a solid master brand strategy that serves as an umbrella under which everything else resides.

So , where do you start? Take a look at our simple 3 step checklist created specifically for business owners looking to do exactly that.

The Checklist Every Business Owner Needs To Create A Master Brand For Their Business

Our agency has extensive experience helping businesses not only build their brands from scratch, but also grow their existing brands. We help ensure consistency and cohesion throughout every aspect of the company to solidify your position in the market.

The number of moving parts that go into this process can seem overwhelming. To help, we consolidated our thoughts into this handy checklist to help make it easier to get started.

Do Your Homework

Before beginning the task of creating a master brand to utilize across multiple locations, you’ll need a deep and comprehensive understanding of your brand itself. This means research, research, and more research.

We’re talking a full immersion into the current state of consumer and key stakeholder perceptions, current marketing endeavors, product/service offerings and more.

Here are some guiding questions you can ask to help:

How do consumers currently discover our brand?
How would they describe our products/services to a friend?
When someone thinks of our brand, what comes to mind?
If someone had to describe our brand in three words, what would those be?
How do perceptions of our brand vary based on geographic location?
What type of marketing is currently being used?
Are there multiple names/logos/colors being utilized?
What is the core message of the brand? Is this consistent with language across each business?

Taking the time to thoroughly answer these questions will help you know and understand if your brand is in alignment with who your consumers are. Which, in turn, will help you figure out where best to reach them and what message should be delivered.

A man and a woman are looking at a tablet in a restaurant.

Develop & Distribute Your Brand Identity

This doesn’t mean starting from scratch, but you should revisit what your brand identity looks like and how it aligns with your purpose, messaging, products/services and everything in between. Does this mean there could be a need to have a logo redesigned? Possibly. It depends on where you’re starting from, but the key is consistency and alignment with the identity of the business.

A man in an apron is leaning against the counter of a restaurant.

We recommend a complete standardization of all logos and signage. As an example, we’ve created master logos for several of our clients which allow space for the addition of location names where needed. This creates a cohesive look and feel, no matter where you are in the brand’s region. This format is not only key to locations being uniform, but also helps support your master brand.

Throughout Step 1, you may discover inconsistencies in how your brand is being represented. When we do these exercises with our clients, we often discover different colors, logos and designs on flyers, brochures, etc. Plus, there are often multiple people writing their own (sometimes off-brand) messaging on items being sent out to consumers.

Remember, the goal is a consistent tone, voice and look for the master brand.

So, this presents an opportunity to introduce brand templates and guidelines, which will arm your employees with the tools they need to successfully represent your brand. In our experience, employees welcome these tools with open arms! It helps them be more efficient in their work, and that’s a win for everybody involved.

Review...Again and Again

So, now you’ve done the tough part. Once your brand has a solid foundation, a great identity, and all your employees are speaking the same language, you simply need to create intentional check-ins to make sure things continue to run smoothly.

It’s an ongoing process, but one that will ensure success. And, if you’re only operating a single location right now, save this checklist. You’ll appreciate it if you ever decide to make an acquisition or expand into new locations.

In the meantime, we’re here to help answer any questions that could pop up, and we’d love to be a resource for you. Helping businesses find solutions is our business. So, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to meet you.