Know who you are to know where you’re going

Ambiguity is the enemy of identity.

When companies decide how to position themselves in the marketplace, one thing becomes clear: Standing for everything means standing for nothing.

Every company, every brand, every cause is going somewhere. Whether you are driving your brand or being taken for a ride rests in your ability to develop a clear identity. 

It’s not easy. 

It will require important choices to be made for your organization to determine who you are as a company, what your public persona is and what type of work your organization will undertake.

Maintaining a clear identity is a continual job because the world changes

Authenticity is key.

Having a clear identity is critical in today’s digital world because you are meeting the audience in their space and you need to understand what that audience wants to hear. When you can clearly communicate who you are, what differentiates you from others and why you’re the best choice for that audience, you’ll have their attention. 

Have your answers upfront. 

In the advocacy and public relations world, there is a daily temptation to take on every piece of work that comes along. Who doesn’t want the revenue? But the question should not be “Could we?” The question you must ask is “Should we?”

Companies and brands that have done the difficult work and made the hard choices to establish an organizational identity will find it quite easy to ask and answer that question.

Prioritize goals, not jobs.

Organizational clarity is a unifier that streamlines operations. When all team members and leadership are confident in their company’s identity, it’s easy to shed a traditional hierarchical management structure because everyone is driving in one direction with purpose to one common goal. 

Maintaining a clear identity is a continual job because the world changes — certainly, as we’ve seen with the COVID-19 pandemic — and it’s easy to steer off course. Regular company maintenance checkups on your relevancy in regard to cultural, economic and societal changes, and the measured feedback you get from your audience will keep clarity in your identity and confidence in your audience.