The Second Step in “The Process”
A few weeks ago I wrote about Gather, the first step in our process and the conversation that has to happen before anything else does. If you read that one, you already know I think most brand problems start with skipped conversations. If you didn’t, no worries. You can catch up after this one.
But here’s the thing about a good first conversation. It only matters if you actually do something with it.
That’s where Evaluate comes in. It’s step two and it’s the part where we take everything you told us and figure out what to actually do about it. After 15 years in this field, I can tell you the difference between a brand that holds up and one that falls apart usually comes down to whether the plan was built for the client or pulled off a shelf.
The difference between a brand that holds up and one that falls apart usually comes down to whether the plan was built for you or borrowed from someone else.
What I Mean When I Say “Evaluate”
After the first conversation, we don’t immediately start pricing apparel or designing signage. We sit with what you told us.
We look at where your brand is right now. We look at where you said you want it to go. We look at what’s worked, what hasn’t, what you’re proud of and what you’re embarrassed about. We look at the timeline you mentioned, the budget you have in mind, and the audiences you need to reach. Then we figure out what kind of project this actually is.
Sometimes it turns out you don’t need what you thought you needed. Sometimes you need more than you thought. Sometimes the thing you came in asking for is fine but there’s something underneath it that has to be addressed first. Our job in this step is to be honest about all of that.
Why Experience Is the Whole Game
A plan is only as good as the person making it. And there is no shortcut for having seen this stuff before.
Between our team, we’ve handled brand creation from scratch for businesses that didn’t have a logo yet. We’ve done full rebrands for companies who outgrew their identity. We’ve done brand enhancements where the foundation was solid but the execution needed work. And we’ve done long term brand maintenance for organizations who need someone to keep them consistent across dozens of locations and teams.
Each of those situations calls for a completely different plan. You don’t approach a startup the same way you approach a healthcare system. You don’t approach a rebrand the same way you approach a refresh. The reason we can make the right call is that someone on our team has almost certainly done something like it before.
You don’t approach a startup the same way you approach a healthcare system. We can make the right call because someone on our team has almost certainly seen something like it before.
What This Actually Looks Like
I’ll give you a real example, scrubbed for privacy. A client came to us wanting new uniforms for their team. Pretty straightforward on paper. In the Gather conversation we learned they had recently been acquired, were partway through a rebrand, and weren’t actually sure which version of their logo was the current one anymore.
If we had just priced the uniforms and moved the order along, we would have produced something they would have hated in six months. Instead, in the Evaluate step, we made the call to slow down. We helped them lock in their current brand standards first, then designed a uniform program that worked with where they were headed, not where they had been. The uniforms came a few weeks later than they originally planned. But they still look right today.
That kind of call only happens when someone on the other side of the table has seen enough projects to know when speed will cost you more than it saves.
The Plan Should Fit You, Not Us
Here’s something I think a lot of vendors get wrong. They have a system, and they run every client through that system regardless of fit. The system works for them. It doesn’t always work for you.
We try to do it the other way around. The Evaluate step exists so we can build a plan that fits your business, your timeline, your team, and your goals. Sometimes that means a multi phase rollout over the course of a year. Sometimes it means a single deliverable that has to be perfect by next Tuesday. And sometimes it means telling you that what you’re describing isn’t really in our wheelhouse and pointing you somewhere better. Yes, that happens. I would rather you trust us than tolerate us.
The plan should come out of what you need, not what’s easiest for us to deliver.
It Doesn’t Matter Where You’re Starting From
I said this last time but it’s worth saying again because it shows up at every step of our process. The Evaluate step looks the same whether you’re a five person business or a fifty thousand person organization. The questions we have to answer are the same. What’s the right scope here? What’s the right sequence? What’s going to hold up six months from now, not just look good on the day we hand it over?
I’ve watched our team build plans for global pharmaceutical accounts and for local non profits in the same week. The level of care is identical. The plans look different because the businesses are different. That’s the whole point.
If You Have Something You’re Trying to Figure Out
Most clients come to us with a vague sense that something has to happen and a slightly less vague sense of what it might be. That’s a totally fine place to start. The Evaluate step is built for exactly that.
Tell us what you’re working with. We’ll help you figure out what the plan should actually be. And if we don’t think we’re the right fit, we’ll tell you that too.
Reach out at superiorbrandsolutions.com. I’d love to hear what you’re working on.
Allison Collins is the Director of Global Accounts at Superior Brand Solutions, where she has spent 15 years helping businesses of all sizes build brand programs that actually hold up in the real world. She specializes in working with large, complex organizations that need their brand to show up consistently across many locations, teams, and touchpoints. My favorite part of the job is being a small part of everyone’s business.
