Finding the Break in the Chain: Assessing Your Organization’s Brand
By Carlo M. Cuesta

When an organization takes on the task of guiding its brand, it is saying: "We care enough about our work to ensure that our participants and supporters understand what we stand for and that the broader community recognizes the unique value we create."  A well-guided brand fuels your participation-building efforts, creates a valuable context for why someone should support your cause, and deepens the level of engagement of your board and staff.

Organizations that do a good job of directing their brand successfully link their mission with participant and supporter perception. As illustrated below, it is between these two points that the organization makes a promise on what it will deliver to achieve its mission and values. It is through the work of the staff and the board that the actual results of implementing the promise impacts participant and supporter perception. We call this the Nonprofit Brand Chain™.

When assessing communication efforts it is important to not just focus on your immediate results, but also on how intrinsic messages are being created due to breaks in your brand chain and how they are shaping participant and supporter perception. Top-notch marketing materials or a compelling annual solicitation letter can miss the mark when your organization's results do not deliver on what was originally promised. Therefore, it is essential to understand where an organization's breaks are.

Here a few common breaks, and some suggestions for how to strengthen each link in your Brand Chain:

Values

This break in the chain occurs between Mission and Promise. In this situation, staff and board may have a clear understanding of what they are delivering to participants, yet deliver it inconsistently, leading to confusion at the level of perception. Values state how an organization intends to behave. It is important to make these values known and understood by your board and staff to ensure that each action and communication is delivered with the intent of how you want the organization to be perceived in the broader community.

Strategies to Strengthen this Link:

Create a Values Statement. Carefully examine the programs and services that your organization delivers, and identify board and staff behaviors that create the best results for your participants. Codify this behavior by writing it down.

Learn and Understand the Values. At board and staff retreats, share specific experiences that best illustrate your organization's values.

Set Expectations for Behavior. Demonstrate the values in your everyday interactions. Take advantage of every opportunity to remind participants and supporters about your organization's values. Be mindful of the values at each level of the organization's operations.

Promise

At Creation in Common, we have found that the most common break in the Brand Chain is between Promise and Action. Without a defined Promise, it is impossible to communicate a consistent organizational message for participants and supporters. Promises state what you will either deliver or achieve over a specified timeframe. In general, participants are more interested in what you promise to deliver to them, whereas supporters (including the community at large) are more interested in what you promise to achieve. Here is an example of each:

            "Deliver" example: "We promise to provide exceptional, personalized care."
-- Hospital

            "Achieve" example:  "We will put a man on the moon by the end of the decade."
-- NASA

A Promise ultimately sets the context for the relationship that you will have with your participants and supporters. In making a Promise, you are creating an expectation for the actions you will take and the outcomes you will create.

 Strategies to Strengthen this Link:

Identify the Organizational Promise. This requires a thorough assessment of the organization's capabilities and an articulation of desired outcomes. Effective organizational Promises:  a) take action – they activate the organization's Mission and Values;  b) are compelling to participants and supporters because they strive to meet current and future needs; and c) can be delivered or achieved by the organization.

Once you have identified the Promise, present it to your participants and supporters at every opportunity.

Action

This break occurs between Action and Results. This kind of break in the Brand Chain rarely happens on purpose. More likely it is when external forces or an overestimation of the organization's capabilities keep you from delivering on the Promise.  By paying attention to this link in the chain, you can avoid negative perceptions from participant and supporters about the organization's work.

Strategies to Strengthen this Link:

Create a Context for the Promise. If your Promise is compelling, it may take a few years before you can effectively deliver or achieve it. Based on what you can realistically deliver, identify the different stages (or milestones) throughout the organization's journey to make good on the Promise. Frame the Promise for participants and supporters in terms of the organization's current stage, and let them know what is to come to build their expectations of the future. This will ensure that the Results you are creating are aligned with the Promise.

Be Honest about the Organization's Capabilities. As you reach the different stages of your journey, you may need to reframe the Promise. If the Promise is completely out of reach, you will either need to focus on improving your capabilities or make a new Promise.

Make External Factors Known. If something out of your control has had an impact on the organization's ability to deliver or achieve a Promise, it is appropriate to communicate this to your participants and supporters, provided you have developed a plan to overcome the obstacles it has created. (Note: This strategy should be used sparingly, or participants and supporters may perceive that the organization is not taking responsibility for its state of affairs.)

Results

Finally, even if the organization creates Results that deliver or achieve your Promise, it is possible that it goes unnoticed by your participants and supporters. This break in the chain happens between Results and Perception. It is important to effectively communicate the Results to participants and supporters to guide their perception about the organization. Otherwise, they may "fill in the blank," overlooking the true value of the Results you have created.

Strategies to Strengthen this Link:

Develop a Message Statement. The best message statements answer three questions:
Who are you serving?
What is the value you are creating for those you serve?
What is ultimately achieved for the community by creating that value?

Identify Participant and Supporter Touchpoints to Convey the Message. In addition to the organization's printed and electronic communications, you should consider how the message can be conveyed face-to-face with participants through programs and services, as well as face-to-face with supporters who are learning about the organization and its work.

Work with Board and Staff to Effectively Utilize these Touchpoints. Ensure that appropriate resources are devoted to building an understanding of how the organization's message is conveyed through each touchpoint, so that the board and staff can be effective advocates for the organization.

When strengthening your brand, it is important to address the breaks that are closest to the mission link within your organization's Brand Chain to ensure that you are getting to the root issues. By strengthening each link form Mission to Perception, you will be able to positively guide your brand through effective communications that enhance the organization's value in the eyes of participants and supporters, and the community at large.

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