Accelerated brand expansion is often considered the strongest affirmation of business achievement in today’s fast-moving business environment. However, with accelerated growth comes increased exposure to risks that jeopardize brand reputation, customer confidence, and long-term brand viability. Fast-scaling brands run the risk of encountering difficulties, including inaccurately aligned messaging and inadequate operational readiness, if they do not engage in proactive identification and risk mitigation. Thus, strategic—as in plan, design, and think—brand growth is vital—not only to leverage growth but to do it sustainably and with due cognizance of the brand’s identity and purpose.
Many successful companies are connecting their product innovation ideas with disciplined brand governance so they can remain relevant and consistent with customer expectations and loyalty through phases of growth. Innovation is crucial for growth, and considering strategic integration with brand governance is essential to mitigate the chances of public misjudgments/ill-coinciding values and the discrepancy between what a brand promises and delivers.
Risk-Resistant Growth: How to Protect Your Brand While Scaling Fast
1. Align Innovation with Brand Marketing Strategy
When brands bring new products or verticals to the market, the demand to keep up can create an environment of rushed product launches, or worse, divert them from their original voice. With the help of a market research firm, you can create a solid brand marketing system that’ll help in ensuring every new product is aligned with your brand image. Without a basic brand alignment, even the most exciting new product can create confusion, or worse yet, dilute an essential brand equity that has been built over time. For instance, a shiny new product feature may garner short-lived attention, but a loyal customer may shy away if they feel that the brand is no longer true to itself. When there is a period of hyper-growth, every marketing decision must be examined, not just for impact, but for brand integrity and consistency.
2. Monitor Public Perception Continuously
Brand perception can change in an instant, especially in the current climate of social media, where one comment can be amplified. Brand perception can also erode quickly; as brands expand their audience and geography, the opportunity for culturally insensitive communication, messaging not aligned with core values, or customer experiences that result in negative impressions of the brand increases.
Creating a system for reputation monitoring in real-time—through social listening, consumer feedback, and review analysis—can help companies take quick action to correct unacceptable actions before they escalate into a crisis. In addition, monitoring sentiment can uncover areas of system friction (e.g., processes, policies) that can lead not only to employee frustration but also require brands to revisit corporate messaging or service items.
3. Don’t Sacrifice Culture and Internal Communication
When organizations ramp up hiring and expansion quickly, it can lead to a disconnection between leadership and newly hired employees. In other words, if the teams aren’t aligned internally, then the external message typically misses the mark. Therefore, building a strong internal brand culture is a prerequisite to achieving a consistent voice, service standards, and best practices for decision-making throughout divisions, departments, and locations.
Additionally, as organizations undergo high-growth phases, they must invest in employee onboarding that includes education on the brand, because everyone in the organization, whether a sales, product, or customer support rep, must know and live that brand. Confusion or a disconnect in this area could lead to inconsistent customer interactions or decisions that harm the brand’s trust unintentionally.
4. Build Scalable Operational Systems
One of the biggest dangers in rapid growth cycles is operational systems that cannot adapt. If the customer experience, inventory, or digital infrastructure does not scale to meet the demand needed, it may result in breakdowns in the experience and compromise brand credibility. Scalable operations are not only about logistics but also about safeguarding the customer experience. Businesses that get backend systems, training, and contingency planning in advance will continue to deliver on a promise even when under pressure. Avoiding public outages of service, late deliveries, and inconsistent experiences is key to preserving reputation when customers are in a state of growth.
5. Prepare a Crisis Communication Framework
A company cannot completely escape risk, no matter how much planning is done. A proactive crisis communications plan prepares the brand to respond quickly and transparently if something should go wrong—a product defect, data breach, or public relations problem, for example.
This framework should include, but is not limited to, response protocol, roles and responsibilities, and pre-approved messaging guidelines. Teams should practice various potential approaches to ensure that any response is not improvised when involved in a stressful encounter. How a company responds to a crisis may be just as visible for a brand when considering how to handle the crisis.
Final Thoughts
Any growth will almost always be seen as a good signal of success, but it should never come at the expense of brand stability. With thoughtful work in alignment between the innovation cycle and the brand identity, and systems that scale, brands can avoid the dangers (not to mention heartache) of fast growth while also enhancing their viability in the marketplace. When risk management is undertaken appropriately, the process becomes a strategic advantage, not merely a safeguard.
Ready to strengthen your business foundation even further? Check out our article on actions every entrepreneur should take when opening an online store to explore essential steps for launching your online presence successfully.
