Take our 2017 Brand Strength Survey!

How strong is your business brand? While brand may mean the logo, tagline, or name of your company, it can broadly be defined to mean anything consumers associate with your business. Awareness of its power is critical for successful marketing and client retention. So grab a paper and pencil and take our 9 question survey below, then read on to learn how the emotional association of your brand can be improved through advertising, office décor, signage, or even selecting a more suitable office space in NYC. We’ll also discuss what you can learn from what has made powerhouse brand Ferrari so successful.

Brand Survey Questions

1. How well do your company employees follow your brand guidelines? (from 1 to 10, 10 is highest)
2. What percentage of time do you feel your brand comes through during phone or in-person interactions with external parties? (frequently, sometimes, never)
3. Do you feel that your branding elicits the emotional response that they should? (from 1 to 10, 10 is highest)
4. How distinct is your logo from others in the same business? (from 1 to 10, 10 is highest)
5. How often do customers confuse your brand with a competitor’s? (frequently, sometimes, never)
6. Is the branding displayed online in your digital marketing such as your website, email newsletter, and social media consistent with all other marketing materials? (yes, no, somewhat)
7. How often do use the company tagline in your blog postings or written promotional materials? (frequently, sometimes, never)
8. When customers and partners meet with you on at your office, do they seem to feel comfortable with the meeting space and impressed with the office decor? (yes, no, somewhat)
9. Do you feel that your office space is located in an area of NYC that helps to convey your brand identity? (yes, no, somewhat)

Tallying the Results

Assign yourself a total score as per the guidelines below.

1. Assign the same number of points as the number you entered as a response.
2. If you answered “frequently”, assign 10 points. If you answered “sometimes”, assign 5 points. If you answered “never”, assign 0 points.
3. Assign the same number of points as the number you entered as a response.
4. Assign the same number of points as the number you entered as a response.
5. If you answered “frequently”, assign 0 points. If you answered “sometimes”, assign 5 points. If you answered “never”, assign 10 points.
6. If you answered “no”, assign 0 points. If you answered “somewhat”, assign 5 points. If you answered “yes”, assign 10 points.
7. If you answered “frequently”, assign 10 points. If you answered “sometimes”, assign 5 points. If you answered “never”, assign 0 points.
8. If you answered “no”, assign 0 points. If you answered “somewhat”, assign 5 points. If you answered “yes”, assign 10 points.
9. If you answered “no”, assign 0 points. If you answered “somewhat”, assign 5 points. If you answered “yes”, assign 10 points.

How did you do?

If you scored zero to 40 points: Congrats on a great start! See the analysis below for some helpful strategies to help get you to the next step.

If you scored 40 to 70 points: The brand exists and is on its way! Check out our comments below for some pointers to help it along.

If you scored 70 to 90 points: You’ve got a strong brand with the potential to have a great impact and up the sales. To figure out how to improve upon components that may need a touch-up, read on!

From Motor Racing in Italy to Office Spaces, take some tips from Ferrari

What is a business image and how do you build it? Well, the old adage that “seeing is believing” is ringing true here. If you want the brand to sell, you’ve got to make it look good. As we’ve said in past blogs, the style of your office space, as well as its decor, plays a critical part in making a first and lasting impression.

But it goes further than just how your office space looks. It’s got to incite emotion. Take Ferrari, for example, the luxury sports car manufacturer. Most people have never set foot anywhere near one in their lifetime and never will, but decade after decade the concepts associated with the brand have stayed strong. When you hear “Ferrari”, one of three things typically come to mind: the sound of an engine revving, an image of sports cars whizzing around a race track, or Italian culture, right?

So how has Ferrari been able to capture this image throughout time? The company clearly defined the values that they associated with the brand, and then found ways to physically display them in their product and everything associated with it. For example, linking Ferrari with Formula One racing evokes an emotion of excitement and sport. The look of the car itself is distinct, with the signature model being low to the ground and red. But how can you achieve this for yourself if you’re not a multinational brand with billions of dollars to spend on marketing? Read on!

3 Ways NYC Businesses can Brand like Ferrari

#1 Digital Marketing

Take a look at Ferrari’s website and you’ll see the core values come through right away.  Some of the wording on the website and the names of the particular models are in Italian and there’s a menu entitled “racing.” You can see by the use of cookies on their website that you’re probably going to be seeing them again through a retargeting campaign – they’re looking to reinforce these ideas over and over again. The tagline for one of their magazine articles is “why going for the risk is always the best option.” The name of one Ferrari clothing line displayed in their online magazine is the “On Track” collection and the style is sporty and modern. On their Facebook page, they feature commemorative postings that recall events in Ferrari history. You can see that the core values are consistently applied throughout every aspect of their digital marketing.

If you scored poorly on questions #4 through #7 in our survey, pay special attention to how your digital marketing conveys your company’s values, and the emotions that are brought fourth through these online elements.

#2 Employees/Influencers

Ferrari tends to depict people in action rather than behind a desk. Their brand ambassadors tend to be famous sports figures, and their written articles commonly interview the drivers in the motor races. The people represent the values of the brand.

If you scored poorly on questions #1 and #2 in our survey, think about how your people are reflecting your brand. Do you have a written set of brand guidelines? If so, are they encouraged to stay up to date with them? What efforts is your management making to ensure that the people at the company are delivering the brand?

#3 Location

Ferrari is captured as being driven in exotic, magnificent European settings which go well with the personality of the brand. For businesses all over the world, location says something about your image. For example, being a business located in midtown or certain downtown office spaces (or even just having a mailing address there) associates you with marque, Class A level sophistication. The “212” area code conveys the idea of business success. Corporate Suites, for example, offers virtual office services for companies who want just that. For an affordable monthly package, NJ, NY, or CT based companies can purchase an NYC virtual office plan and realize the Manhattan cache without having to shell out for the high cost of renting an office space.

The choice of office space can be especially critical for NYC brands that want to convey an image of discretion, such as law, finance, or accounting. Many companies worry that moving to shared office space in NYC may compromise their formal ambiance but some office space providers offer discrete office space settings. Corporate Suites, for example, provides soundproof office suites, custom-built interoffice walls, and high availability of meeting rooms to its clients.

If you scored poorly on questions #8 and #9 in our survey, consider revamping your choice of office space. If Manhattan office space is too expensive to pursue on your own, consider coworking or shared office space.

Rev Up That Brand!

If you feel that your business branding could use a boost and want to explore a move to more upscale office spaces or one of our NYC meeting rooms, email info@corporatesuites.com.