Great mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs begin with great questions. How will this new entity create shareholder value? Will these companies produce operational synergy? What are the logistical advantages of this transaction? Are these companies culturally compatible? While these are certainly some important questions to ask, they are not the only important questions to ask.
In our experience, some company leaders ignore critical questions about their brand and pay attention to the more immediate organizational ones instead. Although branding questions may not initially seem urgent, constant curiosity about brand is a key to unlocking M&A business value.
To avoid this oversight, here are seven crucial questions you should be asking about your brand’s future:
- Equity – Do you know how much the market values your brand and/or the brand of acquired brand?
- Employee Engagement – Do all your employees embrace your vision and purpose?
- Positioning – Are you seizing this opportunity created by the change to tell a fresh story?
- Naming – How effectively do your firm name and product naming architecture express the mission and scope of your new entity?
- Visual Identity – Does your identity reflect your new vision, purpose and promise?
- Customer Experience – Are your communications and interactions consistent across all channels?
- Simplicity – How are your using this change as an opportunity to provide greater clarity, transparency and utility to customers – and all other constituents?
A thriving brand and a successful company are synonymous. By digging into the above questions and dutifully pursuing answers, both of these goals can be achieved. The curiosity and vision that sparked your merger, acquisition or spin-off must be present at every stage of the diligence and integration process—including the management of your brand.
Margaret Molloy is global CMO and head of business development. Follow her on Twitter: @MargaretMolloy
