We all want our brand to grow fast and be appreciated as many people as possible. Brand growth is what we desire. Brand growth is also a double-edged sword. Rapid growth can inspire fear and concern. They call it growing pains for a reason. Growing too fast without a strategic plan and understanding the business competencies required, can cause a brand to experience severe growing pains not growing benefits.

There is a very big difference between creating, developing, and operating a local brand versus a national or even global brand. Many startups and small brands are successful locally because they leverage hard work and personal desire. Scaling nationally requires discipline, regimentations and systems to ensure the brand is consistently delivering its desired customer experience. To successfully (re)launch a national brand there are several activities a founder and management group must undertake. (This is not the exhaustive list.)

1. Customer understanding

2. Strong brand fundamentals

3. Strong customer value

4. Clear understanding of company core competencies

5. Detailed business plan

6. Objective, Goals, Strategies and Measures

7. Comprehensive Go-to-Market plan

8. Talented team to execute

I take brands through a number of proprietary activities and exercises pulling out critical information required to develop strategic go-to-market plans. I also work with founders to understand their core company competencies to assess which areas required for successful national expansion need to be leveraged or improved. We also work together to identify potential outsource partners required to deliver competencies weak or non-existent within the brand.

Taking a brand to the Next Level requires more than passion and hard work; it requires a combination experience and business scale discipline to achieve success.