Your consultant is suggesting a paid audit - but why is that, and what’s the point?

What's Included in a Brand Audit?

Your consultant should start with an audit of your brand’s voice: reading your site, emails, any brand materials. This is so they can see how you’re talking and writing differently across different mediums.

This gives them clues about what words matter to you, when you slip into formal voice, when you’ve written freely.

And it should show them where your brand is working hard and where it needs work. Your brand, even if it’s undefined, will have strengths and gaps: the point is to work out how.

Your Brand Audit - it’s like booking your MOT

The simplest analogy is booking your car in for a full service, health check, and MOT.

When you book your car in, you know it needs an MOT and service. You want a health check, because you’re about to drive abroad.

Your mechanic doesn’t know what’s under the hood until they start work. When they phone you around lunchtime, they tell you everything that needs work today, mid-term problems and longer-term issues, such as your tyres having a year left on them.

Crucially, your mechanic is paid for their time assessing what you have, what’s working, what isn’t, and what they advise. They are going ‘under the hood’ and bringing the best of their knowledge to your car so you can get where you need to go.

What Does a Brand Audit Cost?

The same is true for a brand audit: if you invest in an audit, your consultant can, for example, understand that you have a viable and relevant strategy, and you only need messaging and voice.

As with a full service and an MOT, you have full control on what you decide to invest in. And you should work with a consultant whose opinion you trust, who takes their time to explain their process, and allows you to make an informed decision, so you’re making the most of your investment. Brand audits with me start from £2,500 (plus VAT), and can help both parties understand what is needed for your specific project.

What's next?

This kind of audit tends to suit organisations who have product-market fit, who've already invested in their brand, and want to get their voice right before an exciting change.