By: Bryan Jenkins, Executive Vice President, and Jillian Haynes, Senior Director
For B2B companies navigating competitive markets, a strong brand isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic asset and a growth driver. But unlike operations or revenue, brand performance can be difficult to quantify.
In order to apply a similar level of rigor and measurement, a structured brand assessment is needed.
To address this market need, we have created the Better Brand Index, an assessment framework developed from our Brand Playbook, over two decades of client work, and industry best practices. It evaluates how effectively your brand is working across three essential areas: Strategy, Design, and Outreach.
Here’s how we break it down:
Brand Strategy
Aligning brand with business goals
Brand strategy defines how your company is positioned in the market and how it connects with stakeholders. It should reflect both your business goals and your unique perspective.
Questions to be addressed:
- Brand Positioning
- Is the brand clearly aligned with your business strategy?
- Does it address a real market need?
- Does it differentiate the company from alternatives?
- Is the message both inspiring and relevant to your audience?
- Brand Messaging
- Is messaging focused on benefits that matter to your stakeholders?
- Is it clearly differentiated in both content and tone?
- Is it supported by product-level proof points?
- Can it scale and remain credible over time?
- Tone of Voice
- Is your voice distinct — not bland or generic?
- Does it reflect your company’s role or archetype?
- Can it flex across different platforms while remaining consistent?
A strong brand strategy builds logical and emotional alignment with your audience while creating space for future growth.
Visual Brand
Making a lasting, cohesive impression
Your visual identity is your brand’s first impression. It should reinforce your strategy, stand out in your category, and function well across different environments.
Questions to be addressed:
- Logo
- Is it distinctive and memorable?
- Does it align with your industry and audience?
- Is it readable and effective in various sizes?
- Color Palette
- Does it support brand recall?
- Is it purposeful and clearly defined?
- Does it meet accessibility standards and contrast requirements?
- Is it differentiated from others in your space?
- Overall Visual Identity
- Is your design system consistent across platforms and media?
- Does it reflect and support your brand strategy?
- Is it easy to understand and remember?
- Does it help your brand stand out within your category?
Visual brands should be an asset that helps to advance your overall brand narrative. They need to be distinctive, intentional, and cohesive with the other components.
Marketing Outreach
Connecting strategy to execution
Even the best strategy and design can fall flat without effective outreach. This category examines how your brand shows up in-market and connects with your audience.
Evaluate three key areas:
- Channels
- Are you using the right platforms to reach your audience?
- Do your touchpoints support the full customer journey?
- Is the experience consistent and easy to navigate?
- Activation
- Is your content designed to engage and inform?
- Is there alignment across channels, without excessive repetition?
- Are your assets optimized for each channel and format?
- Presence & Perception
- Do you own your branded search results?
- Are you appearing in relevant non-branded search terms?
- Is there positive sentiment about your brand online?
- Are your internal teams actively engaging with stakeholders?
Your outreach efforts are where the brand becomes real. They influence awareness, engagement, and trust.
What the Better Brand Index reveals
This assessment isn’t a final scorecard. It’s a directional, strategic snapshot — showing how well your brand supports your goals today, and where opportunity lies for tomorrow.
Whether you’re sharpening your positioning, planning a full rebrand, refining your go-to-market, or simply leveling up your marketing efforts, the Better Brand Index gives you a focused way to assess performance and identify high-impact improvements.
Ready to see where your B2B brand stands?
If you want to understand where your brand is strong and where it can improve, we can walk through the Better Brand Index together. It’s a practical way to uncover what’s working, what’s not, and how to position your brand for what’s next.
