While people think a brand audit is generally used for some of the more “fluffy” brands, like food and clothing brands, you never think that a tool company would think about things like branding and marketing. That’s because most tool users are the contractors, the do-it-yourselfers, and the weekend woodworking warriors.
They buy what their friends tell them, what the pros use, or what they saw Norm and Scott using on TV this weekend. So you would think that tool companies don’t need marketing or branding.
But you’d be wrong. These guys do a lot of advertising and marketing to make sure their customers know exactly what’s going on. They have colorful displays in stores, they attend trade shows, and they advertise in woodworking and home building magazines.
It’s the stores that can give tool companies the most trouble, and the biggest reason they still need to do a brand audit. That’s because the tool companies can control the brand experience at the trade shows and magazine ads, as well as any tool shows they put on in retail stores.
But it’s the stores themselves that need the brand audit checks. That’s because tool companies pay for display space. They pay for shelf and end cap placement. They pay to have posters put up and displays set out. With thousands of hardware stores around the country, that’s an awful lot of money to spend and base the performance all on trust. That’s where the brand audit comes in handy.
For some companies, they’re paying for a set amount of time, like 30 days or 60 days, on a national campaign. To lose a day here and there can even work out to a lost month of the campaign in a single store. A brand audit will mean sending mystery shoppers to the stores to make sure that all branding material is in place.
By launching a brand audit campaign, the tool companies can ensure their marketing materials are in place and reaching their customers.
The Mystery Shopping Experience 