How to conduct a brand audit for your B2B business

A brand audit is a thorough evaluation of your brand’s health and performance – essentially assessing your brand’s awareness and market perception, as well as how consistently it’s presented across all touchpoints. For a B2B company, this means examining everything from internal brand assets and messaging to external customer perceptions and competitive positioning.

Conducting a brand audit helps you identify strengths to leverage and gaps to fix in order to strengthen trust and differentiation. In fact, consistent branding can directly impact growth (businesses with unified brand presentation have seen up to 33% higher revenue on average). Moreover, brand presence is critical in B2B – research indicates 90% of B2B buyers begin a purchase with a brand already in mind.

Below, we break down a step-by-step approach to audit your B2B brand for improved consistency, perception, and positioning.

Step 1: Define your brand audit objectives and scope

Start by clarifying why you are conducting this brand audit and what you hope to achieve. Align the audit with your business goals – for example, are you trying to benchmark your brand against competitors, measure the impact of a recent campaign, or prepare for a rebrand? Clearly defined objectives will focus your audit and make it easier to interpret results. Also decide on the scope: will you audit the entire global brand or focus on a specific product line, region, or recent marketing initiative? At this stage, get buy-in from leadership on the importance of the audit and what decisions it will inform. Setting expectations upfront ensures everyone understands the purpose (e.g. improving brand awareness, fixing inconsistencies, etc.) and is on board with potential changes.

Key actions in this step:

• Identify the audit’s purpose – e.g. check brand consistency after rapid growth, understand market perception before a rebranding, or routinely “health-check” the brand’s strength.
• Align with business goals – tie objectives to key business outcomes (such as increasing share of voice, improving customer trust, or supporting a new strategic direction).
• Define what to examine – list out the brand elements you will audit (logo and visuals, tagline and messaging, website and collateral, customer sentiment, competitor positioning, etc.).
• Secure stakeholder support – brief senior leadership and relevant teams on the plan. Ensure cross-functional buy-in from marketing, sales, product, etc., so they cooperate and trust the process. Designate an owner or team to lead the audit, and communicate the timeline.

Step 2: Gather all internal brand documentation and assets

Before evaluating anything, assemble your brand’s reference materials. Collect your internal brand documentation – this includes your brand mission statement, vision, and core values, as well as any formal brand guidelines or style guides. Make sure you have the official files for your logo (in all approved variations), colour palettes, typography, and imagery guidelines. Also gather messaging frameworks like your value proposition, tagline, elevator pitch, and tone of voice guidelines.

Essentially, you want a complete picture of how your brand is supposed to look and sound. If your company has a brand asset management system or shared drive for marketing assets, audit its contents: ensure you have representative examples of all current brand assets (presentations, brochures, business cards, email templates, product packaging, etc.). This inventory will serve as the baseline to compare against what’s actually being used in practice.

Key actions in this step:

• Collect brand guidelines – compile documents outlining your visual identity (logo usage rules, colours, fonts, imagery) and verbal identity (voice, messaging pillars, tagline). If no formal guide exists, note that gap – creating one may be an outcome of the audit.
• Inventory brand assets – create a checklist of every type of brand-carrying asset: website, social media profiles, sales decks, one-pagers, advertisements, office signage, templates, etc. Gather samples of each.
• Review mission and values – note your official mission, vision, and values. These are the DNA of your brand; you’ll later check if they are reflected in your messaging and stakeholder perceptions.
• Check internal understanding – consider informally quizzing team members (especially customer-facing teams like sales or support) on key brand messages. This can reveal whether employees know and embrace the brand story. Any confusion internally is likely multiplying externally.

Step 3: Audit your brand’s identity across all channels for consistency

Now, systematically examine how your brand appears and sounds across every touchpoint, and see if it aligns with the official guidelines you gathered. This internal audit will reveal any inconsistencies in visuals or messaging. Start with your digital channels: is your website on-brand in terms of logo placement, colour scheme, and voice? Check that your social media profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) use the latest logo and branding – no outdated logos or old taglines. Review marketing collateral like PDFs, brochures, case studies, sales presentations: do they follow the style guide? Is the tone of writing consistent (e.g. a formal tone vs. casual, depending on your brand voice)? Look at email newsletters or product UIs if applicable – every piece of content should present a unified identity.

Don’t forget physical and in-person touchpoints as well: signage in your offices or events, business cards, even how your team dresses at trade shows if that’s part of the brand. As you audit each item, note any deviations: e.g. inconsistent logo usage, off-brand colour in a brochure, or messaging that doesn’t match your current value proposition. Pay attention to small details like tagline wording and trademark symbols, which often drift over time. The goal is to ensure a customer or partner gets a cohesive and consistent experience of your brand at every interaction. Consistency builds trust (customers find a stable brand more credible), and it improves recognition. In fact, maintaining a consistent brand across platforms has been shown to dramatically improve revenue and growth – highlighting why identifying inconsistencies is so crucial.

Key actions in this step:

• Use a checklist for channels – Work through your list of brand touchpoints one by one (website, key web pages, social profiles, print materials, product packaging, etc.). For each, compare what you see to the brand standards (correct logo version, colours, fonts, voice).
• Document every discrepancy – Log instances of off-brand usage: e.g. an old logo on an office wall, a different tone in a product FAQ, or inconsistent icon styles on the website. Screenshots or photos can be helpful for illustrating issues.
• Evaluate content and messaging – Read through headlines, taglines, and “about us” text. Do they reflect your current positioning and values? Mark anything that feels outdated or misaligned (for example, an old slogan still lingering in a brochure).
• Assess internal usage – Beyond customer-facing assets, check internal documents like employee handbooks or onboarding materials for brand alignment. If your internal culture decks or recruiting pages don’t echo the brand values and voice, note that as an inconsistency to address.

Step 4: Assess external perceptions through customer feedback and research

With the internal view in hand, turn to the outside perspective – how do customers and the market perceive your brand? A complete brand audit must compare the brand you want to portray with the brand impression that exists in stakeholders’ minds.

Gather customer feedback through surveys, interviews, or focus groups. For example, you might survey customers (or even prospects) to rate your brand on attributes like trustworthiness, innovation, customer service, etc., or ask open-ended questions about what comes to mind when they think of your company. Qualitative feedback is incredibly valuable here: direct quotes or stories can highlight perceptions that metrics alone don’t capture. In fact, combining quantitative data (scores, ratings) with qualitative anecdotes gives a more rounded view – customers might reveal why they chose your brand over a competitor or how a particular interaction made them feel.

In addition to proactive surveys, review unsolicited feedback: look at customer reviews on sites relevant to your industry (for B2B tech, think G2 or Capterra; for others, maybe Google Reviews or industry forums). Read through comments on your social media posts or comments where your brand is tagged. These can expose common praise or pain points associated with your brand. If available, examine your Net Promoter Score (NPS) or customer satisfaction surveys for themes in the verbatims. Employee feedback can matter too – how employees talk about your brand (e.g. on Glassdoor or in recruiting) can reflect the brand’s authenticity. Throughout this research, the aim is to understand brand reputation and identity in the eyes of others. Are there noticeable gaps between how you describe your brand and how customers do? For example, you might brand yourself as “innovative,” but customers rarely mention innovation – or worse, they call you “outdated.” Such insights are gold from a brand audit perspective.

Key actions in this step:

• Conduct a brand perception survey – Use tools (SurveyMonkey, Typeform, etc.) to poll customers or prospects. Ask questions about brand attributes (e.g. “Which words would you use to describe our brand?” or ratings on specific qualities). Keep surveys concise to improve response rates.
• Perform customer interviews – Speak directly with a few key clients or lost prospects for deep insight. Ask why they chose you (or didn’t), and how they’d compare you to competitors. One-on-one conversations can uncover nuanced feelings that surveys miss (for instance, a customer might reveal that your brand feels “safer but less cutting-edge” than a competitor, which is valuable context).
• Leverage social listening – Monitor mentions of your company on social media and online communities. Analyse the sentiment of these mentions to gauge public opinion. Consistent negative themes (e.g. complaints about support) signal a brand perception issue to address.
• Review industry and analyst feedback – If there are analyst reports, media articles, or awards involving your company, see what external narratives exist about your brand. Sometimes B2B brands are described in trade press with tags like “upstart disruptor” or “market leader in X” – compare that with your desired positioning. Any disconnect might indicate messaging adjustments needed.

Step 5: Analyse your brand’s performance metrics and online presence

Next, dive into the data and metrics that reflect your brand’s presence and performance in the market. Start with your website analytics, as the website often serves as a primary touchpoint for B2B buyers. Look at traffic patterns – are you attracting the right audience? Consider that 94% of B2B buyers research online before ever contacting sales, so strong traffic from your target industries and good engagement (time on site, low bounce rates) can indicate healthy brand interest.

Check the sources of your traffic: a strong brand will often have a good amount of direct traffic and branded search (people typing your name or searching for your company specifically), indicating awareness. If your branded search traffic is low, it may signal weaker brand recognition. Also review conversion metrics tied to your brand strength, such as repeat visitors or conversion rates on content that conveys your brand story (about page visits, etc.).

On the social media side, examine your follower counts, engagement rates, and share of voice. Are people engaging with your content? How do these metrics compare to competitors’ social profiles? Consistent growth and engagement on LinkedIn or Twitter can reflect a resonating brand message, whereas stagnation might mean your brand content isn’t hitting the mark.

You should also track brand mentions and media coverage. How often is your brand mentioned in news articles, blog posts, or discussions (outside of your own channels)? A higher share of voice in industry conversations often correlates with stronger brand positioning. For context, track your competitor’s presence too – if a rival is consistently outpacing you in media mentions or organic search prominence, that’s noteworthy.

Beyond awareness, look at sales and customer metrics that a strong brand would influence. For instance, examine win/loss data in sales: do deals cite your brand strength or recognition as a factor? If you conduct brand awareness studies or use brand equity metrics (like brand recall or favourability scores), incorporate those results.

Also, anecdotally consider if being a known brand gets you into more RFPs or partnership opportunities – those are hard to quantify but relevant. Finally, if your company tracks NPS or customer loyalty scores, see how they trend. A beloved brand often enjoys high loyalty and referrals. By piecing together web, social, and customer metrics, you form a quantitative picture of your brand’s health to complement the qualitative feedback from step 4.

Key actions in this step:

• Audit website analytics – Look at Google Analytics (or your analytics tool) for branded vs. non-branded search traffic. Check visitor engagement on key brand pages (About Us, Careers, thought leadership content). High engagement can indicate your brand messaging is effective, while high bounce rates might mean it’s not resonating.
• Examine search and SEO signals – Analyse how your brand ranks for your company name and whether you own the entire first page of results. Ensure your LinkedIn, website, and review profiles appear prominently. If competitors or unrelated results show up for your name, that could dilute your brand’s online clarity.
• Track social and share of voice – Use social media analytics to measure your followers and interactions over time. Consider tools or manual searches to compare mention volume vs. competitors. If a competitor is discussed more frequently in target communities or press, plan to investigate why.
• Measure sentiment and reputation – Quantify the sentiment from reviews or social comments if possible (e.g. what percentage of mentions are positive vs. negative). Also, note your reputation score if you use a tool that provides one. A consistently positive tone in discussions around your brand is a sign of strong brand health, whereas recurring negative comments mark an area for improvement.

Step 6: Benchmark your brand against competitors

No brand exists in a vacuum – understanding your competitive context is a critical part of a B2B brand audit. Research how your key competitors present their brands and how they are perceived in the market.

Start by reviewing competitors’ messaging and visuals: visit their websites and note their taglines, value propositions, and the imagery or design style they use. How do they position themselves? Perhaps one competitor emphasises innovation while another focuses on customer service. Compare these to your own positioning. This helps identify your points of differentiation (or lack thereof). If all players including you claim similar things (“industry-leading solutions” etc.), you may realise your brand message isn’t distinct and needs sharpening.

Next, look at competitors’ external footprint: their social media engagement, press coverage, and any brand awards or rankings. Are they seen as thought leaders (maybe they publish popular content or have execs speaking at conferences) and is your brand doing the same? Also take note of public sentiment towards competitors by reading their reviews or mentions – this can highlight gaps or opportunities for your brand (“Competitor X is known for reliability, but customers complain about their UX – can we position our brand to own ‘easy to use’?”). Analysing competitors side-by-side can reveal where you have an edge or where you’re falling behind in brand strength.

A useful exercise is to create a simple brand positioning matrix or table: list key attributes customers care about (trust, innovation, value, customer support, etc.) and rate your brand vs. each competitor on those. Use data from customer feedback and online sentiment to inform the ratings as objectively as possible. This visual can quickly expose if a competitor outshines you in a certain perception (e.g. everyone thinks Competitor Y is more innovative) and guide where to focus brand improvements. The main goal is to understand your brand’s relative standing. As one guide put it, no brand exists in isolation – a brand audit must examine competitors to truly grasp your market position.

Key actions in this step:

• Identify your brand’s top competitors – Typically 3–5 key competitors (including indirect or emerging ones). Ensure you include any new entrants that your sales team frequently runs into, even if they’re smaller – they might be building a brand that appeals to the market.
• Review competitors’ branding – For each competitor, note their slogan, core messaging, and design style. Are they traditional or edgy? Formal or friendly in tone? This sets the scene for how each brand is trying to differentiate.
• Compare customer perceptions – From reviews, analyst reports, or customer comments, summarise how the market sees each competitor’s strengths/weaknesses. Then candidly do the same for your brand. This comparison may highlight a space where your brand can stand out (for example, if all competitors are seen as very corporate, maybe your brand can win by feeling more personal and human).
• Perform a SWOT or similar analysis – Evaluate your brand’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats in the context of the competitive landscape. For instance, a strength might be “well-known in Europe,” a weakness “less known in North America compared to X competitor,” an opportunity “competitors have outdated imagery – chance to appear more modern,” and a threat “competitor launching a rebrand campaign next quarter.” This strategic view ensures your audit findings translate into actionable competitive strategy.

Step 7: Compile findings and develop an action plan for brand improvement

At this stage, you’ve gathered a wealth of information – now it’s time to synthesise the insights and make a plan. Start by compiling all the issues and observations from the previous steps into a structured format. It might help to create a brand audit report or presentation for your team and leadership. In this report, detail the key findings: list out where your brand is strong, and where inconsistencies or misalignments were found.

Highlight the most critical gaps between your desired brand (as per guidelines and strategy) and the actual brand (as seen in reality by customers or through execution). For example, you might report: “Our messaging of being customer-centric isn’t coming through – only 20% of customers associated us with ‘customer service’, and several cited impersonal communication.” Such clear evidence can build the case for change.

Prioritise the findings by impact. Not every issue can be fixed immediately, so rank the areas to address first. A high-impact item might be a glaring inconsistency (e.g. the website and product messaging are telling different stories – a top priority to fix), or a major perception problem (e.g. customers don’t recognise a key value that differentiates you). In contrast, a low-impact issue might be a minor logo misuse internally that can be corrected over time.

Then, for each issue or area for improvement, outline a specific action or recommendation. This becomes your brand improvement roadmap. Actions could include: updating or creating brand guidelines, redesigning certain assets, re-training employees on brand usage, launching a campaign to change a market perception, tweaking your messaging to better articulate a value, or even undertaking a rebranding effort for major repositioning.

Finally, implement and monitor. Assign owners to each action (e.g. the design team updates the logo everywhere, marketing rewrites the homepage messaging by next quarter, HR introduces brand training in onboarding, etc.) and set deadlines. It’s often effective to tackle some quick wins immediately – for instance, easy fixes like standardising email signatures or uploading new logos to social profiles can show progress. For deeper changes (like shifting brand perception), create a longer-term project plan with milestones. Ensure to communicate the plan across the company so everyone knows what’s changing and why. As you roll out improvements, keep track of the same metrics and feedback you collected earlier to see if things improve – essentially setting up a cycle of continuous brand monitoring.

Key actions in this step:

• Summarise and report – Consolidate all audit findings into a clear document. Use visuals like tables or before-and-after examples to illustrate inconsistencies (e.g. old vs new logo, current messaging vs desired messaging). Communicate the brand’s current state honestly – this report is your case for why certain changes are needed.
• Identify quick fixes vs. long-term fixes – Mark which issues can be resolved quickly (e.g. updating a PDF or swapping an image) and which require deeper effort (e.g. revising the brand voice across all content). This helps in planning and not getting bogged down.
• Create a remediation plan – For each major gap or issue, define an action. Example: “Inconsistent messaging – Action: hold a messaging workshop with key stakeholders and update the messaging guide by Q2. Then redo copy on top 10 webpages to reflect it.” Ensure each action has an owner and deadline.
• Implement brand governance – Preventing future drift is important. Establish who will own brand consistency going forward (e.g. a Brand Manager or a cross-functional brand committee). Set up processes like reviewing major new content for brand compliance, or periodic mini-audits. Consider scheduling a follow-up brand audit (or at least a check-in) in 6–12 months to measure progress.

Best practices for a successful brand audit

Be thorough but focused
A brand audit can be broad, so use your objectives to stay on track. Cover all important areas (internal and external) but avoid getting lost in minor details that won’t impact the business. For instance, ensure you review major customer touchpoints and key perceptions rather than spending all your time on a niche collateral piece. A focused approach yields actionable insights instead of an overwhelming list of trivia.

Involve cross-functional teams
Bring in team members from marketing, sales, customer service, and even HR or product during the audit. Different perspectives will help you get a full picture – e.g. sales might know common customer complaints about the brand, and HR can gauge if employees internalise the brand values. This also creates buy-in across the organisation when it comes time to implement changes, since people feel invested.

Combine data with human insight
Use a mix of data and qualitative feedback. Analytics can tell you what is happening, but customer interviews or anecdotal input often tell you why. For example, metrics might reveal a low engagement on your blog (what), and customer interviews might reveal that the content isn’t seen as relevant or authoritative (why). Merging these viewpoints leads to more effective solutions.

Stay objective and open-minded
It’s easy to become defensive about your brand (after all, a lot of effort went into building it). However, approach the audit like a neutral investigator. Embrace the findings even if they are uncomfortable – maybe customers see your brand as less innovative than you thought, or your design isn’t as appealing as assumed. These truths are opportunities to improve, not criticisms to shy away from. Honest assessment is key to a meaningful brand audit.

Prioritise consistency
One of the simplest but most powerful outcomes of a brand audit is fixing inconsistencies. Aim to present a united brand front everywhere. This might mean standardising templates, training employees on brand usage, and regularly updating all channels when changes occur. Consistency builds the kind of brand recognition and trust that, as noted earlier, can directly boost revenue. Make consistency an ongoing habit, not just a one-time audit fix.

Make it a regular practice
Brands and markets evolve, so treat brand audits as a recurring check-up rather than a one-off project. Many mid-size and enterprise B2B companies conduct a brand audit annually or every couple of years, and also whenever a major change occurs (new CEO, merger, strategy shift, etc.). Regular audits help you catch issues early and keep your brand aligned with your business as it grows. By continuously monitoring and refining, your brand stays healthy, relevant, and poised to support your company’s goals for the long haul.