Departments understand the brand differently: pulling in different directions.
The brand is not solely the responsibility of marketing; it lives or dies based on how every department executes it every day.
When departments understand the brand differently, the issue is not with the logo or colors, but with the brand being trapped in the marketing silo while the operational culture lies elsewhere. The solution is not to issue new documents, but to let each department articulate how they understand it, collide with each other, and then agree on a common definition that is specific enough to change practices the very next day.
- the marketing or sales team still does not understand the brand: choose team alignment for half a day
- Break down the barriers between various departments and establish a common understanding: choose a workshop for cross-department collaboration.
- Need to maintain the rhythm and review after the final session: choose the next partner.
- You only collaborate with marketing to redefine the brand while sales and services are lagging.
- issuing a beautiful brand document that no one changes, breaking the original mold
Your brand appears consistent on paper: one logo, one color, one tagline. However, customers hear one story from sales, see a different promise on the website, and receive a completely different attitude when calling customer service. This is not a communication error. It indicates that departments are understanding the brand in different ways, and no one is aware of it.
Root cause: the brand is trapped in a silo.
A silo is a situation where each department operates in its own area with little interaction. For a brand, silos occur when the definition of "who we are, what we represent" is held and interpreted solely by marketing, while sales has its own answers, products have their own interpretations, and services have their own standards.
Denise Lee Yohn, author of Fusion, points out that only when everyone in the organization understands what the brand represents, is motivated, and equipped to execute, does the brand truly live at every touchpoint. When the brand is confined to marketing while culture operates elsewhere, the two diverge and customers will feel that, even if they cannot name that feeling.
Factors to see beforehand
- Each department understands the brand differently at their touchpoint. What does sales say when introducing the company? What spirit guides the complaint handling service? What priorities does the product consider when making design decisions?
- The gap between the external brand promise and internal operations. If the brand claims to be "dedicated" but the service process prioritizes speed, the misalignment lies here.
- Which signs and core messages need to be absolutely consistent, regardless of which department interacts with customers.
- The maintenance mechanism after finalization: who keeps track, how to check, and how often.
Common mistakes
Most businesses, when discovering a mismatch, will do one of two things: hold a marketing meeting to adjust the message, or produce a new, prettier brand document. Both are insufficient.
- Only hold marketing meetings: the disconnect often lies in the gap between what marketing says and what sales and actual services deliver. Once marketing is done, the other departments do not change because they were not present at the final meeting and do not own the results.
- Creating beautiful documents: Informative documents define, but cannot replace the step where departments collide and reach consensus. When not involved in the process, people do not change their ways even if the documents have been issued.
- Confusing notification with synchronization: Sending an internal email about the new brand is not synchronization. Synchronization means that each department understands what it specifically means for their work tomorrow.
- No one to keep the rhythm: After a session, if no one is designated to monitor, about two to three months later, the common understanding begins to drift and misalign.
How a common understanding among departments that finalize will be implemented, as they own it. The session needs to traverse uncomfortable areas to reveal where departments truly understand differently, rather than agreeing just to finish.
Sam Kaner, Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making
When to choose which direction
Choose a half-day alignment session for a group when the main misalignment is between marketing and sales, the scale is small, and quick adjustments are needed before a specific campaign or event.
Select a cross-department workshop when there is a misalignment among multiple departments, when customers are receiving inconsistent experiences at various touchpoints, or when the business has just undergone a major directional change and needs to align the entire organization towards the new direction. This situation requires a neutral facilitator from outside, as those involved may find it difficult to avoid bias towards their own department.
Select periodic collaboration if after the closing meeting you need someone to maintain rhythm, check at touchpoints, and timely remind when misalignment begins to reappear.
The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ
Sinh Vũ coordinates inter-departmental meetings following a process from expansion to convergence: first, each department shares how they understand the brand at their touchpoint. No immediate feedback is given. This allows the whole group to visually see the gaps, rather than just hearing someone describe those gaps.
As an outsider, Sinh Vũ does not judge which department is right or wrong. The task is to navigate the meeting through uncomfortable areas where departments genuinely disagree, ensuring no one agrees just to move on while continuing old practices. By the end of the meeting, a common definition needs to be established that is specific enough for everyone in any department to understand what it means for their work the next day.
The brand is not solely the responsibility of marketing. It lives or dies based on how every department executes it, every day, at every touchpoint with customers.
Decision checklist
Topic: Different departments have conflicting brand understandings: aligning towards one direction. Sinh Vũ guide, sinhvu.com
Select each item you find appropriate, then print or save as PDF to take with you.
If you have marked most of the signs above, this is the time to discuss in more detail. Sinh Vũ can help you review and propose a direction.
References
Denise Lee Yohn, Fusion: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies. Sam Kaner, Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making. IAF Core Competencies (Core competencies of professional facilitators). Design Council, The Double Diamond.
Frequently asked questions
Why is just meeting with marketing not enough to solve the issue?
Because the disconnect often lies in the gap between what marketing says externally and what sales and actual services do with clients. If only marketing teams meet, they may finalize a very good brand definition, but the other departments do not own that outcome, so they do not change their practices.
Will the new brand materials address the issues?
Usually not. Beautiful documents only communicate definitions; they cannot replace the step where departments collide and finalize. When people do not participate in the finalization process, they do not feel ownership of the results, and the old understanding remains in their minds even though new documents have been released.
After the inter-departmental meeting, what should be done to ensure a common understanding does not gradually fade?
Need to clearly designate who will maintain the rhythm after meetings, regularly check at each touchpoint, and embed a common understanding into daily operations instead of leaving it in presentation files. Without a maintenance mechanism, discrepancies will return in about two to three months.