There is a lot of energy and excitement flowing around the halls of Vya right now. Our big brand relaunch last week certainly has something do to with that (though we have always been a high-energy group). To me, that’s because our new brand is so true to who we are, have always been and will always be. Vya captures our dedication, determination and focus that our employees live every single day, from the inside out.

So, why is that so important and how does that contribute to our culture and energy right now? Employees are your front lines to every possible client, every possible contact. Any brand, marketing plan or business initiative should always live up to who you are, and what makes your company so unique. And that usually starts with people.

Here are some of our key takeaways we learned during our rebranding that can be applied to any company, any brand and even any marketing plan.

1. Listen.

Taking time to meet with, and listen to, employees and key customers, is key to any branding, marketing or even business planning initiative. Your stakeholders have unique, important insights that you may not have considered. Pulling customers and employees into the fold early also empowers these key groups, making them feel part of the process and starts to build excitement for plans and initiatives. The worst thing any leadership team could do is close off; yet it happens so frequently and is easy to do unless you actively plan against it.

Get out, ask questions, talk to employees, engage with clients. Listen to what people are saying, the questions they’re asking. Their input and perspective can make a good plan or brand, great.

2. Tie-in insights with business initiatives.

Use strategic planning and business plans as a filter or foundation to sift through customer and employee insights. Don’t use it as a crutch or blinder, but rather a filter to move the noise and junk out of the way so you can focus on the key, important insights.

Absolutely solicit feedback on the new brand as you’re building it (going back to my first point), but when you’re reviewing these insights understand that just by the volume of opinions, you have to make the ultimate decision based on what is best for the business and what will help you accomplish goals and objectives. The most valuable opinions aren’t personally subjective, but are those well steeped in the organization’s main goals.

3. Capitalize on the strengths you already have.

When creating a new brand, the whole concept of “new” is actually a bit of a misnomer.

It was obvious to us from the beginning that we needed to build this new brand around what already existed: our people, our strengths and our core services. Doing otherwise would not only be inauthentic, but it would be hard to maintain.

That’s why we’re focused now on what we’ve always done best: simplifying local marketing solutions. A new brand isn’t so much a clean slate to be whatever we want to be, we’ve learned, but it is an opportunity to refocus on the best things we have to offer.

An unintended side effect of looking at ourselves, listening to each other and building a new brand was the morale boost it gave us all. Building the foundation for Vya was a lot of work, but it made us all appreciate each other and what we are so much. We’re more aware of our strengths and of our team dynamic.

Our team dynamic has always been strong, but now that we’ve built something new and exciting together we’re only stronger, more focused and more prepared to meet our goals together. 

I’m so proud of one thing that was true for DocuStar and remains true for Vya: Our staff’s dedication, support and determination to help our clients.

Who we are isn’t in a name, but it’s in the people who work in these offices, who walk these halls that set us apart and have positioned Vya for the future, and continued success. To them, I say a heartfelt thank you – thank you for going on this journey with us, and continuing to deliver your best day in and day out to each and every one of our clients.

Together, we’re looking forward to simplifying your workflow and helping you achieve your local marketing goals.