I was once told by a rather wise adman that for a company or brand to succeed it should totally re-evaluate itself every three years or so - and it should do that thoroughly, honestly and preferably utilizing unbiased 3rd party assessments and I've learnt that it is possibly the best advice we can ever give an advertiser.

Time and time again we encounter companies who have a complete misconception about their brand or product, about the true positioning of their brand within the market place, about the market's true perception of their product, about the true quality of their product, their staff, Sales Force, Customer Relations and even perhaps (shock, horror!) themselves - the Company's management.

The quality of a product naturally affects the nature of an advertising campaign and, subsequently, the results, and if a company is misleading itself in its strengths, brand positioning or brand perception then it will ultimately fail, deservedly so. Therefore for a company, product or brand to truly succeed to its full potential over a long period, it needs to assess regularly all the following:

Its strengths and weaknesses. What is special or exceptional about the product? How is it better than the competitors? What is poor about the product? What must we improve? Are we misleading ourselves about the quality of the product? Are we underselling ourselves?

Its position in the Market. Where are we in the market? Is our market share increasing or decreasing? Have our regional trends changed? Are there markets that we should focus on much stronger?

Its Target Audience. Are our existing assumptions correct? Have they changed at all? Should we instigate research?

Its future. Has the product got a future? (1 year, 5 years, 20 years) Does the product need re-development or even re-designing? Are there any interesting (or worrying) new developments or trends on the horizon?

What benefits do we give our customers? What do our customers say? Have we asked them thoroughly, openly and without bias. Is there a benefit that we haven't used to our full advantage (have we missed a trick?).

Its staff and management. Are all our staff as good as they can be?
Are they, and related systems and all management, working perfectly? Can they be better?

Its Customer Relations. Are we communicating with the public and/or our clients very well? Are we getting regular, positive feedback?

Its Market Perception. How is the product truly perceived by the public or by clients? Have we adequate and current research feedback? Do we need to do anything to improve the perception of
our product?

Its competitors. Who are they? Have they changed? How can they threaten our business in the future?

Your product may not be quite what you think it is and unless you truly understand it you can't sell it effectively.