This stage of the process is aligning and this is where we turn the Brand Vision into reality.
Now every organisation is different and the alignment process will take account of that of course. But there are some key components that we have to be aware of.

First stage is to envision success, this is where we project ourselves forward to the point where the brand is being delivered at every touch point. This a a process that's focused on the customer journey, and it will involve a cross-functional senior team. The output of the stage are the brand critical success factors, these are the big things that really, really must get right over time. It may involve processes and behaviours, communications of course and maybe even things like product development. They will be totally unique to your organisation, but they will be driven by the Brand Vision.

Small teams will then take each Brand critical success factor and develop individual route maps, showing the starting point, the ultimate outcome and the milestones along the way. One of the techniques that can really help are 'brand walkthroughs' - this is where a team will look at a whole customer journey through the eyes of the brand, using the positioning and the values to identify opportunities to make that experience more on brand. This is a really practical process that brings the brand to life for your people and it also helps to generate some of those early actions that are really vital for building momentum into the process.

And finally, each route map comes together into an alignment plan that consolidates the short term actions within the context of a longer term outcome. - Of course the benefits are very clear - people can get engaged the brand because not only do you have a vision that's based on the marketplace, you now have a practical plan for its delivery - and that's a great thing to have, to get overall organisational commitment to the whole process. But the real benefits are for customers, because when the customer experience matches the promise of the brand it drives customer satisfaction and loyalty, but that also builds advocacy and repeat purchase - and that's the ultimate outcome of the Alignment Process.

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