Brand matters when you want to go global

The 2015 ranking of best Global brands by Interbrand has been released and no brand that has built in India features in that list. Even China has its presence marked in that list with Huawei (at 88th rank) and Lenovo (at 100th place). Should we care? 

Yes, we should. When we compete in a marketplace that is driven by choice, brands create Mindshare, Heartshare and the by product is the higher share of the wallet. We have opinions about brands even when we have never used them. By mindshare I mean that the consumer believes that the product features and functionality meet all the articulated needs of the customer or consumer. When the company creates a product that competes on quality and gives us what we think is value for money, the service or product creates mindshare. Mindshare is based on logic and tangible features. Does the brand actually do what it claims?

Mindshare is necessary but not sufficient to create space in the consumer’s heart. Research shows even for business to business selling, emotions matter almost twice as much as logic. Personal value is almost twice as powerful as business value when it comes to buying decisions. Heartshare depends not on tangible stuff like features and functionality, but on the soft power of the brand or the company. Innovativeness, aesthetics, prestige and social responsibility are some of the aspects that create the tug in the heart.

Personal brand experts say that whenever there is more than one seller in any market, it is very important to get branding right. Crafting a brand means listening to what people say about you – especially when it is not complimentary. Shutting off feedback may kill a brand. In a socially connected world, what the influencers say about your brand will influence the perception of millions of others. Choking the critics is the worst strategy when it comes to creating heartshare.

I was always told when I was growing up that those who need style do it because they lack substance. Be good at your work and that is good enough. This belief is not true anymore. Both are important. Branding is really about “the truth told well” as a well-known agency used to say.

Brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. So it is not about creating a glitzy view of a company through clever commercials and buying a million likes on Facebook. A glib talker whose tall claims do not live up to his actual behavior only generates mistrust. Stories cannot make up for reality. Finally, it is really about living the way we want to be seen.

Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduri

Here is the 2015 list of top 100 brands <click here>

My take on what the Make in India campaign should do <click here>

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