Branding can be your saviour

I recently read some articles on branding in a local magazine and to my disappointment, they lacked in substance and did not ponder on the true nature and power of branding as a marketing strategy for an enterprise. So, I'll attempt to put branding in the right perspective in this article.

First things first

A brand cannot thrive if the company’s vision and mission are not connected to the brand.?

The history of management shows that successful companies hold a bold Vision (where they are heading) and a relevant Mission (what they stand for) which both tie in synergistically to attract and retain customers (building brand loyalty) as well as great talents (talent retention) provided the company values and culture also support the vision and mission.??

I don’t intend to dwell too much on these key management tenets but please keep reading to grasp why I’m discussing the vision, mission, values and culture of a company when it comes to brand strategy.

Know thyself: brand essence and brand promise

A company should be able to spell out what the corporate brand and product brand(s) stand for so that it is crystal clear about its point(s) of differentiation or brand essence which can be rooted in both functional and emotional constructs. This is commonly referred to as the product’s Unique Value Proposition (UVP) or put simply, why do customers trust the corporate brand or product brand(s)? Your UVP will then become your brand promise to your target audiences, be it through traditional marketing channels, digital platforms such as social media handles or influencers.

In general, the higher the level of trust, the stronger the brand and the higher the ability of the brand to command a premium price which is very often accompanies by high quality, impeccable customer service and other aspects which I shall refer to as product perks. In other words, strong brands bestow pedigree. We neither question their performance nor their reliability because their reputation says it all.?

Not knowing the essence of your brand will play tricks on you because you will try out many brand strategies until you run out of marketing budget. Skilled branding experts run brand workshops with companies to help them identify their brand essence before they even think of kicking off a branding campaign.?

Mind the gap: where does your brand stand?

In life, we regularly stop and assess where we are before we move ahead again, right? Likewise, a company should know its brand position compared to competing brands at a given point in time. Very often, there is a gap or disconnect between the perception of the brand by employees compared to the perception of the brand by external audiences (there is a body of knowledge on self-concept which explains why we have such different brand perceptions).?

Brand perceptual gaps can be plotted with much accuracy on a perceptual map by conducting a brand perception study which is normally done through quantitative research. This will allow you to know where your brand stand across several brand image dimensions such sustainability, innovativeness, quality, price, service quality, sophistication, etc. Such a study will unlock insights about your brand persona which is vital in devising a compelling digital marketing strategy.??Additionally, data analytics with the aid of modern technologies such as AI and CRM tools can help a lot in understanding offline and online customer behaviours to help marketers understand customer journeys.?

I did a brand perception study some years ago because every Director, Head of Department, Manager and Employee of the company I was working for at that time, had their own opinion about the strengths and weaknesses of the brand, but there was no evidence whatsoever. The brand perception study had put everyone on the same wavelength, and we knew thereafter what were the main pain points of the brand on which we had to work to reach the desired brand image or brand promise to beat the competition.

Bridging the gap between brand strategy and business strategy

A company embarking on a rebranding without assessing if it has the right brand strategy to achieve product and market share growth, is surely heading towards disaster. In fact, a company must first and foremost assess if it has the right marketing mix strategy in terms of the famous 7 P’s namely, product, price, place, promotion, process, people and physical evidence. I would also add the importance of building strong business relationships in the B2B space (commonly known as Relationship Marketing).?

Above all, as marketers, not only do we need to have deep product knowledge but we must also understand the business and growth strategy of the company such as product innovation, market diversification (e.g. exporting) or penetrating new market segments among others. It is only after grasping the business strategy that the marketer can analyse and figure out if he has the right brand strategy and brand architecture. To give you a hint about brand architecture, you can Google “House of brands” and “Brand House.” You can also check out this interesting read about the upcoming rebranding of Facebook to Meta:?https://www.marketingweek.com/facebooks-rebrand-future-beyond/

Charting your brand position

Following a deep dive about your brand essence, brand promise and brand positioning, you are now ready to develop or reinforce your brand strategy. This may involve a rebranding or just the creation of new brands (e.g. SpaceX for which there is no reference to Tesla) or sub-brands (e.g. Tesla’s Model S) within product strategies such as product line extensions (e.g. Facebook acquisition of WhatsApp) or brand extensions (e.g. Apple Watch or Apple TV).?

Further, the brand architecture should give the Management of a company enough confidence that it is well structured to reach its brands' performance marketing targets among which are brand awareness, preference, loyalty, growth and financials. A brand health study can help in measuring these brand yardsticks.

It is only after the brand positioning has been established that a marketing communication, PR/Comm strategy and action plan can be developed and executed in-house or through an effective marcom agency. In so doing, the power of influencers should not be underestimated, and innovative channels of communication should be considered to touch the mind and hearts of the brand's target audiences.

How sustainable is your brand?

Finally, strong brands are sustainable in the sense that their production and distribution are not detrimental to the environment along the supply chain because studies show that end consumers are becoming more and more environmentally conscious. Thus, marketers should not neglect the sustainability of their brands if they want create brand loyalty.?

Branding should not be capped to mere advertising

I hope that this article fuels some more debate on branding, and I must emphasize that branding should not be limited to a rebranding or mere advertising campaign.?The latter is the result of strategic thinking on the brand, not the starting point.

Branding can be your saviour if you grasp its intricacies, and unleash its potential for your brands.

I look forward to reading your constructive feedback.?