Monday 21 February, 2005
The ability to build successful brands and the resultant repeat business are tightly linked to business and manager know-how.
To successfully build brands, a business must be in touch with what
makes it special. Much of what your staff and business does is tacit and
can remain hidden and invisible. Yet it is this human dynamic that
makes branding so challenging.
A good brand is much more than a list of features. It is full of emotional messages, like fun, excitement, freedom, security, social approval and self-respect, which grab and keep people's attention.
When it comes to improving your brand value, you must have a clear brand focus, be able to communicate how your know-how links to your message, and track brand awareness and appeal.
If you honestly and candidly explore these issues you will be much better prepared to build and grow a smarter, better business. Market leaders dominate their markets because they are much better than their competition at building on and developing their brand equity.
Create a mantra - develop a catch phrase or logo that covers the spirit of your brand. Look for a 5-10 word phrase that communicates a fresh, fun, innovative, relevant and inspiring quality.
Mark your territory - break your brand into 3-5 areas of excellence or activity. Consider the functional benefits of your know-how as well as the symbolic benefits. Ultimately, how does your know-how make a person's life better and provide the stimulation they are seeking?
Open the communication lines - develop a plan that builds commitment and mobilises effort. Depending on your brand, conversations should be established with a wide range of people including employees, customers, suppliers and experts. Encourage people to share ideas and be part of the implementation. People must feel they are personally benefiting, as well as the business.
Maintain the buzz – word of mouth is everything! The recommendations of others are priceless in brand development. Just think of what you do when you decide to go to a movie or change doctor. You have most likely made a decision based on a recommendation from someone you trust and value. In maintaining the buzz, your goal is to raise awareness from being blissfully unaware to being totally infatuated. Keep your brand fresh and vital, and make your communication consistent with the brand identity, image and aspirations.
Human capital - identify the expertise and composition of your people. For example, a high level of enthusiasm, desire and commitment in the workplace would be an indicator that your people are committed to excellence. Other measures include brain drain and investment in training and development.
Intellectual capital - place a value on trade marks, secrets, patents and brands.
Relationship capital - detail collaborative relationships, business partnerships, joint ventures and industry associations that are helping build your reputation and industry standing.
Systems performance - describe how your systems and processes benefit your brand. Measures can include the investment in digital technology or how practices have been replicated or improved. Here you will also find common measures of productivity, reduced wastage and efficiency savings to name a few.
Source:ceoonline.com
A good brand is much more than a list of features. It is full of emotional messages, like fun, excitement, freedom, security, social approval and self-respect, which grab and keep people's attention.
When it comes to improving your brand value, you must have a clear brand focus, be able to communicate how your know-how links to your message, and track brand awareness and appeal.
Developing a clear brand focus
To be successful your business must continually explore three simple questions:- What makes your business truly outstanding?
- What capabilities does your business generate that make it extraordinary and hard to copy?
- How can you preserve and sustain this advantage?
If you honestly and candidly explore these issues you will be much better prepared to build and grow a smarter, better business. Market leaders dominate their markets because they are much better than their competition at building on and developing their brand equity.
Linking to know-how
Having developed a clearer understanding of your know-how, you can then develop a brand strategy that inspires interest, engages curiosity and builds on your reputation. Here are four steps to consider:Create a mantra - develop a catch phrase or logo that covers the spirit of your brand. Look for a 5-10 word phrase that communicates a fresh, fun, innovative, relevant and inspiring quality.
Mark your territory - break your brand into 3-5 areas of excellence or activity. Consider the functional benefits of your know-how as well as the symbolic benefits. Ultimately, how does your know-how make a person's life better and provide the stimulation they are seeking?
Open the communication lines - develop a plan that builds commitment and mobilises effort. Depending on your brand, conversations should be established with a wide range of people including employees, customers, suppliers and experts. Encourage people to share ideas and be part of the implementation. People must feel they are personally benefiting, as well as the business.
Maintain the buzz – word of mouth is everything! The recommendations of others are priceless in brand development. Just think of what you do when you decide to go to a movie or change doctor. You have most likely made a decision based on a recommendation from someone you trust and value. In maintaining the buzz, your goal is to raise awareness from being blissfully unaware to being totally infatuated. Keep your brand fresh and vital, and make your communication consistent with the brand identity, image and aspirations.
Tracking performance
No business can grow or survive unless it constantly reviews its progress and then takes action to improve. Two review strategies are recommended in improving performance:- undertake independent and regular review of how your know-how is impacting your brand
- explore the actual reaction of the customer to your value proposition.
Consider these five areas to communicate your brand strategy:
Customer capital - show how you listen to your customers. Communicate customer satisfaction rates, growth of customer learning and involvement in decision making.Human capital - identify the expertise and composition of your people. For example, a high level of enthusiasm, desire and commitment in the workplace would be an indicator that your people are committed to excellence. Other measures include brain drain and investment in training and development.
Intellectual capital - place a value on trade marks, secrets, patents and brands.
Relationship capital - detail collaborative relationships, business partnerships, joint ventures and industry associations that are helping build your reputation and industry standing.
Systems performance - describe how your systems and processes benefit your brand. Measures can include the investment in digital technology or how practices have been replicated or improved. Here you will also find common measures of productivity, reduced wastage and efficiency savings to name a few.
Consider measuring brand value in the eyes of the customer by determining the:
- extent and ease in which the customer recalls and recognises your brand
- strength, favourability and uniqueness of the brand. What know-how is seen and respected?
- perceived qualities of the brand. Which emotions and attachments are generated?
Source:ceoonline.com
No comments:
Post a Comment