While different people will have different approaches to developing and managing brands, we believe there are some fundamental constructs and truths about brand strategy that need to be considered in any brand strategy process. We\'ve developed a short presentation on some of the fundamentals of brand strategy.
5. The value of Brands are realised through customer choice
Shareholder value is created through the choice of customers to
transact on the basis of the associations they hold in respect to a
product, good or service.
Without an identiļ¬able brand customers have no clear way of:
āÆ choosing one alternative over another
āÆ discerning the option that best meets their needs
āÆ rewarding businesses that have genuine competitive advantage
6. Why should a customer choose you?
Company Company Company
A B C
7. The strongest Brands are built upon competitive advantage
Customers choose brands where the mental associations reļ¬ect:
-āÆ Value propositions that meet the needs of customers
-āÆ Beneļ¬ts that diļ¬er from alternatives in ways that are relevant to customers
-āÆ Values that appeal to customersā own beliefs or aspirations
Brands are built upon both rational and emotional advantage.
8. Brand Strategy is a business imperative
Businesses have a brand even when they do not have a brand
strategy.
If you donāt invest in deļ¬ning the meaning of your brand, the
market will deļ¬ne it for you.
12. How does your Brand Strategy stack-up?
Our Brand Strategy isā¦. Yes No Donāt Know
Clearly linked to our business strategy - How we manage our brand and the
investments we make in branding can be clearly tied back to our business goals,
objectives and outcomes.
Based upon the rational & emotional need of our target market ā Our target market is
clearly deļ¬ned and we have solid research that backs-up our understanding of what
customers need from businesses like ours.
Eļ¬ective in diļ¬erentiating us from the competition ā Customers clearly see our brand
as diļ¬erent from competing alternatives in ways that really matter to them
Integrated across all points of inļ¬uence ā Our brand positioning is consistent across all
customer touch points. We are consistent in our controlled communications through
web, PR, sponsorship and advertising and most importantly, in the experiences
customers have when they deal with our business.
Sensitive to uncontrollable inļ¬uences ā We have processes to monitor uncontrollable
inļ¬uences such as competitor actions and customer comments made about our brand
in social media and on-line and respond accordingly.
Understood by our staļ¬ & business partners ā If I asked each staļ¬ member or business
partner what our business stands for and what makes us diļ¬erent in the eyes of
customers, I would get a consistent response that really reļ¬ects our brand strategy.
If you answered anything other then āYesā to any of the above, you have work to do
on your brand strategy.