Feb 24, 2011

The Business of Branding: Why Personality is Critical for Your Company

You've just started your own company. Now you're the boss. You get to call all the shots. Soon you'll be raking in more cash than you can bag--and on your terms, too! But if you don't create a brand for your company, you'll be out of business faster than you started it. Here are five reasons why creating a brand for your company remains critical for success.

Power
Perhaps the most important reason to create a company brand is power. Branding empowers your company. How? By helping consumers to focus their attention on a clearly identified item. For example, Intel makes computer chips. You may not know that, but you probably know Intel company commercials and products when you see them! Intel uses the same blue and silver logo every time, with the orange button on the lower right. When people see this logo on their computer, they know they've got a powerful item in their system that works. Now that's power!
Recognition
Another reason why creating a brand for your company remains critical for success is branding helps people recognize a product associated with your company. Take Altoids, for instance. The company consistently uses the phrase "The Curiously Strong Mints" as part of its brand. This phrase is also used as part of the company's product packaging. Applying these methods reinforces the same message, the same look, and the same feel. That's why you always know an Altoids product when you see one.
Reliability
Next, use branding so that people know what to expect each and every time they buy your product. No matter which McDonald's you visit, you already know exactly what you are going to get before you enter the store. You are going to see the same golden arches. You are going to taste the same hamburgers. And your experience will be exactly the same as when you first tried the food.
Simplicity
Yet another reason it is important to create a brand for your company is simplicity. In other words, over time a company's brand speaks for itself. There was a time when Nike used both its logo and the slogan "Just Do It" in every piece of advertising the company produced. Then, the company made a bold move by removing the slogan and using the logo only. With just one "swoosh," Nike sells.
Notoriety
All reasons for creating a brand are important, but the ultimate success comes when your company becomes a household topic of conversation! Just look at Old Spice. Most recently, the company has combined a well-conceived and well-executed advertising campaign with humor to create a commercial that still creates a lot of buzz. The reason is simple: People identify with and seek social identity through branded products.
Never forget that creating a brand for your company is important. Branding is the source of the promise to your customer. In order for that promise to radiate from every part of your company, create the personality your company needs in order to succeed: a brand.

Feb 17, 2011

Brand Priorities shifts to consumers minds: A new “Brand Value” strategy

‘Know thy consumer priorities set in their minds’ is a basic principle of brand management and of marketing generally. Consumers change is better defined as existing consumers of a brand develop new needs, change their preferences, alter their habits and acquire new skills for engaging in purchasing and consumption. Moreover, fresh consumers come into new and established markets, with their own needs, preferences and skills. Further, these momentous changes didn't have implications for the way consumers think about brands and the way brands will be managed in future. Individuals in all their roles such as “consumer”, “employee”, “citizen” will benefit greatly from person centric services companies offer in their branding strategies
As someone who combines areas of competency particularly technological sophistication, network competency and marketing/advertising with empowerment especially self-confidence and self-efficacy can implement this brand management strategy. Competency refers to practical skills and acquired knowledge to respond to a constantly changing environment. It is seen in the technological sophistication of consumers as they are ready and willing to adopt new technologies from SMS to more interactive devices. Consumers like a shift from the old static view of knowledge to a dynamic, contemporary view of knowledge. Consumers are skilled problem-solvers, exhibiting confidence in their procedural knowledge and even in the absence of sound declarative knowledge. The impact on brand management of changing consumers is evident in various ways. Not least is the willingness of consumers to adopt new technologies in droves, creating staggering opportunities for certain players to become mega-brands from online stars to re-packaged, re-invigorated, and hybrid off/online businesses. Online Commerce Law
Novel brand attributes come into play like consumers of an online social network site want to share content, communicate easily, and interact in real-time to profile. Ease of use, speed and interactivity are valued attributes. Any brand that cannot match consumer expectations in terms of these attributes is likely to find its future very bleak. Information diffusion about brands is rapid through offline and online word-of-mouth communication, through marketer-controlled and uncontrolled buzz and viral communications. Positive news travel faster, but so too does negative news. 
More and more opportunities exist for consumers to engage with brands — through brand communities, product sites, forums, and blogs. Technological sophistication and network competency combine to reduce information asymmetry which has traditionally been biased toward the firm, giving the upper hand to consumers. Indeed, among marketers there is a tendency to focus on the upside rather than dwell on the downside. Many marketers even fail to recognize that there might be a downside. Relationships are at the core of this engagement model. ‘Brand engagement drives directly to what the marketer is trying to do get the customer involved with the brand’. However, the reality may be far less comforting for those in brand management a fragile, fractured and fragmented landscape, where it is increasingly difficult for brands to be neatly aligned with well-defined, identifiable and stable groups of consumers.

Feb 15, 2011

Stimulate Marketing Campaign Via Sound Marketing Plan

A strong marketing campaign requires for implementation and execution to be carried with a great care and curiously. For this purpose one’s has to be equipped with a precise marketing plan. Marketing plan is a document which has certain parts to deal with business appropriately and earn more profits as well as a good reputation. First step of it is “Situational analysis”. It consists of 5 C’s names as Company, Collaborators, Customers, Competitors, and Climate.
All the detail about company previous product lines and brand extensions along with their marketing record is perquisite to go through. Like company one should focus on all collaborators, customers and competitors information. Especially customers on the points like as what motivates them in the purchase process? Where the customer does actually purchases one’s product? How the product is purchased (impulse buys, internet, etc)? Understand the quantity a customer will purchase and even trends in consumer tastes. Like customers about competitors too about both one’s actual and potential competitors and those that directly or indirectly compete with them. Understand their products, positioning, market shares, strengths and weaknesses.
Most importantly the climate means governmental policies and regulations that affect the market. It is also the economic environment around your company; which is the business cycle, inflation rate, interest rates, and other macroeconomic issues. Society's trends and fashions are found in the "climate." The technological environment is creating new ways of satisfying needs. After all this one need to be consider and determine its marketing objective clearly. This will give campaign a direction as "Where you want to go?" "What will it take to get there?" "How long will it take?" And "Why do you want to get there?”. In creating your objectives one must remember to be specific and know exactly what one want to achieve. Remember to quantify objectives so they are measurable. Make sure they are achievable and realistic. Pest Analysis
Action plan is necessary part every marketing and business plan as it helps one in carried out execution of each stage on time. Action plan has 3 things that help a person in business world like 1) what will be done or needs to be done to get one’s plan in order? This includes the specific jobs or tasks that need to be done. 2) One’s time frame. When does it need to be done? When everything will actually be done? 3) Resources allocation. Marketing Plan Success includes powerful tools for including financial information in marketing plan but one by using simple “Excel template” help to perform a break-even analysis, research the cost of its sales, budget regarding entire marketing efforts, and comparison of sales forecasts to expense forecasts.
In epitome, Marketing Implementation is what turns marketing plans into marketing actions. Implementation is the day-to-day activities that will effectively put your plan into action. Proper implementation can give a company the edge in a market with similar market plans. If a company is better and faster at execution, they are sure to have the advantage in terms of market share.

Feb 9, 2011

Where your brand stands: BCG Matrix

BCG matrix is a tool for companies to determine their product portfolio and strategic business units for developing best possible business strategy. BCG matrix was developed by “Boston consulting group” to facilitate the companies and corporation for managing their product and business portfolio. The names of four cells in BCG Matrix are as Cash Cows, Stars, Question Marks, and Dogs. The products or business with high relative market share and low industry growth rate falls into cash cows cell. These business entities generate more cash inflow with less requirements of investment. The Cash cows have high market share but industry growth is slow as compared to stars. Stars are the business entities with high market share and industry growth. The cash inflows are high but on the other hand it also requires heavy investment to meet the expenses of marketing, distribution, R&D and other business operations.
As named suggest Question marks are the business entities with high growth rate and low market share. It can fall either into Stars and Dogs, company has to make decision to further invest on Question marks or eliminate by selling off to other companies. Dogs are the business entities with low market share and growth rate. No company wants dogs in their business or product portfolio because they only eat meat in the form of cash and having minimal cash inflows. The best thing company can do is to liquidate the dogs to minimize the risk. One strategy to boost your question marks into stars is promoting a brand through loyalty cards. The loyalty members are benefitted in many senses. They get better pricing on items and upgraded features. They also get separate billing counter to avoid the rush of billing. This truly makes customers special to the particular business group. Today, almost all types of business houses have started loyalty programs. One can find such programs in hotels, provisionary shops, garment store, gaming zone, food plaza, spa, gym and almost everywhere.
The benefit availed under the loyalty card depend on the points collected. The more points you collect, the greater benefits you can avail. The schemes of loyalty cards vary greatly. Some of the cards provide redemption scheme. It means you can use the points for money value in buying certain items from the store. Other is discount providing card. Some of the cards provide certain discount on each purchase after collecting certain determined points. Some cards give priority to members who are under the loyalty program of the respective company. Such loyalty cards are offered in health clubs, libraries, food departmental store, country club, hotels, spa, etc. The member customers are provided service quickly. They do not need to wait to avail the service. Some of the companies offer special deals to their member customers. Items are available on additional discount. They are informed about the new collection and promotional items via emails and messages. They are also informed at the schemes available in the company.
Loyalty programs are mutually beneficial to the business groups and customers. So, become members of your favorite brand and avail loyalty card to enjoy freedom, discounts and other benefits provided. The card contains information in magnetic codes behind the black stripe of the card. Card making companies print and design membership and loyalty cards for companies.

Feb 2, 2011

Destination Branding

It is a complex kind of branding as it has in its components products, services, and corporate brand activities; also act as an umbrella brand that actually extends to multiplicity of products but unlike it may not relate to diverse consumers groups. It is largely defined through its logos and slogans. Consumers decisions matters a lot in it as they collects information prior to consumption or purchase and then their ability to sort out that information to make a useful decision. As far as destination branding is concerned in making a worthwhile decision the main players are word-of-mouth, mass media, travel agents, and lastly personal experiences. Creating the Unique Destination Proposition
In destination branding there must exists a fit between the corporate image of brand and the image of the destination country. Consumers must trust on country laws, regulations, products, and sub categories like hospitality & infrastructure. One good example in destination branding is "Taj Mahal". A destination brand must possess several associations to the consumers’ minds. “Taj Mahal” has a variety of such association a symbol of romance, a historic dignity, and now-a-days a place to political alliances. Consumer loyalty to destination increases the positive image as public visits on and off such places and enhances its brand image. 
Destination branding has particularly three components such as Functional, Symbolic, and Experiential components. Functional comes under intangible, Symbolic comes under tangible, and experiential go to the route of personality and emotions. Moreover, brand image cannot be static. Brands with energy have the ability to adapt to customers changing trends and needs to do better than more static brands. Individual’s personal experiences and perceptions particularly determinant in the brand image built up as far as destination branding is concerned. Hence consumers’ motive is normally is to choose brands on the basis of its image in the society hence social brand linkages play vital role in destination brand tactics.
In destination branding symbolic properties of brands matters more than its functional properties according to consumers and crucial to have a greater and sustainable competitive advantage. To promote destination brands companies usually go for experiential marketing campaigns. Value added services also enhance a destination brand and generate a positive word-of-mouth. Furthermore, like functional and symbolic capabilities, heritage and values, and Psycho-social match counts for destination branding. It is a kind of branding that can be controlled through target consumers’ personality profile and unique traits.

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