BRAND BUILDING (PART TWO) Branding is the connection of a product to the customer through logos, design, packaging and other factors depending on the brand. Customers either have a rational view towards the product or an emotional view towards it. This connection between the brand and the customer is built over time and leads to brand loyalty. Some customers are willing to pay more for a particular product not because it is any better but because they have an emotional attachment to that particular product. In order to connect with the customer on the emotional level, the producer has to carry the customer along and make them feel like part and parcel of the company. This is achieved through consistency, dialogue and carful consideration of the customer’s wishes and honoring loyal customers through bonuses, dinners and including them in company catalogues and magazines. The customers feel they have a stake in the company because decisions are run through them.
Having loyal customers with a cult following is a very good thing, but like a plant that is not nurtured they can wither and die out. Remember loyal customers are informal ambassadors to your brand, sharing your every post and referring others, hence the need for recognition via thank you letters, phone calls and hosting them to company luncheons. The advantage of becoming a customer should not be limited to products only there should be other benefits that come along with it. All your eggs should be put in the basket of brand strategy, as with any plan its can be a flop or perform less than expected. There has to be other schemes in case the respond to
the others is low. With each market campaign, analysis of the current market and customer responsiveness should be taken note of and room given for augmentation. By being able to measure the responsiveness and an impact a product has on the customer a multi angled approach to the marketing campaign can be adopted each meeting with the different needs and desires of the individual customer. Needs and wants are ever changing in the world of today, and it is important that your brand be positioned to adapt to these changes. It is imperative that a brand be flexible in order to maintain its relevance in the market. New and effective marketing strategies can be achieved through dialogue with customers and fresh hands on the management team. A company should not be afraid to host a Q&A session on social media platforms, ask your customers what they want, be open to suggestions, after it’s entirely all about your customers.
Being open minded is not limited to the customers and the product alone, watch what the competition is up too and note what they are doing right and what mistakes they have made. Get your teams to analyze the effectiveness of their branding strategies. The data and lessons gleaned from your competition will give you the competitive edge in strategizing and promoting. Remember a brand is what makes your product unique and watching competitors is for lessons to be learnt not for similar campaigns to be copied and the uniqueness of your brand compromised. In conclusion, always remember that the brand strategies should be aligned with the company’s long term goals and objectives. A strong brand is priceless, that is why you need to continuously research the effect of the campaign strategies adopted has on the customer and keep looking for ways to improve. A market research can only be done through effective communication either directly through the company or through external analysts such as University and financial institutions.