How to build a better brand How branding works, and practical tips for building your brand

©SharpEdge Marketing 2015

Branding is one of the cornerstones of marketing.

There’s tremendous power in consistent, well-managed branding – and every business has the opportunity to harness that power by applying some fundamental principles.

It affects every business, every day. Regardless of business size, location, global reach, product type, or number of staff, branding provides a foundation for the rest of your marketing activity. Branding is all around us. As consumers, we can all recognise well-known brands, even from just a fragment of their logo. This e-book cannot possibly cover every aspect of branding – but it will cover a few key principles that every business should understand and apply.

Contents • • • • • •

What is a brand? Brand loyalty How do customers form opinions of brands? Other reasons to brand Growing and managing a brand When to rebrand

©SharpEdge Marketing 2015

What is a brand? Identification At its most basic level, a brand is a practical identification mark. (Think in terms of cattle being branded at a ranch: the ‘brand’ identifies ownership rights, but also responsibilities.) A brand is a measure to ensure customers can see quickly what goods or services they are buying, so they aren’t confused. Brands are there for the customer’s benefit, as well as the brand owner’s. Legal protection Branding can provide legal protection for the brand too – protection from ‘passing off’ by other companies.

“A brand is defined as a name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or services from those of other sellers.” (Chris Fill) All of these aspects are clear and tangible, and within the company’s control – which of course means there’s no excuse for getting these bits wrong, or using them inconsistently!

More than the name Note the mention in the quote too of ‘other features’. Branding is more than just the name. Colours, fonts, photographic style, shape, lighting, music, jingles, even copywriting style are all important parts of the brand too.

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The world’s top 10 most valuable brands, 2014 (source: Interbrand)

More than styling Branding doesn’t stop at the logo.

“The brand is the aura of beliefs and expectations about a product (or service) which make it relevant and distinctive. It stretches beyond the physical and into the psychological and is extremely powerful.” (Mary Lewis) Brands come to life in the customer’s mind. Branding tells the customer what they can expect from the product or service – for example, what the brand stands for, its quality, price, service level… and importantly, whether the product is trustworthy and relevant to the customer. Branding is the total impression created in the customer’s mind.

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Brand loyalty Branding doesn’t just cover practical, rational issues. Customers have an emotional response to brands too, which must not be ignored. This emotional response can generate a huge amount of brand loyalty, as customers start to feel they are forming a relationship with the brand. And that’s what makes branding so powerful.

“If this business were to be split up, I would be glad to take the brands, trademarks and goodwill and you could have all the bricks and mortar – and I would fare better than you.” (John Stuart, former chairman of Quaker Oats)

What about B2B? It’s thought that business-to-business sales tends to be more rationally based – but business-to-business buyers are still human, and will have an emotional response to your brand - even if it is subsequently justified with rationale! John Stuart, former chairman of Quaker Oats, recognised that branding changes a commodity product into something much more valuable. It’s the brand that customers relate to and trust.

This is not John Stuart: the ‘Quaker Man’ is actually known as Larry!

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1. Messages companies put out about their brands –

How do customers form opinions about brands? Typically there are six aspects which influence brand perception – see right. Some things are clearly under the direct control of the brand. But others are much less so. As we’ve already seen, there’s an argument that you don’t own your brand at all, because it lives in your customers’ mind! Nonetheless, the brand owner must consider all the aspects which shape the brand experience (which will vary and be unique to each brand), control them as much as possible, and seek constant feedback from customers to gauge success. The positive side is that when customers are loyal to your brand, they can generate positive word-of-mouth marketing for your brand – the best kind.

eg, through advertising, direct mail, packaging, design, store ambience, customer service

2. What perceived ‘independent’ people say about the brand – eg, journalists, Which? magazine, reviewers’ websites, third-party accreditations, awards

3. Through opinion leaders and brand icons. These can be people the customer admires or trusts; or people the customer knows and aspires to be like; or those whom the customer doesn’t know, but feels a strong affiliation towards, including celebrities

4. Peer group influence (and with social media, peer groups are much wider, and operate much more quickly than ever before)

5. The customer’s own experiences of the brand 6. The customer’s values, and how closely they match those of the brand

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Other reasons to brand Branding defends profits. Because one role of branding is to denote the value and positioning of the product, brands that invest in a premium positioning can typically charge more. Even allowing for the costs of ongoing investment in the brand, it’s a worthwhile exercise. Branding not only generates premium sales today, but because of the loyalty typically generated, branding can defend future profits too. To appeal to certain customer groups. Where there’s a large market, such as cars, one company can operate two or more brands, to appeal to different types of customers (eg, Volkswagen and Skoda). To embrace new products or services Branding can also give a company the opportunity to extend its brand to embrace new products and services – Virgin is a prime example.

Customers like brands! Aside from easy product identification, branding can help reduce the amount of perceived risk in a purchase (for example, if a Kenwood food processor has proven to be a good purchase, then the toaster will probably be good too.) Brand status and identity There are certain brands that customers want to own, just because of the brand’s perception. Having a branded product can make customers feel good about themselves, and feel part of a tribe – ie, a sense of belonging.

Branding is not only profitable for businesses. It helps customers make sense of the product, and the market; and can also help customers define themselves.

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Growing and managing a brand

Whatever the type of business, here are eight brand management principles you can apply.

1.

Understand your customers and target markets. What are they looking for? What do they expect? What do they want a brand to be? What are your competitors offering? How can you differentiate your brand from others? You must start with a strategic marketing activity – and keep repeating the exercise regularly, because markets change.

3.

2. Understand your brand values. Be clear about who you are and what you stand for. What kind of personality does your brand have? If you’re a small business or sole trader, this brand personality may reflect your own – and it can be a challenging activity to try and look objectively at your own brand!

4. Always be consistent. This is not just in the application of your logo, but also in your approach to business. Remember your brand has a personality, so don’t send mixed messages. Brands naturally evolve, but it should be a managed process – not an excuse to tinker.

Make sure everything you do reflects your brand values. This includes the activities and attitudes of all your staff. It’s vital to communicate your brand values to staff, and manage them to ensure brand standards are applied.

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Growing and managing a brand (cont’d)

If you receive negative comments on social media, don’t ignore them – respond to them, quickly and publicly. If the conversation gets more in-depth, take it off social media and continue it by email or personal message.

5.

Be vigilant in checking what is being said about your brand This applies to both online and offline activities. It’s easier now than ever to do this, using the web, and free tools such as Google Alerts. Remember too that news and comment spreads quickly, especially on social media.

7.

6.

8. Be positive. Don’t wait for things to go wrong. Find positive, practical things to do (small or large) to demonstrate what you stand for.

Respond quickly to negative comments. Don’t just be defensive. Comments present an opportunity to listen, learn, even apologise. You’ll improve your knowledge of your brand, and your perception too.

Act in good faith, in the interests of your customers For example, if a product recall is required, do it quickly. You brand will receive better recognition for being proactive and doing the right thing, and it could be an opportunity to enhance your brand’s reputation for responsible and ethical behaviour.

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Time to rebrand? Many companies rebrand themselves during their lifetime. This can be done either by evolution or revolution. Evolution Many familiar brands slightly modify their brand styling – sometimes just slightly, so many people would hardly notice. But it’s enough to keep the brand fresh, so it retains loyalty and can prevent a major overhaul later. Revolution This is a major brand overhaul, which can include a new name, logo, colour, etc. The positive side to this is that it shows radical change, and is appropriate if you want to communicate very different things about your brand, or achieve cut-through again where competitors have crowded into your space. It may backfire if loyal or habitual customers are shaken out of familiarity and made to think again about their buying decision (particularly applicable to consumer goods).

If you do decide it’s time for your brand to change. make sure the outward change is supported by a change within the company too – a new approach, attitude or values. Otherwise, you risk simply ”putting go-fast stripes on a tortoise”. .

If you have changed as a business, then consider whether your old image still does you justice, or anchors you too strongly to your past.

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Get in touch We can help you gain a better understanding of your brand, with our objective, comprehensive Brand Audit.

We’ll explore the different aspects of your brand that make it unique; explore how well your brand is understood by staff; find out what your customers really think; and give you practical tips for how you can improve your brand’s perception.

Author: Annette Harpham DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer Director, SharpEdge Marketing Ltd

Get in touch – we’ll be happy to talk.

SharpEdge Marketing Ltd 44, Teignbridge Business Centre Cavalier Road,Heathfield Industrial Estate Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 6TZ 01626 835964 www.sharpedgemarketing.co.uk .

©SharpEdge Marketing 2015