How to Build A Brand...

HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BRAND J

[With references from my Mentor and colleagues]

Brands are something that really play an important part in revenue generation. Building a good brand, hence is most important for any firm .There are seven most important ingredients of BRAND BUILDING

Quality

Quality is a vital ingredient of a good brand. It is the “core benefits” – the things consumers expect. These must be delivered well, consistently. The branded computer that crashes often, or the oven that often falls apart when wet will never develop brand equity.

Positioning

Positioning is about the position a brand occupies in a market in the minds of consumers. Strong brands have a clear, often unique position in the target market and can be achieved through several means, including brand name, image, service standards, product guarantees, packaging and the way in which it is delivered.

Repositioning

Repositioning occurs when a brand tries to change its market position to reflect a change in consumer’s tastes. This is often required when a brand has become tired, perhaps because its original market has matured or has gone into decline.

Communications

Communications play a key role in building a successful brand. Brand positioning is essentially about customer perceptions and SHOULD be well communicated – with the objective to build a clearly defined position in the minds of the target audience.

First-mover advantage

In terms of brand development, by “first-mover” means that it is possible for the first successful brand in a market to create a clear positioning in the minds of target customers before the competition enters the market.

Long-term perspective

Brand building is indeed dependent on need to invest in the brand over the long-term. Building customer awareness, communicating the brand’s message and creating customer loyalty takes time. This means that firms must “invest” in a brand, perhaps at the expense of short-term profitability.

Internal marketing

Finally, Firms should ensure that the brand is marketed “internally” as well as externally. This is particularly important in service businesses where a critical part of the brand value is the type and quality of service that a customer receives.