Most companies want to build a brand for the organization, for their products or services, for obvious reasons. Once you have a brand that stands for its qualities, then it is much easier to communicate with customers about new products, services or features that you want to launch under the brand. A brand also commands better value from customers. Let us investigate this a bit
A brand helps you feel safe
It is known world over that there are assembly companies in Taiwan that manufacture laptops for different companies, but customers prefer laptops from brands like Dell, Lenovo, Apple and pay lesser value for laptops from brands like Acer, Asus etc. Similary, there are hundreds of tailoring units, which manufacture readymade clothes, but when the same clothes are branded as Lee or Levi\’s , they command a higher brand value and a higher price. People feel safe drinking water branded as Bisleri compared to an unknown brand. Why does all this happen. It is all about an image/perception that is formed in the human mind.
In fact, we can generalize marketing to saying that it is about building perceptions that stick and stay. Consumers across India have come to know Dettol as a brand that kills germs. So much so, that a much stronger marketing company like P&G could not capture much market share with its product called Savlon. The association of Dettol as a germ killing soap/liquid was so strong that eventually Lifebuoy, a product from HUL had to change its branding/positioning to a sports lifestyle soap to avoid the direct conflict with Dettol.
So how do you go about building a brand?
- You need to know the niche messaging plank that you are going to play on
- you need to be consistent with your messaging approach and have very good reach mechanisms, reaching your target market effectively.
Example of an IPO
You would have seen new companies floating an IPO in the stock market, seeking investments. If you notice, most people do not even know about the company before the IPO. But during the period prior to the launch of the IPO, there is significant amount of advertising, across different channels like TV, radio, newspaper media, hoardings etc.. All of this ensures that the brand has visibility in front of the investors. In a few weeks, abra-ca dabra, you will be amazed, that people start feeling comfortable about the brand so much so that they are ready to put in their hard earned money as investments into the IPO. Isn\’t this magic?
If an IPO can do it, logically any company can do it, but budgets are the limiting factor. All the more reasons to think about digital means to reach your potential target market. With digital ads across Google, FB, Insta, consistent organic social media presence, email campaigns, it is possible to start conveying your unique values to your potential target market. You might not start generating leads directly from this exercise, but you warm up a prospect to the idea of working with you on a project. He just starts feeling more comfortable about you.
Most CEO\’s and senior executives that I talk to believe that branding is only for FMCG companies. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Every company is building a brand, all the time, with its actions, with the way its sales persons interact, with the way they deliver projects, with the way, they answer phones, to the way they answer emails. All of these items and more are building a character that is unique for your company.
Building a brand with help from Digital Marketing
From that perspective, when you go about building a brand, don\’t just think about building a brand in the sales organization and in the customer facing teams. The exercise needs to cut across other teams as well. In fact how you deliver your projects and how your teams respond to situations all help in defining a brand.
Marketing and particularly digital can help a lot in consistent communications and help create a unified perception about your company\’s products and services. This can go a long way in helping you build a brand and creating the unique differentiation that will help you succeed in the marketplace. 5 Reasons Why Businesses Need a Website and Digital Marketing