Branding is King: Why Brand management should be a priority in 2017
Branding has never mattered so much as it has today.
Before we dive into why branding is so essential for businesses today, it is useful to define exactly what branding was, and what branding has evolved into in 2017.
Traditionally, a brand was merely an identifier to help consumers differentiate one company’s product/service from another. Take selling body bar soap for instance (or any sort of hygiene commodity in the market). These products all serve a purpose for hygiene, with nearly identical results. The only way you could tell Dove soap from Ivory soap would be their logos, packaging, and trademarks.
However, the game has changed. Brands are evolving to mean so much more than an identifier – more than a name, a logo, or a trademark. In 2017, brands are evolving into a holistic experience for consumers.
What does this mean?
Every interaction with the consumer – from marketing, to client service, to closing a sale – is now considered a defining moment for a brand, and can either make or break a company’s relationship with valuable consumers.
Don’t believe customer service shouldn’t be considered in your company’s branding efforts?
Consider this: According to research from NewVoiceMedia, U.S. companies are losing $41 billion a year due to poor customer service. That’s a lot of money.
Losses due to poor brand management may be even worse in 2017.
Negative word-of-mouth has never been made easier for consumers, with review sites such as Yelp (DMR Stats: with 86 million mobile users in 2016) and Amazon (DMR Stats: 244 Million users in 2016) hosting potential for millions of bad reviews.
It gets worse.
According to a survey run by American Express, Americans tell an average of 16 people about poor brand experiences, while only telling an average of nine people about good experiences.
What does this mean for your business?
For every bad brand experience you provide, you’ll have to work nearly twice as hard to offset these experiences with good ones.
This all seems a bit morbid, but not all is lost. Now that we know the ever-growing importance of a brand, let’s dive into some guidelines for managing your brand in 2017.
1) Stay Consistent with your Brand Image
This is easier said than done. Companies love to meticulously craft and tailor their branding materials in order to ‘Wow!’ their consumers, but often can’t live up to the hype.
If a company can’t walk the walk, or in other words, deliver the value promised in their branding materials, they will risk losing the trust of valuable customers – during a time where they are most cynical.
According to Bop Design, 54% of people don’t trust brands, due to failure to deliver on client expectations.
What does this mean for businesses of all kinds?
If you’re a professional services company promising the most efficient services, your consultants must be efficient. If you’re a restaurant promoting a courteous dining experience, your servers must be courteous.
The challenge is not in crafting your brand, but in embodying the brand in every aspect of the business.
2) Handle bad experiences quickly
In the age of social media, negative brand experiences can spread rapidly.
According to social media author Jay Baer, 42 percent of consumers complaining on social media expect a response in 60 minutes, while 32% expect a response in 30 minutes.
This is virtually little to no time -- It is no wonder why companies are falling behind in brand PR.
Tip: To ensure your company doesn’t fall behind, try delegating the task of handing social media PR to one/ several employees, or hire another company to do so.
3) Know your Consumer – Align your brand with consumer needs
When it comes to servicing consumers, the ‘one-size fits all’ mentality is outdated.
In other words, marketing your brand the same way to each individual consumer does not work!
According to MyLoudSpeaker, 45% of global consumers expect brands to know them, and to make product and service recommendations based on their needs.
What does this mean for your brand’s marketing strategy?
Tip: Be flexible! Get to know the different customer profiles in your market and start developing unique marketing strategies to meet their needs.
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As you can see, managing your brand isn’t that simple anymore.
There is an immense amount of time and attention to detail required for companies to successfully manage their brands.
To stay ahead of the game, businesses will have to ensure they have the time and resources available to grow and maintain their brand.
This is no easy task.
However, by following these tips, and investing in integrated resources like Second Self Inc. that can handle the immense detail that comes with marketing your brand, it can be a whole lot easier.
