You make me feel brand new
Building a brand for your business is essential if you want to stand a chance in the marketplace, but how can you ensure its success and, ultimately, its longevity? Verity Gough asks the experts.
There is no denying the power of the brand: one look at Nike's tick or Lacoste's crocodile and you intrinsically know what to expect. But for new or burgeoning businesses, the concept of branding can be unfamiliar territory full of marketing jargon and design concepts.
Successful branding is all about promoting your strengths as a company, finding your uniqueness and creating something that customers want. Unless there is a demand, there really is no point in creating something that somebody else has already done. So the first and most important thing for any company that wants to be successful is identifying difference.
"You need to research the things that exist in the market place but rather than looking at the ways people are doing business, see the ways they are not doing business."Gellan Watts, Thinking Juice
Gellan Watts, founder of branding agency Thinking Juice, says you need to look for the white space. "You need to research the things that exist in the market place but rather than looking at the ways people are doing business, see the ways they are not doing business," he explains. "By getting a handle on the market this way you can uncover what it is Joe Bloggs wants that no one else is giving him. This refers to everything from product range to pricing but, most importantly, to branding."
Before you get carried away designing logos and letterheads, though, it is essential to sit down and thrash out the brand values that you want to convey. This enables prospective customers, suppliers, stakeholders and staff to identify with you.
"Brand values need to come straight from the top, especially with an SME," says Anita Brightley-Hodges, founder and creative director of design agency Still Waters Run Deep. "They can't actually be hatched by anyone other than the owner of the company or the management team as they are the voice and the drivers behind the business."
People power
But when it comes to putting a value on the creation of a brand, there is no easy answer. "You should be spending enough so you get a professional job for the market you're in," says Watt. "If you are selling £100,000 grand pianos, you are going to need a pretty slick visual identity. If you are going to open a chain of corner shops, identity matters less as it's more about convenience and location."
However, as Brightly-Hodges points out, branding is not about cost, it's about investment, and that might include using a design agency to undertake the lion's share of the work. "If you start thinking about cost then it's never going to live up to your expectations. People get the wrong idea about brand and think that it is just a logo – but this is just the mark, the beginning. While it's important, it's about the total experience and that is an ongoing expense."
She uses the analogy of business being like a stick of rock: everywhere you slice is exactly the same, whether you split your stick of rock into letterheads, premises, people, exhibitions, customer services, or any part of your business. "At every single touch point, the brand needs to be in place. From the minute a customer, a member of the press or a new recruit makes contact, the brand should be present reflecting your values," she says.
Source: Anita Brightley Hodges, creative director, Still Waters Run Deep
Disney is one of the best known examples of a company that lives its brand identity. The secret to its success is consistency: the brand is constantly reaffirmed by its staff, from the president down to the bottle washers.
Brand expert David Williams, CEO of How to Experience (H2X), thinks that helping frontline staff resolve day-to-day dilemmas is the key to making your brand real. "Disney has done this brilliantly," he says. "Not only has it defined four things that are important but also an order: safety, courtesy, the show, and efficiency. Based on this, staff can make the right brand choices every day in every interaction. You don’t need a big rule book, just clear guidelines. Human beings do the rest!"
Brand evolution
In order for a business to evolve within ever-changing markets, it must build and manage its brand on a daily basis, constantly nipping and tucking to ensure a consistency in line with its core values. From the way that you follow up an enquiry with a fast, succinct letter or phone call, to how the offices are presented when visitors arrive – all contributes to the maintenance of your brand.
"It's important to have your finger on the pulse of what's happening with your competition, to see how well they define their brand," says Brightley-Hodges. "Are they investing heavily in investment though PR, advertising, exhibitions? Examining these key areas will give you an anecdotal measure of the amount of noise they are making. This never happens on its own; it's hard work."
"Brand values need to come straight from the top, especially with an SME, they can't actually be hatched by anyone other than the owner of the company or the management team."Anita Brightley-Hodges, Still Waters Run Deep.
The same goes for rebranding exercises. There will be times when re-evaluation is required. She suggests carrying out a perception test to gauge what customers, suppliers, investors and staff really feel about the company. This provides a cross-company view of what you are or aren't doing right. It also gives you the necessary feedback to reposition yourself in a market if you are looking to expand. Likewise, if business is declining, it will highlight areas to improve.
Rebranding is all about evolution and the only time your need to revolutionise is when things have gone massively wrong. "Never throw the baby out with the bath water," warns Brightley-Hodges. "You always build on your success because branding is all about discovering and maintaining that unique nugget, the thing that sets you apart from the competition."
"Look at any big brand. They are all innovators and have tried to something different," adds Watt. "Ultimately, we only exist to serve customers. We are all in it to sell a product or service so it is about understanding what the market uniquely wants, needs or desires first. Then you have you list with which to attack."
Branding is not about having a fancy and expensive logo. Your brand should ooze through every pore of a business. As Marty Numeier, the US brand specialist and author of The Brand Gap, says, brand is the gut feeling induced in the stomach of your customer, so when they hear your company name or see your logo they instantly recognise what you stand for.
Put simply, being innovative, delivering on your promises and ensuing that you are offering customers what they want is the key to success.
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BusinessZONE - 9-May-2008
Categories: Marketing/PR
Story read: 1441
