Brand Development... how can it grow business?

Published Date: 15/06/2009

Brand development is increasingly accepted as the way forward for businesses with ambition to grow.

This because is 'branding' is so much more than merely good design or a well establish logo.

If I dive straight in at the deep-end and say that brand development, in real terms, is actually about cultivating relationships with customers, bonding with staff and establishing empathy with new prospects, you might begin to understand how it can help grow a business.

For example, think of any successful and admired brand and you should find an organisation behind it that has:

• A clear customer promise (What is on offer)
• A well defined set of values (How it will be delivered)
• An ‘all for one’ philosophy among the people who work there
• An employee proposition designed to attract and retain the best
• Consistent and targeted communications that inspire.

The brand you are thinking of may have spirit and stature, it may be comfortable in its own skin, it may have “found itself”. All these factors make it truly compelling to the people it wants to communicate with.

And that is unlikely to have happened by chance.., that is Brand Development.

Your customers are surrounded hundreds, if not thousands, of product choices and marketing messages every day. Add to this that people talk, email, blog, and surf before making a purchase and it is clear that simply shouting does not work. Audiences are sophisticated and informed and need powerful reasons to make a decision. Achieving differentiation in products and services can be the key, but sometimes in a busy marketplace this is simply unobtainable, so we need to do more.

Using your brand to influence purchasing decisions can be what makes that difference.

In life, we will often choose a product or service with a personality that we believe resonates with our own. In other words, we want the choice to say as much about us as it does fulfil our needs. Identifying and appealing to the aspirations of an audience is central to successful brand development. The brand needs to be strong at all levels - Engaging communications will open the door, a positive product or service experience will engender a relationship and affirming endorsements will ultimately build a loyal following.

But beware... Merely inventing a set of values without living up to the promise is one of the quickest ways to create disappointment and distrust. Brands should be born out of existing values and supported at every level of the organisation: from the people employed to the systems and processes in place. While you cannot create values from nothing, you can identify and develop existing ones. By ensuring your values are understood and championed by your people, you can be sure they are experienced by your customers.

If you can't quite see the benefits of branding yet, there is one more factor you might like to consider. The equity created by branding is becoming an integral part of intangible asset valuations. For example, in their 2009 Global 500 report, Brand Finance, a leading independent brand valuation consultancy, reported that Nike’s brand represents 72% of it’s total enterprise assets. How this valution is calculated in different industries is still a matter of debate. But in general terms, it is a combination of loyalty and preference driven by the personality of a particular product or service, especially where people are prepared to pay a higher price than they otherwise would.

Another sound reason to consider brand development an integral part of your future business growth planning.

Joanna Allen
Creative Director at Savvy and Victor
www.savvyandvictor.com
www.twitter.com/savvy_victor




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