“It is more than just a logo or name” As more research is done and marketing terms are applied in various business models, their meanings evolve and encompass diverse experiences which enhance the meaning of something. This can be easily applied to the term “branding”, which was previously simply referred to as; establishing a unique name, logo or image that differentiates you. Although the issue of differentiation remains, branding has transcended such simplified definitions and it can now be defined loosely as “everything that encompasses an organisation”.
By Rumbidzo Dakwa-Nyika
Seth Godin defines a brand as “the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” He goes on to say, “your brand is a story, a set of emotions and expectations and a stand-in for how we think and feel about what you do”. Think of yourself as a consumer, why you would for example choose Pepsi over Coke or why you would choose Mazoe over Quench or Jan Jam over Edgars? There are some factors to consider when building your brand. Some of the steps towards building a brand include:
l Identifying your target market
The initial stage is that you need to identify your target market. Ask yourself, who should associate with the brand, who is it targeted at, what are their needs and wants? You therefore create personas for this brand, for example a persona for a product like “Instant Porridge” would be “Elizabeth, a 24-year-old working mother of a toddler”. In order to clearly define your brand, you need to understand what “Elizabeth”, needs, what appeals to her emotions and thereafter structure your brand in a way that meets both her tangible and emotional benefits. For example, Elizabeth wants a fast way to feed her baby and still get to work on time, while at the same time she wants her baby to have all the nutritional benefits that a baby needs.
l Define your brand
There is need for you to identify what your brand stands for, what unique features differentiate you from the consumer and your inherent core values. These become the common thread that helps you tie your communication messages together and establishes an identity in the minds of the consumer. From inception what Steward Bank stands for is evident in its pay-off line, “Everyday banking for everyday people” which means their mandate is to simply offer banking solutions to the ordinary, regular consumer which cuts across any sort of social status. When defining your brand factors that come into play include designing logos, choosing the right colours which speak to your overall brand message. For example in Zimbabwe, several banking institutions which include MBCA, Standard Chartered, FBC and CABS use different shades of blue in their logos, as there is a perception that blue generally represents trust.
l Get the functional aspects right
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The functional aspects that I am referring to are the tangible factors which should be of quality. Building a strong brand name that does not reflect what actually takes place on the ground, is of no use. The consumer who comes in touch with a packet of Omo, or an Eversharp pen or an Exide battery should be able to relate the product functionality to the message you as an organisation want the world to perceive. This will also improve trust with your consumer. I also challenge you to go beyond the functional aspects and evoke emotions as consumers often remember how a particular brand made them feel. I will make reference to the “Share a Coke campaign” whereby popular names of a particular country would be put on Coke cans. This made consumers feel special as Coke placed value on a person’s identity such that it was personalised.
Positioning
Brand positioning is the process of positioning your brand in the mind of your customers. Popularised in Reis and Trout’s bestselling Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, the idea is to identify and attempt to “own” a marketing niche for a brand, product, or service using various strategies including pricing, promotions, distribution, packaging, and competition. The goal is to create a unique impression in the customer’s mind so that the customer associates something specific and desirable with your brand that is distinct from rest of the marketplace. (http://cultbranding.com/ceo/create-strong-brand-positioning-strategy/). What do you want your consumers to believe and benefit. For example, Geisha’s intention was to position itself as a family soap, hence the brand was associated with a mother’s love.
l Consistency and delivering the brand promise
A brand promise is what the customer can expect from the brand and the positive impact that brand will have on a customer’s life. In a recent article published by Tabani Moyo, titled “Brands and the challenge of consistency”, he highlighted that, “In this highly competitive environment of intense competition, the brand promise and brand experience become the defining differentiators. It is also important to ensure that all marketing literature should have consistency and consumers should feel consistency at every touch point. An example of consistency is Just Do It’ is one of the simplest, most recognisable slogans of all time – a line Nike has used for the past 15 years.
Advantages of branding
As extracted from http://www.brandxpress.net/2005/10/5-benefits-of-branding/, some of the benefits of branding include recognition and loyalty as customers are much more likely to remember your business. If your business sells products that are often bought on impulse, a customer recognising your brand could mean the difference between no-sale and a sale. Even if the customer was not aware that you sell a particular product, if they trust your brand, they are likely to trust you with unfamiliar products. If a customer is happy with your products or services, a brand helps to build customer loyalty across your business. A strong brand will also project an image of a large and established business to your potential customers. A strong brand projects an image of quality in your business, many people see the brand as a part of a product or service that helps to show its quality and value and creates an image of an established business that has been around for long enough to become well known.
l Rumbidzo Dakwa-Nyika is the publications and social media manager of Marketers’ Association of Zimbabwe. She a PR practitioner and certified digital marketer. She can be reached on [email protected]
*This article was contributed on behalf the Marketers’ Association of Zimbabwe, a leading body of marketing professionals promoting professionalism to the highest standards for the benefit of the industry and the economy at large. For any further information, visit the website on www.maz.co.zw or contact [email protected]
