The word branding is not a relatively new business concept. More than three decades ago, marketing expert Michael J Baker wrote an introductory text on the importance of brands and branding. What is new is the degree of attention and sophistication it has received around the world in recent years.
Perhaps this has to do with the biggest mental clutter in our lives and in the marketplace, making it difficult for companies to get their messages across.
“Brands are fast becoming the basis for most critical business decisions,” noted one observer. A brand is the sum total of what a company or idea stands for. For the most part, branding is as simple as doing the right thing, consistently and clearly.
Today, unsurprisingly, Nigeria is on display with its most celebrated brands of all time – its super brands! In fact, for some of them, branding isn’t about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but about getting your prospects to see you as the only one providing a solution to their problems.
While a brand is the uniqueness that a customer perceives of an organization or idea; there is a connection between a brand name [identity]brand image [perception] and brand reputation [respect].
All strong brands depend, more than anything, on their reputation. As corporate executives try to build a good brand, they must also take corporate reputation into account. In essence, a good reputation accounts for a good brand.
However, for obvious reasons, Nigerian entrepreneurs rush to build strong brands for their benefit only to allow them to fall apart in no time, for lack of brand management skills.
I have to admit, I used to buy UAC’s Gala Sausage, until Leventis Meaty came along. The experience was always positive and I always had the sensation of that rich snack filled with pure beef. But where did Gala go wrong? Gala lost his unique positioning in the heat of the competition. Apart from the sudden change of envelope [which I think I don’t like so much]the sausage has become so lean.
UAC didn’t realize that the brand is about more than just putting on new clothes.
The problem with many of these big brands is that they often don’t realize the impact of their actions and inactions until long after the time and money have been invested or when it is too late.
How many times have you pulled into a business parking spot and seen a sign that read: “Reserved parking for xxxx customers only. All others will be tolled” or “Cars parked at owners risk”? Have you ever known a lousy school owner raining indecent words on the parents? Or how many times has he had to stand in line for long hours somewhere, only to be let down by the way a customer service officer treated him?
All of these are negative branding and reputation at work. We experience it every day. It affects the way customers perceive us.
Corporate entities must pay close attention to their messages, spoken or written.
Words speak for our business, so it’s worth investing in the best copy we can afford. Unprofessionally written communications and marketing materials can actively work against us, telling potential customers things we didn’t mean.
Instead of the “Cars are parked at owner’s risk” stereotype, why not try something like “While we make sure your vehicles are safe, we accept no risk”? Long but full of great impact.
Our beloved economy has suffered a collapse as a result of your choice of words. They cost money, but efficiently applied words produce great wealth.
So let’s start taking a good look at everything we do: our message; our corporate identity; our approach to communicating with customers; Our request; our products; our packaging; our advertising and our staff.