The power of branding
What is branding?
Branding is not only a logo or slogan, not only a brochure or the look and feel of a website, and definitely not only an advertisement. Branding is all of these things and more, each a separate component of a larger marketing plan and through consistent and repetitive usage work together with a simple and clear objective backed up with the way staffs interact with customers/public (organization/company culture), to create a positive identity to the public which is in most cases tangible and intangible. A complete brand is made up of small parts as mentioned above, eg marketing plan, logo, colors, sound, marketing/advertisement programs (audio/video or textual graphics, cultures, ethics, the feel and touch of staffs etc.
Why branding?
The most and primary reason is market identity. After serving well your market, customers need to have easy ways to recognize you and your products out of many similar ones in the same market or industry. Every time you sell, advertise, promote or communicate to your customers, suppliers and partners, you need to uniquely present yourself in the way that your customers will recognize you and your products. Eg when football teams play, they wear uniforms that identify them separately. The uniforms are called team brands.
Brand also attract specified type or group of public due to the type of color, pictures, sound, videos or any branding style you used. If let say the color you used offends some segment of people due to their culture, believe, or by any other reason, it is likely to miss such segment from your market share. It is therefore advisable to research first the repercussion of brand ingredients before incorporating them in your brand.
The rough brand risk analysis should be taken seriously before using it otherwise expect to suffer the consequences of loosing potential segment in your expected market share.
Example,
1. Using religion phrases in your slogans or USP may offend other religious rival groups.
2. Using political phrases in your slogans or USP may offend other political rival groups.
3. Using tribal phrases in your slogans or USP may offend other tribe rival groups.
4. Using certain color that are mostly used by known antagonistic groups in your logos may offend the other rival groups. Eg in sport fans, political rivals etc
NB: These should be used only if you purposely target the specific group.
Ingredients of Branding
5. Colors of texts and images/graphics of a company
6. Text and style
7. The voice used in any communication program
8. Product packaging with colors, text, sound and style of packing
9. Customer care
- Staff care
- Slogans
- Unique selling prepositions
- Vendors’ care
- The culture of a company/organization
Branding need to be manifested through company customer care, cultures, staff care, vendors conducts and partners and competitors conducts then follows by colors, sound, slogans, vision, mission and USP etc
Ref: http://www.santella.com/MPN%20August%20Issue.pdf
Colors of texts and images/graphics of a company
Any documentation weather for internet use or for publications, starting from memos, letterheads, business cards, IDs, brochure, booklets, newsletter, websites, etc
Text
Text in branding include the type of font used, the size, the style if its italic, bolded, and other font effects.
The voice used in any communication program
Any ads, documentary or sound/video related publication need to carry the same voice/sounds that is used in any communication program to be heard by audience
Product packaging with colors, text, sound and style of packing
The packaging of product must reflect your colors, texts, sound and any other graphics style branding. This will help customers to differentiate your products from the other similar one in the markets.
Customer care
A services that a customer get while buying a products, packaging and support he/she get plus followed help and services he/she get after sale is what we call customer care
These services may include how to use the product, how to secure from damage, how to store, how to services and any guarantees available for the products plus any vital information that the customer need to know. A good language which is not defamatory or insulting a customer get is also included in a customer care definition.
Staff care
One of the total quality founding concepts is that, staffs are the chain of product quality. If this is the case, staff care is of great importance. This concept is always ignored by most employers leading to poor quality products which annoy customers and majority of them decide to switch from one provider to another.
Taking an example of mobile phone companies, if staffs who are responsible for technical services and customer correspondences are not cared as it deserve these staff may drop their commitment to the services and distort every system behind quality services both in technical areas and customer conducts and customer will eventually switch from one provider to a better one. Any company branding must meet and comply with this criteria.
Slogans,
A slogan is an influential words that inspire customer concerning the products, service or the company
“a bank that listen” for CRDB bank
“Express yourself” for TIGO
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Unique Selling Proposition is the statement that proposes quality product or service that meets customer demand. Each USP proposal commitment is contained in the phrase associated with.
- Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: “Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.”
- The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique—either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising.
- The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product.
Examples of USPs
Some good current examples of products with a clear USP are:
1) Head & Shoulders: “You get rid of dandruff”
Some unique propositions that were pioneers when they were introduced:
- Domino’s Pizza: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less — or it’s free.”
- FedEx: “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight”
- M&M’s: “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand”
- Wonder Bread: “Wonder Bread Helps Build Strong Bodies 12 Ways”
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_selling_proposition
Ref: http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82480.html
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/index.html
http://www.businesstown.com/advertising/basic-usp.asp
http://www.avnmembers.co.uk/knowledgebase/Business/uspgenerator.htm
http://www.howto.co.uk/business/market-small-business/21_clarifying_your_unique_selling_proposition/
http://www.interactive marketing inc.com/unique-selling-proposition.html
sample
Templates
Vendor’s code of conducts
Vendors are very important part of any business. This is a place where the chain of quality products begins according to TQM founding concepts. If vendors are disappointed, they can deliver products normally and not uniquely. They can even sometime delay or miss the supplying timing of the products or services due to poor code of conducts. If a supplier/vendor is treated well and extraordinarily, they will tend to serve you extraordinarily also and adding value to any product or service offered and eventually your staffs and customers will also be extraordinarily satisfied.
Organization (company) Culture
Organization culture is the way staff and leaders behave throughout the company example for any sales customers are asked to give some incentive in order to get price cut or original prices in sales receipt being extrapolated
The way people behave is well noted by the public. Issues like bad language or sound. The way staff treat of mistreat customers etc
Even habits that staff manifest in front of customer like quarrelling, gossiping, backbiting, receiving bribe from customers etc.
It include everything the company does to interact between themselves, staffs, customers and vendors including partners and even competitors.
