five strategies to improve your brand
TRANSCRIPT
Five Strategies to Improve Your
Brand
Contributed by Pete Canalichio on January 7, 2015 in Strategy, Marketing, & Sales
Before I discuss the five strategies to improve
your brand , perhaps I should address what it
means to improve a brand and why you would
want to. To improve a brand means to
increase its value. The value of a brand can
be quantified by the market value of a
company (total shares of stock outstanding x
the company stock price) minus the value of
its assets (these can be found on the company
balance sheet). Using this methodology, the
brand Coca-Cola consistently has been
considered the world’s most valuable
brand. This implies that Coke shareholders are willing to pay a higher premium for Coca-
Cola stock relative to its asset value than for any other publically traded stock. Why would
Coca-Cola shareholders do this? Coca-Cola shareholders know that the brand Coca-Cola has
intrinsic value. The value is manifested in attributes such as authenticity, refreshment,
originality, consistency and taste. Consumers choose Coca-Cola billions of times per day
because of these attributes. The more Coca-Cola Company can increase its brand value, the
more consumers are likely to consume the Coca-Cola. More consumption translates into
more revenue and more profit. The higher the profit, the higher the return will be on
shareholder value.
So here are my five strategies to improve your brand:
Improve your understanding of what the brand means to those who
consume it. There are a variety of reasons why people choose to drink Coke. Many
people drink Coke because of the way they will be perceived by others. Others drink
Coke because they know they will be accepted. Some drink Coke for the increase in
energy they get. Still others drink Coke for the refreshment and great taste. By
knowing how your consumers perceive your brand, you will always be in a position
to fulfill their expectations.
Innovate your products to meet the needs of your consumers before they
are aware of them. When Nintendo launched the Wii, they created a product that
revolutionized the way people played video games. Nintendo created a product for
their consumers they hadn’t even dreamt of. By doing so Nintendo not only
delighted avid video game players but they also converted non video game players
into Wii players, by the millions. With games like Wii Sport and Wii Fit, consumers
can now entertain themselves for hours and feel good about how they spend their
time.
Stay solution focused. Product engineers and marketers are notorious for
creating all kinds of new features for existing products. If the features don’t provide
a specific benefit that the consumer wants or needs, they may end up hurting the
brand. Conversely, a feature that meets a need can provide tremendous value to a
brand. The makers of Sharpie delighted their consumers when they finally
developed a retractable Sharpie that could be operated with one hand and not dry
out.
Pay attention to the details. There is nothing more exciting for consumers than
when they find a product that exceeds their expectations. That is why I love driving
my Acura MDX. It is an SUV that drives like a car with so much more. The front
seats have an infinite number of electronic adjustments so anyone can find the
perfect sitting position. The instrument panel is simple to read and easy on the eyes
making driving in hazardous conditions safe and enjoyable. The vehicle seats seven
comfortably making car pool a breeze. And, both back row seats fold flat enabling
me to haul as much as a mid-size pickup truck. I could go on and on about the other
features of my MDX, but I think I have made my point.
Be consistent and reliable. When consumers can trust their brand experience
will be the same every time, they will value that brand more and more over time. In
thousands of restaurants all around the world, people consume McDonald’s burgers
and fries millions of times a day. The fries they eat in the morning taste just like
those they eat at night. The Big Mac they bought in Beijing was delivered to them in
the same amount of time as the one they bought in Baton Rouge. The menu board,
the restrooms and the seating area are clean and look the same in every
restaurant. And while McDonald’s often does not rank first in taste, they
consistently rank first in market share and revenue. For this consumers reward
McDonald’s with their patronage.
Stay passionate– OK, I lied. There are six strategies for building brand value. The
last strategy is to let your passion shine through in everything you do. Consumers
love brands whose owners are as passionate as they are. That “never rest on your
laurels” attitude translates into exciting and superior products that continue to wow
and delight consumers. One of the reasons people love the Apple brand so much is
because of the passion expressed by their employees. Despite being the little guy,
Apple enjoys going toe to toe with Microsoft. As a consequence Mac users revel in
being a part of the whole anti-establishment camp and are some of the most loyal
consumers on the planet. As a result, there is no other computer or mobile
technology brand like Apple.
About Pete Canalichio
Pete Canalichio is an expert with over 20 years of global experience in the areas of Brand Strategy and
Brand Licensing, working with brands such as The Coca-Cola Company and Newell Rubbermaid.
Recognized as a leading expert, he is frequently asked to speak at branding and licensing conferences
and leading business schools globally. He is a series of brand licensing and strategy frameworks and
webinars available on Flevy here .
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