Tweet

Overestimating/Oversimplifying Branding Efforts

Written by: Neil Mahoney

Article Overview: 1.A strong brand can greatly increase revenues & profitability 2. Customer/Dealer relationships are often stronger than strong brands 3. Building a brand takes years of selling & promotional effort & expense

Overestimating/Oversimplifying Branding Efforts

In the 1990s Brand Awareness & Preference was taken sedriously and it was understood that lots of time, money and effort went into building these important elements that lead to a company's success and profitability.

Today, too many businesspeople refer to "Branding" as though you can buy it by the pound at your local supermarket.

Branding is important. Branding is hard. Branding is something a company has to do consistently -- week after week, month after month, year after year.

That Brands have value is demonstrated by one of the world's leading hand-tool manufacturers. Their brand is a badge construction pros use to signify their stature. Not only that, the brand has proven value. In the mid 1990s research showed that one of their products, which competed against dozens of competitors, had a 50% unit share -- half of all these types of tools that were purchased bore the company's brand.

More importantly, this company had a SIXTY PERCENT revenue share. This means their brand commanded a 20% premium on average on all those products that were purchased.

OK, brands have proven value, but Customer/Dealer relationships can often be stronger as a different manufacturer with an equally powerful brand discovered. When asked for a price adjustment from a leading Home Improvement Center chain, they declined. The Home Improvement Center chain took on a less well-known but equally reliable brand. In less than a year the manufacturer that had been displaced returned to meet the offer. Now they're sharing shelf space with the lesser-known brand.

Besides overestimating the strength of a Brand, underestimating the time, money and effort it takes to build a Brand is a big mistake.

Building a Brand is hard. Building a Brand is costly. Building a Brand is forever.

Branding is every public thing you do:

A. Ads & Publicity

B. The media that carry your message

C. Brochures and Newsletters

D. Your sales force and customer service operation

E. Your website

F. Manuals and Letterhead

G. Your building and location

H. Its cleanliness and condition

I. Your product quality and appearance

J. Its reliability and durability

K. Your Receptionist. Your Furniture

J. The way you answer your phone & respond to emails

L. How promptly you pay your bills

M. Prompt Response to Needs & Requests

N. Prompt Response to Needs & Requests (This needs to be said over & over. Studies show it ranks almost equal with price as far as the customer is concerned)

Related Articles
  Building A Better Brand in the New Year
  Strategic Branding Questions
  The definition of branding
  Branding Trends: Delivery Channels Take Forefront
  Personal Branding: When Your Brand Goes Off Course

Article Tags: amp, brand awareness, building a brand, businesspeople, construction pros, dozens, hand tool manufacturers, home improvement center, leading hand, mid 1990s, nbsp, preference, profitability, publicity, revenue share, shelf space, stature, supermarket, time money, unit share



Related Forum Posts
Re: What is your Business? - We are running a Online Marketing Firm and we have some good clients to which we are offering a complete Digital Marketing strategy like Search, Mobile Marketing, Branding and Design. I think in Online Marketing company online presence can be a wining factor for the success of the company.
New Small Business Topic - Hello everyone, I'm on the lookout for new topics to add to my site. We just launched a Franchising section and are planning Human Resources section. Do you have any thoughts for a new section? Here's a list of what we currently have: Angel Investors Branding Bank Loans Business Coaching Business Plan Franchises (New) Insurance Legal Marketing Public Relations Sales Small Biz Loans Venture Capital
Re: Direct Mail Postcards - [quote="jvprosperity":2r71nzqq]Kevin, your situation is very common. Get's me wondering if advertisers are just being lazy and "blanket" areas with advertising hoping that some will stick and get people to respond. mathew1 used the word "targeted" alot but I think that's what most advertisers are either not doing or not going deep enough in their targeting. I disagree that direct mail is more important to small business. Yes, it get's done more often within small businesses but that's 'cos of a small budget and them being forced to utilize it to it's fullest. Big Business focus so much more on Branding and Image Management since they have larger budgets but they also do a fair bit of direct mail and other methods.[/quote:2r71nzqq] Hi Andy, I'd say "naive" is a better word. In fact, "blanketing" areas with unwanted solicitation/ads is costly and will only hurt small businesses in the eyes of consumers (who will resent it).
Re: Direct Mail Postcards - [quote="Kevin":k7jhujz8]But how do you prevent people from just throwing out your direct mail as unwanted solicitation? Anytime I get direct mail, I toss it out. I've noticed solicitors using cheap tricks like printing the message in "hand writing" to make the letter seem more personal. Who are they trying to fool?[/quote:k7jhujz8] Kevin, your situation is very common. Get's me wondering if advertisers are just being lazy and "blanket" areas with advertising hoping that some will stick and get people to respond. mathew1 used the word "targeted" alot but I think that's what most advertisers are either not doing or not going deep enough in their targeting. I disagree that direct mail is more important to small business. Yes, it get's done more often within small businesses but that's 'cos of a small budget and them being forced to utilize it to it's fullest. Big Business focus so much more on Branding and Image Management since they have larger budgets but they also do a fair bit of direct mail and other methods.
Del Castienne - International Business and Project Brokers - In addition to the above, Del Castienne is an international brokerage firm specializing in various entrepreneural services. Del Castienne is more than just a brokerage, as we facilitate Private International Venture Capital for Business and Projects from Commodity Speculation Transactions, MBO, MBI, M&A, Bridging Finance, Patents, Branding, JV, Corporate Advisory Services, Business Plan Development, etc.. Del Castienne is linked to 1200 private international Venture Capital consortiums and Funding Syndicates with a funding capacity of $ 115 billion and 5000 international Investment Bankers and Business & Project Brokers. This in itself should provide you with a gateway to the best source of funding in the world. Through Del Castienne any entrepreneur can have up to a potential success rate of 25% (conditions apply) with absolutely no up front costs. Del Castienne charges a maximum of 5% commission which is far below the international standard of 10% - 12% on project value. If you are tired of running back and forth with countless dissappointments, please give us an opportunity to assist you. Our minimum Venture Capital amount is $1 million and we a Commitment Letter can be provided with in 30 days after formalities are in place and your information was received.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Emotional Energy is Our Engine

Four Secrets to Earning Income as an Author

Executives and Elevators Perfecting That Pitch

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.