Friday, January 2, 2015

Practical Principles Of Product Branding Strategies

By Stacey Burt


Surviving in today's business world depends on how well one manages to stay on top of competition. Product branding strategies help a business compete, when managed properly. This involves structuring communication regarding product information in a way that it fully describes the product in detail, as well as specifying the target of the communication. The way the information is supposed to be communicated and the time it is supposed to be communicated are all considerations for the strategy.

Consistency is one quality that can keep a product brand on top of the competition. Every communication that goes on within and outside the business should be structured in a way that helps explain better the brand of the business. This would especially help employees better understand the brand they are working for and their roles in projecting the brand.

The brand communication being sent should also be one that customers can connect to emotionally. No matter the type of product offered by a business, there is always a message that can be appealing to the customers' feelings. It has been proven that most people choose one service brand over another based on their feelings. The message should make the customers feel a part of and identify with the brand. This is a very important strategy for staying ahead of the competition.

Customers should be treated as brand ambassadors and appreciated as such. This is because customers recommend goods they love to their friends and family. It is important to thank them for this added role by calling them to thank them or sending them thank-you messages. A little gift to these customers would go a long way in giving them a good impression of the company. These gifts can come in the form of discounts on their expenditure on the business's products or branded gifts.

It is also important to ensure the brand and the business model are closely tied together. The product or service provided should go an extra mile than what other competing products are offering. This is because building a brand goes beyond a name or logo and is mainly defined by the perception of customers. For a business selling electronic equipment, for instance, this extra service could be providing a toll-free help line that customers can call for technical support. In this case, customers can reach the business at the cost of the business.

Though branding strategies are well thought through before implementing, there is no guarantee that they would work as intended. It is therefore important for the business to always go back and measure the success levels attained. Measuring the marketing metrics before and after implementing the strategy would help to know how much gain is made and if there is a need for re-strategizing.

Rigidity is a characteristic that should not be shown by a good branding strategy. In the current business environment, trends change day-in, day-out, and a good strategy should be able to accommodate these changes. The strategy has to be that small modifications to the branding message can be made for different target groups.

It is also important to keep competing brands in sight while developing branding strategies. The business and its competitors are all after the same customers, so watching what competitors are doing differently can help the business strategize better. In spite of this, a business should not blindly copy whatever the competitors do.




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