Brand Management
What is a brand? There are 5 things that define a brand – these are image, perception, expectations, personality, and elements. These five thing come together to establish a brand. A strong brand is defined by how well these five things mesh together and create returning clientele.
Image
When a consumer purchases something, they don’t purchase it without any brand consideration. For example, why do wealthy people purchase luxury brand cars like Lexus, BMW and Audi and not economical brands like Toyota and Honda? It’s all about the image. Wealthier people, for the most part, want to show that they are part of the higher class, and therefore, they will purchase a more expensive car to show others – hey look, I have more than you. While it’s narcissistic behavior, humans do it all the time. Think about it, if given the option, wouldn’t you rather choose Nike over Payless? When establishing a brand, you have to figure out who your clients are and what image they are seeking
Perception
A brand is vulnerable in that it can grow or collapse based on public perception. Walmart, one of the most cheapest retailers in the market, is known for exactly that – being cheap as hell… and because of that, people who buy things at Walmart are less likely to boast because “I got it from Walmart” doesn’t sound as cool as “I got it from Nordstrom”. Since your customer base – the people your brand appeals to – is affected by public perception, it is imperative that you work diligently to control your brand perception.
Expectations
When people buy something, they have set expectations. For example, I know if I buy my car from Toyota, my car will probably hit 150,000 miles before it starts to experience any problems. I know this because Toyotas are known to last forever. I chose to buy a Toyota not because it’s affordable, but because I don’t have the patience for car problems. I needed a car that will take me to A to B and then to C, D, and E, without breaking down 10 million times in between.
What expectations do your customers have? Are they good? or are they bad? And if they are bad, what are you doing to remedy it? Are you making significant improvements? or are you just putting band-aids on it hoping it will heal over time?
Personality
Have you ever seen Wendy’s tweets? If you haven’t, you should! This fast food restaurant chain has no “chill” (or frosty) when it comes to grilling their competition. Boasting their 100% real beef patties, they savagely rain down on McDonald’s and Burger King, and people LOVE it. Now, I’m not saying you should go ahead and talk smack about your competition – trust me, your little fashion boutique does not want to piss off Gucci. But what you want to do is create a personality for your brand.
Elements
Most importantly, are elements. Fonts, colors, style… they all matter. Are you a formal company or are your a playful company? Depending on what your customer base (or target customer base), you must choose your design elements carefully and maintain consistency throughout your brand.
