When was the last time you called for an Uber? Looking closely, you will see that the popular ride-hailing company has changed its logo from a bold, all-caps font to a more stylish, sleek, and easy-to-read font.
It’s not like Uber was struggling with their business. Yet, they made a move. The organization claims the redesign will help build a flexible, simple, globally recognizable brand.
These tricks are part of what experts call “brand management.” Most leading organizations take advantage of brand management and carefully protect their brand online.
However, it is not limited to large corporations. Brand management could be an integral marketing tool for small and medium-sized businesses.
When it comes to our business, we often play it safe and stick to what works for us until it doesn’t anymore. But if you want your business to continue to thrive, you must make some necessary brand adjustments when the time is right. So, if you are thinking of making the right move, it is time to learn about brand management.
If you need to become more familiar with brand management or more clarity about implementing the strategy, this complete guide is exclusively for you. We have explained brand management, its benefits, basic principles, and how to use the concept to your advantage.
What is brand management?
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By definition, brand management refers to perfect marketing that uses specialized techniques to increase the perceived value of a brand or product line over time. It involves the processes such as maintaining and improving products, services, and overall brand perception.
In simpler terms, brand management is boosting and maintaining your brand value. It entails various methods such as logo design, packaging, advertising, price, etc. Brand management aims to create a strong brand image and make yourself familiar among your customers, making a lasting impression on them.
Maintaining such a positive image will win you more customers and help cultivate positive customer relationships, thus allowing your company to thrive. In short, effective brand management can increase customer loyalty, facilitate customer acquisition, and build meaningful brand awareness.
Why is brand management important?
The central idea of brand management is to differentiate one brand from another. It is crucial in building brand awareness, retaining customers, and, most importantly, giving you leverage in the competitive market.
Simply put, your brand management strategy defines how you handle your company. If it is well-positioned in the market and experiences a high demand among customers, your product or service brings high value to your customers’ lives.
Look at companies like Apple, Microsoft, Adidas, and McDonald's. These brands have become almost synonymous with the product or services they offer. It’s because they have a substantial brand value and, thus, rule out competitors.
To survive in today’s cutthroat competition, you must maintain your brand image constantly. To do so, you must stand out and provide your clients with a consistent experience.
It’s precisely what brand management can help you achieve. All you need to do is identify your target audience and implement an effective brand management strategy.
This way, you will establish positive associations with your customer base and create a strong brand image. It encourages customers to remember your brand and return for products and services from your company.
Now that you know why brand management is essential, let’s delve deeper into the benefits of this strategy and how to carry it out in favor of your organization.
Benefits of Brand Management
Brand management involves a wide array of processes that are essential to every organization. No matter how large or small your company is, it is crucial for success and business sustainability. Let’s review some advantages of brand management.
- Brand awareness
- Customer loyalty
- Brand recognition
- Improved customer trust, market authority, and credibility
- Improved value of your product and services
- Increased product pricing
- Heightened sales volume
- Increased revenue
- Profit growth
- Strong market position
Principles of Brand Management
Every brand is unique, so it should be. There are some ground rules and understandings. In the following section, we will go over some basic principles.
- Brand recognition
Brand recognition is your brand’s power to connect with its target audience. In other words, brand recognition indicates how easily customers can recognize your brand without hearing the name.
It is typically a visual element, such as color scheme (e.g., Apple’s four color scheme or Tiffany's distinct blue), custom packaging (e.g. amazon), etc. However, sometimes it may extend to audio elements like jingles or slogans. All of this is aligned with your creatives, and by using social media scheduling tools, you stay consistent.
This way, whenever customers come across these elements, they are more likely to be immediately reminded of your brand. The result is a chance of them choosing your brand over your competitors.
Whenever customers come across these elements, they are more likely to be immediately reminded of your brand. The result is a chance of them choosing your brand over your competitors.
- Brand equity
Brand equity is an element that creates value for your brand through positive impressions, reputation, and value perception. It can change the dynamic of your product or service since customers often trust the brand more compared to their perception of the product/service.
Eventually, it’ll enable your company to increase prices and, in turn, earn profit. To explain, imagine coming across two kiosks at the marketplace offering the same product, e.g., soft drinks.
One of their banners has Coke’s logo, while the other is a lesser-known brand. It stands to reason that you would buy from Coke stand even though the other one offers a 20% discount.
- Brand loyalty
Brand loyalty is when buyers are devoted to a particular brand over competitors. It differs from customer loyalty, where a customer buys a service or product based on quality.
Brand loyalty refers to buyers purchasing from the brand solely because they are loyal. It’s typically achieved with years of reputation and positive impression and often has nothing to do with product quality.
How To Implement an Effective Brand Management Strategy
There needs to be more than just knowing the principles. You need to be able to mold them into a perfect strategy to manage your brand. Here are some strategies that could help you achieve your goal.
- Create Your Brand Identity. Find your unique selling point (USP).
- Create a brand voice that represents your vision and resonates with your audience.
- Evaluate what strategies perform well and what quote does not. When something works effectively, try to do more of it.
- Organize your brand elements and assets
- Come up with a sound plan for all of your teams
- Develop a specific brand message
- Leverage social media
- Create a company website
- Invest in digital marketing
- Survey customer experience to readjust and strategize your brand management plans
Conclusion
If you want steady business growth, running your operations will not suffice. You must constantly care for your brand and strive to maintain your brand image. To this end, brand management plays an integral role.
The better you manage your brand, the more chances you can achieve sustainability and profit. Further, the more you review and redesign it, the higher efficiency it will produce in the future.
Brand strategy involves crafting a compelling image for your product or services to captivate your target customers. It plays a crucial role in securing your company's long-term viability, directly impacting the bottom line of your business.
Author Bio:
Joy Gomez
My world is made up of codes. It is the central element that drives my universe. I am a self-taught, process-driven programmer with a creative bent of mind. Since I was an engineering student, I have dreamt of creating something unique. To satiate my creative appetite, I took to coding. Blessed with abundant support and generous scholarships from my employers, I simultaneously worked full-time and pursued my dream. My passion and high productivity helped me in my journey as well. Finally, I created Field Promax to follow my drive of coding and streamlining processes; and do more of what I know best—coding.
