By Bradly Montague President & CEO
NOMAMONT, Inc.
Branding is all the rage; therefore, people are
tempted to think that it is a new idea. A commonly used term in
marketing, branding is often the subliminal process by which a business
employs marketing strategies to guide people to easily remember their
products and services over a competitor’s. Essentially, it's applied
psychology. Branding is also a method to leverage success, expand
market share, and fend off competition. The problem is, companies are
turning to branding as a panacea and the cold, hard fact is branding
will not create a spike in cash flow or market share. Therefore, it
makes sense to understand that the purpose of branding is not to make
your target market choose you over the competition, but rather to urge
your prospects to see you as the only solution to their problem.
A strong brand is invaluable, as the battle for
customers intensifies day by day. Brands of the future will be those
able to surround their products and services with ardent advocates and
loyalists: passion brands. All other brands will be left to compete in
the price wars. It is important that the online and offline images of
your business be harmonious and that time is invested in researching,
defining, and building your brand. After all, your brand is your
promise to your consumer. Your brand resides within the hearts and
minds of customers, clients and prospects. It is the sum total of their
experiences and perceptions regarding your company, some of which you
can influence, and some that you cannot.
How do you connect with the consumer when they're
calling all the shots? View your consumers as both customer and
collaborator and employ game-changing thinking. In order to change the
game, you need to audit how you think, comparing rational versus
intuitive decision-making strategies and identifying common mistakes
made by even the most experienced professionals. The process is based
on the premise that the answers to your company's brand strategy reside
in the heads of the CEO and the key management group. Your company’s
brand strategy must be owned by every employee from the top down.
Eleven key attributes necessary to become a passion brand include:
1. You must recognize that your brand is a key
asset in delivering strategic targets at a level that is higher than
the industry standard.
2. Do not consider the brand as merely a
communications issue—your brand must be recognized as the key platform
to link the company strategy with customers and employees.
3. Make sure your brand management processes are
integrated seamlessly into the company’s processes—i.e., “branding” is
not a separate activity.
4. Your senior management is accountable for the
brand’s continued health—brand responsibility resides at C-level.
5. All of your employees need to share a belief in
the brand as well as a common understanding of the brand. With this
mindset in place, the power of the brand will act as an incentive to
employees.
6. Ensure your employees’ activities are aligned
with the brand values and contribute to the building and strengthening
of the brand.
7. Your employees should be measured and rewarded
by the success of these brand-guided activities.
8. Your marketing department must be able to talk
in terms of expected return on their investments and marketers must be
able to leverage customer insights to make the most effective marketing
decisions. Future strategy should be built based on knowledge of the
customer, product and practices.
9. All marketing activities should be closely
aligned with the core brand values.
10. It is necessary to invest in sufficient IT
capability to capture data on customers, segment customers in order to
efficiently respond to their needs, and implement marketing techniques
to deliver increased ROI.
11. You must identify your company’s brand equity
(the financial value of your brand) by understanding the brand’s value
drivers and the levers required to influence these drivers. This action
leads to success.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/branding-articles/
become-a-passion-brand-624138.html About the Author
Bradly C. Montague is a noted pioneer in marketing
& corporate communications, Montague has over 15 years
experience in traditional and digital marketing, advertising, public
relations and global sales consulting. Since founding NOMAMONT
(www.nomamont.com) in 2006, he has worked in every capacity to design
and optimize the company's innovative, marketing, pr, event and trade
show solutions. Montague serves as Chairman and President & CEO
NOMAMONT, Inc.
Prior to NOMAMONT, Montague was the Head of Marketing for Hilex Poly,
an industry-leading manufacturer of plastic bag and film products.
Focusing primarily on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) film products
and related services, the company has over $650 million in revenue and
serves many of the leading retail and grocery providers in North
America. As a department head, he was the architect of marketing
programs for a number of key products including Bag2Bag, Rhino and
QuickStar.
Bradly has held a variety of leadership roles throughout his career,
including Campaign Strategic Director at DEVON DIGITAL EURO RSCG,
Streaming Media Consultant at AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES and President at
Jupiter Sun Productions. He is also a member of the Board of Directors
for The Islands Group.
Montague received his bachelor's degree from The New School University
with a major in Liberal Arts and a special focus on Communication
studies.
bradly.montague@nomamont.com | 