Investing in Brand: It Really Does Matter

Taken from a quote delivered by a Whirlpool Corporation global brand manager, it acknowledges the value of brand as a financial asset. Like all company assets, the brand need to be managed. Brand is a business builder and profit contributor with tangible value on a balance sheet. When you think of it in those terms, can you argue against brand as a strategy?

Let’s back up for a second and go through a quick understanding of brand. What is brand? In its simplest form, brand is a claim of distinction. It is your unique identity.

Whether we talk about a company or an individual, brand is what distinguishes you from everyone else. Unlike a tangible asset, brand isn’t something you can hold in your hands or design on a computer. Instead, it is the collective effect of thoughts and feelings that customers experience when they come into contact with your product or service.

More important than the claim of distinction, brand must also provide evidence of distinction. In establishing a brand, a promise is made to the audience; a promise that you will deliver what you claim. As that experience repeats itself, trust builds and loyalty, in the form of purchase preference, follows.

How does that translate into results?

1. Studies show that the number one brand in a given category can command a 10% price premium over the number two brand.
2. Consumer loyalty to a brand generates a recurring revenue stream through repeat and referral sales.
3. A company with strong brand recognition is judged more valuable in monetary terms versus a company without a brand.

The process of discovering and developing your brand involves an investment of time, brainpower and, sometimes, money. Brand discovery works best when facilitated by experienced brand professionals; however, a glimpse into the process will give you a head start. Unearthing your brand begins with an in-depth inside look into your company.

The process involves working with key stakeholders to examine your company, its history, products, people and culture. The series of exercises that support this process results in a list of core company values and three to five unique selling points, which differentiate you from the competition.

From there, the focus shifts to an outward look into the audience to explore how they feel about your product, your company, your industry. This deep-dive approach is rooted in understanding the emotional drivers behind a customer’s purchase decision. A great brand will effectively tap into the emotions that work to define a customer’s expectations.

To begin the process of thinking about the importance of brand within your company, gather the key stakeholders within your company to engage in the conversation. A simplified version of the process we use with clients is captured in these steps:

The Inside-Out Look
Step 1: Values
Identify your top 3 to 5 company values. Values are those enduring traits that guide the way you do business.

Step 2: Unique Selling Points
Identify 3 to 5 characteristics that make your company unique in comparison to your competition. These need to be areas that you own or take leadership in, and they need to be supported by proof points-not aspirations.

Step 3: Brand Essence
Look at the lists created in Steps 1 and 2. Write a descriptive sentence or two that describes your brand essence. What is the heartbeat of your brand? What makes it thump? Capture it in words.

Looking Outside-In

Step 1: Brainstorm
Create a list of ways in which your company and/or your product helps customers. Think about a problem it solves or a difference it makes. Don’t think features or processes. Think deeper. Why does your product work? Does it deliver its promise?

Step 2: Ask Questions
Contact your customers. Ask about their experiences with you and your competition. Talk to your sales team. They are the direct link to your customers and their feedback is valuable.

Step 3: Connect
Think about how your brand aligns with your customer’s emotions. What emotional triggers engage a customer to select you? What do you help people become? What makes you different?

Step 4: Audit
Be sure your product honors its promise. Audit yourself. Honesty is key.

When you take time to dig deeper into your brand, you will begin to understand its power. Remember that brand helps build business. It’s the value component that elevates a company and its product to the next level in the competitive marketplace.

Tiffany Sauder is the President of Element Three, a marketing communications firm that brings together business insights, brand development and creative execution to measurably advance clients’ businesses. Element Three is proud to have Indiana’s only Certified Brand Strategist, Nila Nealy as part of the Element Three team.