When I think about branding, there are several companies which come to mind. Coca-Cola, Nike, Taco Bell, Ford, Chili’s, Kellogg’s, and Disney are all Olympic brands due to their longevity and consumer recognition. These companies have stayed the test of time and established customer loyalty to be set up on pedestals as victors in the marketing and branding games. Their customers have a kinship to what these company brands mean in regards to servicing the masses. Each brand stands alone among in their own competition with other similar companies. They are trend setters, famous, or well know. They also offer their product at prices which reflect their values as a company. They clearly have all hit the branding sweet spot in their respective genres. (Hollis, 2005)
There are many companies out there which continue to position and re position themselves to climb up the masses of insight into precognitive consumer involvement. There are companies which continue to develop products which mold into lifestyle branding. Each company is developing their brand pyramid. They have established a presence of who they are as a company. Their relevance in the realm of the competition is starting to shine above the others. The performance of each company is beginning to take shape as consumers are buying into what the company believes. The company is looking at and taking advantage of what the competition cannot offer. Then, the company is increasing their customer loyalty and building relationships of consumer endorsements. These consumer endorsements assist in taking the brand to new markets and evolve into word of mouth advertising. Word of mouth advertising is defined as “an unpaid form of promotion in which satisfied customers tell other people how much they like a business, product or service” (Entrepreneur, 2019). Sometimes word of mouth is unintentional; however, there are definitely moments in a company’s lifetime in which they hit an intentional branding sweet spot by invoking word of mouth advertising.
In order for a business to obtain or develop a brand worthy of Olympic status or to be shared as a word of mouth through consumers, they must first go through the process of branding. Tungsten Branding has a 10 step process to successfully brand one’s company.
- Gather – Collect background info to establish your marketing objectives.
- Analyze – Identify your market; not just competition or consumer segmentation, but the market you will brand into
- Specify – Write a creative brief about your brand
- Prioritize – What is most important about your brand and what will you focus on.
- Identity – Develop your brand identity
- Refine – A time to develop the story of the brand.
- Select – Name development and decision.
- Develop – The marketing platform and substance building.
- Visualize – Logo development and decision.
- Finalize – Printing, web design, and signage
The process is important in branding as each moment in development and revision can shape the impact of the consumer perception of the company. Each company must define and determine how they want to be perceived and work toward giving that perception to consumers. The hard part of branding is foreseeing how consumers will interpret what the company is trying to portray. The best brands have worked tirelessly through successes and failures in getting to where they are today by continuing to evaluating, re-evaluating, and acting upon the consumer’s perception of the company’s brand.
I would love to hear the process of branding your business. Please comment and share.