The power of a brand is defined through its branding strategy

BRANDING is a critical aspect that defines any business, be it on a large or small scale. The power of a brand is defined through an impalpable strength reflecting the consistency, awareness, and value of a company’s products or services. The strength and power of a brand are determined by its identity, the perception and experience customers have when engaging with a company’s products or service.

Thus, the power of a brand is defined through its branding strategy, its value proposition and customer experience or journey with a company.

A brand is one of your company’s most valuable assets. Despite having a brand being identified or distinguished from its competitors in the market by its name, catchy logo, or any aesthetic designs, a customers’ journey with the product or service is much more important. A powerful brand thrives to survive the market place by offering value to its customers. Corporate branding reflects a company’s overall values, mission, and visual identity in addition to products and services through perception management.

A good brand communicates the why, how and what of a company. A brand communicates what a company stands for, its value, the company’s existence, the image and perceptions held by existing and potential customers towards its product. Therefore, a company must establish and maintain a good image all the time.

Most brands differentiate themselves from their competitors by what they do and not ”why they exist”, the mission principle is ignored. This is where most corporates fall short. People do not buy what you do but they buy why you do it. Have you ever wondered how Apple has kept its brand popular? Apple has achieved this through inspiration and not manipulation. Apple has managed to evoke its customers’ emotions to connect to its brand. Emotions connect customers to your business. Corporate branding is often best when it stirs rather than when it shakes consumer emotions. Apple challenged the status quo to produce user-friendly and use easy-to-use products.

The existence of Apple has been defined through its value proposition to its clientele. An authentic brand knows the ‘why’ of their company being guided by its principles and values, offering the best to their customers. Corporate branding is about knowing your purpose, going beyond what your business offers and understanding why you exist as a company.

A brand is a promise of what a company is meant to deliver whereas a good brand keeps that promise. A powerful brand thrives in authenticity. A brand that considers and appreciates its customers and thrives in giving out the best tends to position itself well from its competitors. A powerful brand breeds loyalty, identity, value and trust. Building customer loyalty involves delivering on promises consistently. The motive of embracing a corporate brand is to have a distinctive, compatible look and feel across every medium.

In grocery shops, you find different brands of bread. The bread is mostly similar in taste, with different packaging and designs, about the same quality and pricing. What makes each brand better and stand out from the rest? Could it be the taste, attractive packaging or pricing?

Let us look at the telecommunications industry brands which offer similar services. What makes each one stand out from its competitors? Could it be the speed of the internet, logo, colours, low data tariffs or their customer service, or we have no choice at all? What guides your preference as an individual? Food for thought!

We have different airlines operating in Zimbabwe at national and regional level but passengers have their preferred airline. Which airline do you prefer and why? Regional and national airlines may choose colours that resemble or resonate with their flags with a sense of trust to its passengers. Despite having a solid name and image, the aviation industry is getting tough. Branding for airlines goes beyond just the name, colours or images used, beautiful uniforms, etc. It is about the travellers’ experience. The basic goal for airline branding is to provide travellers with a sense of security and comfort.

Have you ever thought about why popular musicians like Oliver Mutukudzi and Aleck Macheso have remained relevant in today’s music industry? Their legacies remain relevant and continue as people’s top fans in the music industry today. The musicians built brands that are valuable. They offered people value! The musicians sang into real-life situations. The songs socially and emotionally connect with people. Some artists have come into the music industry and vanished, yet alone, their music or existence is not remembered. It is because they failed to bring and give people value. Winky D has remained a top fan of listeners when it comes to dancehall music. Winky D’s music provides social commentary about real-life situations of Zimbabwe’s society. Branding is about giving consumers value. Good branding is feasibly the most important element when it comes to ensuring the success of any business built through value. The musicians understood their mission and they delivered.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi products remain very popular among fizzy drinks. Both products remain competitive in the market. When Pepsi products flooded the market, some people remained loyal to Coca-Cola products. How can that be explained? Because Coca-Cola is a trusted brand, it has managed to build brand loyalty by giving value to its customers. Over the years, Coca-Cola has managed to maintain a good name and image for its products. People love and trust the Coca-Cola brand yet the two companies produce similar products with different bottling designs and almost similar tastes. Over the years’, people have preferred Pepsi. I mean buying drinks for a dollar for two. Is it because Pepsi products are priced lower than Coca-Cola products that people prefer them? Why do some people prefer Pepsi while others prefer Coca-Cola products? Does the pricing of a product determine the value of a product or guide people’s preferences?

Despite how exacting the economy can be, it is every company’s dream to have a brand that is unique from its competitors, a brand that is valuable and not forgotten easily. It takes time, effort, investment and a good branding strategy to build and stay relevant in the marketplace. Branding a business is one of the most important investments a company can make. Corporate branding facilitates the launching of new products, which can easily penetrate and be accepted in the market due to the strong corporate legacy created with the previous or existing line of products and services offered by the company.

A lot of companies have vanished from the market as they have failed to position their brands. The benefits of building and maintaining a strong brand are endless: customer recognition, word-of-mouth marketing, customer loyalty, enhanced credibility, and ease of purchase, to mention a few.

Good branding should aspire to give value. We are closing the year 2023; the year has been good and bad for some companies, but there is always hope to try and try again each year. As we are closing the chapter of 2023, let us be reminded that this is the “STRATEGY” season. This is the time of the year when companies sit down and measure their successes and failures and redesign strategies for the coming season. It is never too early to start investing in branding for your company. Remember that a brand is created by the consumers and is a result of how people perceive you as a company.