In Zimbabwe there are reasons why people call every soft drink Coca Cola or almost every type of toothpaste Colgate. One of the main reasons is that branding happens in the mind for the consumer as opposed to on the billboards like most local companies have come to think. As I walk or drive through the streets of Harare I have noticed that the branding has become more vivid and high end. When I look at some of those pictures and logos I really get taken away to Neverland (literally) because sometimes when I come into contact with some of the brands I find out that what they talk about on the billboards is never there. Places like TV Sales and Home look so nice but the experience is something else. According to the Business Dictionary Brand Strategy is the process of maintaining, improving, and upholding a brand so that the name is associated with positive results. Brand Strategy involves a number of important aspects such as cost, customer satisfaction, in-store presentation, and competition. Brand Strategy is built on a marketing foundation, but focuses directly on the brand and how that brand can remain favourable to customers. There are some brands who are doing better than others as far as brand strategy is concerned and I will highlight them as I go. Some local firms actually understand that there is more to branding than logos and engage in various activities in order to uphold their brands. So, what can your competitors teach you about Brand Strategy?
Consistency: I do quite a lot of shopping for a bachelor. When I moved into the Avenues last year there was OK and the Athienitis Spar (I hope I got that high end sounding spelling right). These shops are always facing each other like two raging bulls that are ready to do battle. Of late one bull has been getting knocked out of the kraal consistently though. At first I used to shop at Athienitis because in my mind it was better because of the branding and it used to perform. I got used to the place because everything was so predictable, until these other Portuguese guys took over. They rearranged the tills and the queuing system became inefficient. They renovated the other end and affected the parking along Fife Avenue for quite some time. The bread was no longer fresh and occasionally I could not find the garlic rolls that I had come to love. The final straw was when they actually ditched the ‘Spar’ logo. I became disoriented and associated all these bad things with the fact that there was a new sheriff in town. All this while the OK looked and acted the same which can give someone a sense of comfort and trust in a brand because at least you know what to expect there. I now shop at the OK though I have not won anything yet. Athienitis should take a page from OK’s book.
Tie Your Brand To Your Strategy: I was talking to this friend of mine from this other advertising agency and he told me that most of the local companies come through to get designs that are not tied to the overall company strategy. I was once a full time customer of FBC Bank. They made no secret of the fact that they were a commoner’s bank. Their buildings and furnishings are not fancy, their rates are not expensive and there are always long winding queues in their branches among other undesirable things. I left that bank but not because of these branding issues. I left because I wanted to feel a little more ‘uptown’ (and their service was bad) although I really am a middle class citizen. I did not blame them for the way they presented themselves because it was clear what their strategy was, they targeted middle to low end consumers. I then went to NMB with its royal colours, navy and gold. Their staff is always well dressed and they talk with an accent. They have nice buildings and their banking halls are almost always empty, prestige style! To get an account there you must have a net salary of something like $750. On their walls they have all these pictures of people who look successful then you think YES, I have arrived! The service there is actually poorer than that of FBC. The agents are so rude that NMB probably stands for None of My Business. Their systems have many downtimes especially their internet banking. The banking halls are empty but you still spend an hour in the queue, nothing seems to work there. Clearly their branding is not aligned to their strategy like that of FBC. NMB, learn a thing or two from your competition.
Connect With Your Customers: I usually fill up my tank at the Engen service station in Graniteside. The guys there are quite friendly, they are OK. They talk to you nicely and do extra things like put my Xtreme Fuel Treatment in my tank before I fill up. They also give free tyre pressure unlike some other service stations that charge you $1 for that. They respond quickly when we arrive and they call me boss, I like that. They smile at me making me feel welcome. They also say ‘thanks’ just before I leave. As a result instead of putting a half or a quarter tank I now fill my tank to the brim which is $100 every time I go there. The place is not fancy looking but I love it there, it’s close to my work place anyway. Then there is a fancy service station near my home, it’s called ZUVA. They are currently renovating the place right now, maybe to make it look fancier or because there is a new owner I do not know. There were nice electronic boards to show you how much the fuel costs and stuff like that. Now these guys are like Fly Africa, anything extra you have to pay for. Tyre pressure, window cleaning, whatever, you pay for it! I think you also have to pay for them to smile because eish, they are something else. ZUVA, if you are going to re-open the service station corner Samora Machel and 4th Street, please, act like you love us! Learn from the competition because branding is not all about the renovations that you are carrying out at the moment (if it is you renovating that is)
Reward The Customers! Terrific Tuesdays! Get a medium or bigger pizza on a Tuesday and get another one free! That’s Pizza Inn for you. Besides getting a free pizza (albeit usually of lower quality) you got to be around people, you would bump into some of your friends and for us bachelors, maybe meet your future wife. It had become more than a pizza discount, it had become more of an event that people would talk about hours before they left work or went on a pizza date. You can imagine the value in terms of brand recognition etc. that occurred at that time. The fact that you went there every Tuesday made you get used to the place so much that you would go there every other day. I am told by some people that Pizza Slice makes better pizza but that is as much as I know about Pizza Slice. The question is why have I not tried it yet? Well they don’t give free pizza plus they are expensive. You have to show your customers that you appreciate them and regardless of the quality of the pizza at Pizza Inn at least they are trying. So, Pizza Slice, learn from your competition.
Measure: I can’t say that I jump from hotel to hotel like a superstar but I have been in a few. At the Beitbridge Express Hotel I got my first chance to tell a hotel what I think about their service. They had a questionnaire ready for me to fill in. They also had a number on which they claimed that I could call Mr Shingi Munyeza if I had a problem. Whether there was Shingi Munyeza at the other end of that line or a Kizito is another matter altogether. The fact that they gather customer feedback means they know what the customer wants and judging by the way they treated me I am inclined to think that they acted on it. Measuring different metrics especially customer satisfaction enables you to make the relevant adjustments in order to keep your brand strategy on track. That’s why when I am in Harare you will find me in Holiday Inn and in Mutare you will find me in the Amber Hotel. The other two might not be as good as the Beitbridge Express but hey they are African Sun Hotels so I am now kind of biased. Jameson Hotel and the others should take a page from African Sun’s book as they do not seem to measure metrics that are important in Brand Strategy (well, on the face of it). What I know for sure is that Jameson Hotel measures how long you have overstayed in their hotel because I was once charged 10 bucks for that. I still remember that. Jameson et al, take a bow and learn about brand strategy from your competition.
Stop managing your brands on billboards as what happens at your advertising agency should be a consequence of the plan that you have created in your office and not be the actual plan in itself. Brand Strategy is about positioning your firm and its products in a customer’s minds. This is done by engaging in a series of activities that occur behind the scenes. Engaging in Brand Strategy in its real sense is more effective than engaging in billboard wars because you get to implement strategies that the competition will have a hard time countering. Anyone can come up with a fancy billboard or an advert, dig deeper. Tell me what you think about my latest analysis, I would love to hear it.
Thanks
Ruvimbo
Source
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/brand-management.html
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