What is brand management?
Brand management is the steps that businesses take to cultivate or address their brand among their customers, clients and wider community.
Ideally, businesses are already aware of the brand that they have in their community or what they would like their brand to be.
For example, a business may want to be seen as supportive of the local community or a global player. It may want to be known as creative, reliable or value for money.
If the business is happy with its brand, it will need to maintain it, which may just involve continuing with business as usual. If it is not happy with its brand or there are areas in which it wants to change, it will need to proactively introduce strategies to alter it.
Unfortunately, there may be times when the business is involved with something negative that has damaged the brand and it needs to be restored. For example, a business may pride itself on being an environmental champion but an employee is caught dumping waste illegally. Or, rumours may emerge that are untrue. The business will need to repair the damage to its brand and undertake extra work to build it up again.
If a business does not already have a brand in mind or employers are unsure as to its existing brand in the community, take some time to plan one and conduct research. Reading online reviews can be a great place to start or have an informal chat with regular customers and clients to gain insight as to their current views.
Brand management strategies
Businesses can manage their brand in two ways – directly to customers and clients or indirectly in their communities.
Indirect brand management
Indirect brand management techniques are the actions that a business can take to showcase itself generally in the community. It can be a particularly good strategy if the business has recently changed hands or is under new management to consolidate the brand in the community or highlight that change is underway.
Advertising
Whether it is a giant advertisement on a billboard that people pass in their cars each morning or an ad that pops up on social media, in an app or on television, telling people about your business in advertising can manage a brand.
While on the face of it the advertising may be promoting a product or service, the way it is presented can help manage the brand.
If the brand is to provide friendly service, for example, the advertisement may require an image of a person smiling instead of looking indifferent. If the brand is about being supportive of the local community, the advertising may involve sponsoring a local sporting club, with signage located inside clubrooms or at the sporting ground.
Or, the advertising message may be related to their brand, such as a trades business outlining they will always arrive on time or a discount will be applied.
Logos and building signs
A lot can be said in a logo. If a business wants to be known as friendly, then using harsh colours such as black and a bold, thick font can provide customers and clients with the opposite feeling. A business that wants to be seen as forward-thinking may not want to use a 20-year-old logo.
Consistency is also important with logos and building signs to show the business is committed to its messaging, so ensure that the two match. Also, the same or similar design and colour palette can be incorporated across the website, all advertising material and perhaps the interior décor of the office.
Awards
Winning an award in an area related to the brand provides evidence to the community that the business is true to its brand.
For example, a bakery may want to be known or maintain its current standing as selling the best-tasting pies in their region. Nominating the business for local ‘Best of’ lists promoted by media websites or entering cooking competitions can lead to it receiving an award.
Awards may be national, state-wide or run by local community groups or business and industry associations, as the prestige does not necessarily matter either. The win will still be promoted in the desired community. A little online research can uncover all sorts of competitions and awards available year-round.
Direct brand management
Managing the brand directly means ensuring that when liaising with customers and clients, the business is in fact doing what it wants to be seen as doing.
Act your brand
Ensure that the business operations as well as employees are acting in accordance with the brand.
For example, if the brand is being innovative, then it should be constantly introducing new ways of doing business, such as embracing technology and offering the latest products or techniques. If the business wants to be trustworthy, then act honestly and avoid breaking service agreements as well as provide goods in the condition that they were promised to be in.
This cements the brand in the customers’ and clients’ heads to ensure continued business as well as recommendations and referrals.
Communicate with employees
It is important that employees are aware of the brand, especially if there are any changes or urgent management is required if the brand is damaged.
It may be that the business has already hired their employees because their qualifications, experience and traits fit in with their brand, for example hiring a sales worker who holds good customer service skills when good customer service is the brand. However, it is still important to communicate the brand to them to ensure they continue working accordingly.
Ask for feedback from employees, too. For example, many clients and customers often feel more comfortable grumbling in passing to the receptionist about issues but they do not feel comfortable, or they don’t feel as if it is a big enough issue, to raise with their business contact themselves. Still, it can be important feedback to receive.
Mitigate problems
Many businesses may not be able to help how people perceive and act towards their business. For example, it wants to be known as providing good customer service and always strives to do so, yet a customer still feels they received poor service and leaves a bad online review.
However, businesses can take steps to mitigate these problems. In this instance, management can politely reply to the review, outlining that they are sorry the customer feels this way and encouraging them to contact the business to discuss the issue further. It can prove to the disgruntled customer as well as others reading the review that the business is serious about customer service. If the comment is left unchecked or the business argues back, the desired brand is not managed and another brand may be created.
Why is brand management important?
Brand management is a part of building a successful and profitable business, especially in today’s world when reputations can be easily spread between people online.
When more people are happy with a business’ operations, they are more likely to return to use the business again as well as recommend it to others. It is not just important in terms of gaining extra business, however, as workers also want to be employed at a business that has a good brand or one that aligns to their values and abilities.
Brand management may seem like a lot of effort to go to, particularly if a good brand already exists. However, it is good to have some strategies in place or readily available if the worst happens and a brand is damaged, as well as some easy techniques to maintain a brand that can help attract future customers and clients.
