Every business wants a bigger market share, loyal customers, and recurring profits. But the question is, why it's an uphill task?
With start-up failure rates in 2022 as much as 90% and first-time small business owners having a success rate of 18%, many things might go wrong for a business. The obvious ones are- misreading the market, lack of product market fit, finance and operational problems, and marketing fiascos.
Sometimes, the absence of a robust brand strategy within the overarching marketing structure goes unnoticed in the final analysis. Most businesses start small and gradually build up. Lack of insights or reluctance to commit resources early on is the prime reason enterprises develop a blind spot for brand strategy.
Fortunately, businesses are waking up to the powerful message branding can deliver. It is an essential cog in the organization wheel.
This article will delve deeper into branding in the digital age and its importance.
Drawing the line between a business and a brand
It is important to differentiate between a business and a brand. A company is an organization, a collection of processes, marketing, and sales, that produces products or services. Legally, a company is also seen as an individual. It has physical dimensions. Over time as the products and services create a unique perception based on customer expectations and their fulfillment, it carves out a niche market for themselves.
The company's logo, mark, or any symbol exclusive to it connects its buyers. It also distinguishes it from others in the fray. The loyal customer's emotional connection with the product is called a brand. Essentially a concept carefully built over time, a brand is the most critical asset for a company.
Another point of difference to help you better understand is that while a company is focused on profits, the brand seeks to expand its loyal base. They are coupled and reinforce each other on a fundamental level.
Understanding through examples
Apple Inc is just another company when we think of mobile phones, tablets, and headphones. Still, it is a brand cut above the rest when we consider the experience it delivers through its exquisite products like the iPhone, MacBook, iPad, and AirPods. This brand value, which evokes an instant emotion within its loyal customers, undoubtedly sustains Apple's image and crazy sales.
What first name comes to mind when you think about photocopies? It's Xerox, right?
Similarly, how can one overlook Coca-Cola's lion's share in the fizzy drink market, raking up sales in billions? How does it do that? By selling the idea of a brand that delivers "happiness"!
Now that we are done with the basics let's focus on the primary dilemma that businesses often find themselves in.
Walking a tightrope between sales and branding
Most times, businesses have difficulty balancing sales and branding. And in some cases, branding is set aside or even sacrificed.
Dell started great, but as it diversified from B2B, plunging into retail distribution and adding consumer electronics to its catalog, which did bring in more significant revenue for the company as the business soared, the damaging consequence of rapid business expansion was that the brand image suffered dilution. From a world leader in 2001, it soon lost market share to other brands like HP by 2007.
In some cases, it may be the other way around. Some companies invest so much critical resources in shaping their brand that it hurts business. Thus far, it appears a difficult feat to achieve. What's the ideal solution, then?
Taking the safer route
Bringing in more money sounds like a short-term goal and should be treated as such. But the idea is to ace the competition and turn the business into self-sustaining as new products and services flood the market. In that case, it's essential to understand that, in the long run, a neatly crafted brand image will bring your business immeasurable success.
Enterprises have to do a delicate balancing act between the twin objective of growing business and brand building without delinking one from another. Features of brand management are woven into the business requirement. By now, it must be clear that both aren't mutually exclusive but complement each other.
What's interesting about businesses is that as it grows, a brand emerges. Later on, as the brand name grows, it brings business. The relative positioning of the Business Vs. Brand in the growth curve is pivotal. This means that if brand identity suffers, the company also suffers.
And in some cases, beyond repair.
It makes it all the more important to have a clearly defined brand management policy at the core of businesses. The initial aim can be to add layers to the idea of a brand. With the gradual expansion and market consolidation, the brand image, now fully formed, must be sustained.
The concept of brand management
We can have a formal definition of "brand management" now. Brand management is primarily a marketing function that employs tools and techniques to increase the value of a brand over time. Effective brand management addresses the twin objectives of fuelling profits and expanding the customer base.
A well-managed brand positions itself as a market leader by boosting recognition and brand equity, encouraging people to spend more even if low-priced generic options are available.
This brand affinity is not an overnight process. Having a pulse on customer sentiment, refined customer engagement under the stewardship of efficient brand managers, seamless accommodation and pitching of new products under the existing brand, and innovation as the driving force is what it takes to build a great brand. Positive experiences bring repeat business.
Brand management in the digital era
Most of the action is happening online as the world becomes digitally integrated. To give a sense of perspective, nearly 70% of the world's population uses the internet today. Some of the world's most populated regions, like China, have the highest number of internet users.
In 2022, the number of internet users in UAE stood at 9.98 million, taking the internet penetration rate to 99%. Known for its colorful lifestyle and booming digital economy, UAE has clinched the 28th position in the e-commerce market worldwide. Amazon.ae leads there and is followed by namshi.com and noon.com as the second and third-largest e-commerce businesses.
These and many others like them have taken their business and brand management to the place where people exist. While small and medium businesses are still starting their digital journey, others who have refined their brand management are reaping benefits.
It manifests itself as a conscious, concerted attempt at increasing online presence, getting a website built to start with, roping in digital marketers and strategists, social media connect digital media management, online loyalty programs, SEO activities, and communicating brand stories in a human-centric way.
It translates into utilizing digital assets intending to create a unique identity in the virtual space. It all depends on how effectively brand management can target the aims of increasing profits and nourishing brand image. The stories from famous luxury brands that stay with us in our digital experiences are carefully crafted luxury brands' digital marketing maneuvers.
Digital marketing Vs. Digital branding
Before we move ahead, it's contextual to know the nuanced difference between digital marketing and digital branding. The idea behind digital marketing is conversion and profits. Though similar, the aim of digital branding goes beyond just sales and profit. It attempts to forge a deeper connection with the prospective buyer.
The ad that conveys the information about your new product also represents the values that define your business. The former is digital marketing, while the latter is digital branding.
Is there a convergence between the two? Yes, digital branding and brand management rest on the foundation of digital marketing. A brand piggybacks on digital marketing tools and strategies to communicate the message.
Now two obvious questions would pop up. One deals with the concept of brand management itself, and the other has to do with digital brand management.
Let's take them piecemeal. Is brand management critical? The second one centers on a mild acknowledgment of the importance of brand management but questions its viability for small and medium-sized businesses. We have got you covered.
To answer things first. Yes, brand management is a must-do for every kind of business, big or small. No wonder digital marketing for brands is on the upswing. Gartner reports that 72% of the marketing budget goes toward digital marketing.
Digital brand management – a growing business need
We list here five compelling reasons in an attempt to address both the queries and put cynicism to rest. By the end, we hope you might be toying with the idea of getting a robust brand management team on board to handle things professionally for your business.
Let's dive into it.
1. Broader audience targeting: Putting
your company online opens numerous pathways to reach a massive audience and
unique customers. A meaningful interaction takes place through a carefully
crafted social media presence on the most frequented platforms (Facebook,
LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). As the internet breaches borders,
companies are reaching newer shores.
With customer-centric
campaigns, content marketing, ads, and a slew of marketing efforts, digital
brand management becomes vital for customer engagement and retention as the
online business builds up. The idea is to turn customers from shoppers to
believers!
Take the example of Nike. Their
Instagram stories showcase motivational stories and anecdotes by featuring
successful athletes. Nowhere do they make a sales pitch. The whole idea is to
inspire future athletes, which means wearing shoes their icons associate
themselves with.
2. Managing brand reputation: With numerous avenues opening up in the virtual world, sustaining a brand image is crucial to the success of any business. The process is also abbreviated as online reputation management.
An online presence allows disgruntled customers to air their grievances and be heard in the noise. Quick identification of such instances plugs potential business catastrophes. Digital brand management helps a business to respond and take corrective measures to restore faith swiftly.
Likewise, positive word of mouth can be amplified to solidify brand identity. Each of these situations can occur on any given day. A straightforward approach to tackling such cases with set timelines and guidelines saves the day and keeps customer confidence intact.
A fit case to shed some light here is the disaster Samsung faced when it launched its flagship phone -Galaxy Note 7 from Samsung. It announced a global recall of 2.5 million devices after it was reported to explode or catch fire due to battery malfunction. Samsung's brand image suffered. Springing into action, the brand got the best engineers and auditors to work on the issue. Once resolved it put together an eight-point battery safety check in its quality assurance process.
Its online presence and tactful, effective online and offline brand management strategies helped it tell its part of the story early on and come clean.
3. Competitive edge: Online spaces are places where good content can spread like wildfire. The concept of "going viral" means brand A stands an equal chance to attract audience-cum-customer as brand B. This breeds fierce competition in the online space. It requires a solid brand management strategy. A robust brand management agency to support and etch out of digital branding can be a real differentiator.
With the benefits of SEO and micro insights on online performance, brand managers genuinely know what works and what doesn't. The more refined the brand strategy, the better the brand management.
Already, 64% of small businesses have their website. By 2040, Nasdaq estimates that 95% of all purchases will occur through e-commerce. All these hints at the inevitable path businesses must take in the long run. By creating and implementing a solid digital brand management strategy, a company can differentiate itself from its competitors and establish itself as a trusted and reliable brand in the market.
4. Cost-effective marketing: Digital brand management is a cost-effective way for businesses to market themselves online. It is well established that digital space has proved to be a game-changer in advertising. Small businesses and start-ups ideally lack deep pockets to compete with big players.
Digital branding offers an easy cost-efficient way to capture customer attention. With an in-house team or outsourcing SEO services, again part of the whole digital brand management, a comparatively small business can sustain stiff completion and even ace it. A business can reach a large audience without spending significantly by leveraging social media, email marketing, and other digital channels.
Also, traditional advertising methods are fading into oblivion. Digital brand management can help businesses save money and conserve vital resources which can be diverted to other areas while still reaching their target audience and achieving their marketing goals.
5. Customer engagement: A 5-star rating beside a business product delivers the right impression. Digital brand management can help businesses engage with their customers online and build sustained relationships with them. Real-time feedback and resolution boost customer confidence.
It is an era where the number of customers looking for personalized engagement is more than ever. With customer expectations at an all-time high, 64% look forward to tailored engagements based on their previous interaction. 95% of customers are likely to remain loyal to a brand they perceive as trustworthy.
A business can increase customer engagement and loyalty by creating and sharing meaningful content, responding to customer queries and feedback, and leveraging social media platforms under the broad arc of the digital marketing mix.
Final word
In conclusion, digital brand management has become indispensable for businesses today. As the online space attracts enterprises to build a presence, brand reputation, customer engagement, and cost-effective marketing, a robust digital brand management strategy can make all the difference.
By investing in digital brand management, businesses can earn customer confidence and trust, stay ahead of the curve, and build stronger customer relationships. As the digital landscape continues to evolve with disruptive technologies, businesses that keep digital brand management at their core will be well-positioned to thrive in future years.
Get in touch with our experts at Proquantic to define and deliver your digital brand management strategy.
