Brand Management
Brand Management, as we know it today has everything to do with Fortune 500 multinational company Procter & Gamble. Who would’ve known that this small time company started in 1837 would change the world’s marketing understand. Yes Procter & Gamble with its McElroy Memo popularized the concept of brand management, and the world cannot thank them enough. But what exactly is brand management? Before we proceed to talk about brand management, lets understand brands and branding.
Understanding Brands
Before we proceed to understand brands, lets get a definition for brands. According to the Dictionary of Business and Management brand is "a name, sign, or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors." From this definition we understand that a brand can be anything, a name, sign or any symbol that will help a customer to identify one product from another. Another person once said "a brand is a collection of perception in the mind of the consumer." This is so true because from this we know that all products are not brands. It also helps understand the fact that a brand is a person’s perception of the product or service in question. A good brand should have certain characteristics these are:
* Ability to be legally protected.
* Pronounceable.
* Memorable.
* Recognizable.
* Captures attention.
* Reflects on image of company.
* Can be differentiated from competition.
Understanding Brand Management
Brand management is a process of used in marketing, in fact it comes under one of the 4Ps of the marketing mix. This means that the brands of the company have to be managed so as to create a positive image about the brand and the company in the minds of the customers. This is a difficult task and one that has to be handled delicately. The other purpose of brand management is to build customer loyalty by means of creating an emotion bond between the customers and the brand itself. People in the company responsible for brand management are the brand managers who naturally must have an understanding of the market and customers. Brand managers are responsible for creating a promise through a particular brand; the promise could be healthy food and healthy lifestyle or something on those lines. For the brand to be successful and for brand management also to be successful, it is important that the promise is met and satisfied, else it is going to seriously damage the brand image. This is what brand management is all about.
Tips for Brand Management
Here are some tips that should help in brand management:
* Consistency – where brand management, brand building or branding is concerned there should always be consistency, and it should be consistent with the ideologies of the brand it self. People should be consistently be able to identify with the brand.
* Brand Equity – an important aspect of brand management is brand equity. This is the monetary value of the brand. Think of brand management as creating brand equity and making it grow.
* Be aware of other brands – one idea used in brand management is to use sub-brands, while this is good, you do not want to confuse the customer with too many brands under one brand name.
* Do not be sidelined by profits – most companies work in a manner where they employ different product managers, who have to work on target basis. It is important for them to make profits, but brand managers have to be careful so as to not get sidelined by the money and compromise the brand image.
* Be Dynamic – an important aspect of brand management is to avoid stagnation and to be continuously changing or dynamic. There is no place for stagnation in the corporate world or the marketing world. Brands should continuously do something new to keep things fresh and the customers interested.
