Definition and importance of brand management

Definition of brand management

Brand management refers to the activities and strategies undertaken by a company or organization to develop, maintain, and enhance the perception and value of its brand or brands in the minds of its target audience. It involves managing all aspects of a brand, including its identity, positioning, communication, and customer experience.

The importance of brand management stems from the significant impact that a strong and well-managed brand can have on a company’s success. Here are some key reasons why brand management is crucial:

1. Differentiation: In a competitive marketplace, a well-managed brand helps a company stand out from its competitors by creating a unique and distinctive identity. It enables customers to perceive the brand as distinct, relevant, and superior, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and market share.
2. Brand Equity: Effective brand management builds brand equity, which is the intangible value and goodwill associated with a brand. Brand equity represents the reputation, recognition, and trust that a brand has earned over time. A strong brand with high brand equity can command premium pricing, attract better partnerships, and endure market fluctuations more effectively.
3. Customer Loyalty: Brand management fosters customer loyalty by establishing an emotional connection and building trust with customers. When customers have a positive brand experience and perceive the brand as reliable and aligned with their values, they are more likely to remain loyal, repurchase products or services, and recommend the brand to others.
4. Consistency and Coherence: Brand management ensures consistency and coherence across all brand touchpoints and communication channels. It establishes guidelines and standards for visual identity, messaging, and customer experience, which helps create a unified and recognizable brand image.
5. Brand Extension and Expansion: A well-managed brand provides a strong foundation for brand extension and expansion into new markets, product categories, or target segments. It enhances the likelihood of success for new brand ventures and allows companies to leverage the existing brand equity and customer trust.
6. Financial Performance: Effective brand management positively impacts a company’s financial performance. A strong brand can command higher prices, generate higher sales volumes, and reduce marketing costs over time. It also provides a competitive advantage and contributes to long-term profitability and shareholder value.

Brand management is essential for creating and maintaining a strong brand that differentiates a company from its competitors, builds customer loyalty, and drives financial success. It involves strategic planning, consistent execution, and continuous monitoring and adaptation to ensure that the brand remains relevant, resonates with the target audience, and delivers value to the organization.

Aspects to consider when exploring the definition and importance of brand management:

1. Trust and Reputation: Brand management is crucial for building trust and establishing a positive reputation in the marketplace. A well-managed brand consistently delivers on its promises, meets customer expectations, and maintains integrity. This fosters trust among consumers, which is essential for long-term relationships and brand loyalty.
2. Brand Perception and Emotional Connection: Brand management focuses on shaping the perception of a brand in the minds of consumers. It involves creating a strong emotional connection with customers by aligning the brand with their values, aspirations, and lifestyle. Emotionally connected customers are more likely to engage with the brand, become brand advocates, and maintain loyalty even in the face of competition.
3. Brand Consistency: Brand management ensures consistency in brand elements and messaging across all touchpoints, including advertising, packaging, website, social media, customer service, and more. Consistency builds recognition and familiarity, which are essential for brand recall and differentiation in a crowded marketplace.
4. Competitive Advantage: Brand management helps create a sustainable competitive advantage. A well-defined and managed brand with a clear value proposition can effectively position itself against competitors. It establishes a unique position in consumers’ minds, making it difficult for competitors to replicate or dislodge the brand from its chosen market segment.
5. Employee Engagement and Alignment: Brand management also involves aligning internal stakeholders, such as employees, with the brand’s values and purpose. Engaged employees who understand and believe in the brand are more likely to deliver consistent brand experiences and become brand ambassadors. Their commitment and enthusiasm contribute to the overall success of the brand.
6. Crisis Management and Resilience: Brand management plays a critical role in effectively managing brand crises and protecting brand reputation. A well-prepared brand management strategy can help mitigate potential damage during times of crisis, establish transparent communication, and rebuild trust with stakeholders.
7. Long-Term Value Creation: Effective brand management focuses on long-term value creation rather than short-term gains. By investing in brand building and maintaining brand equity, companies can secure enduring customer relationships, achieve sustainable growth, and withstand market fluctuations.
8. Brand Equity and Financial Performance: Brand management directly impacts a company’s financial performance. A strong brand with high brand equity can command premium pricing, generate higher profit margins, attract quality partnerships, and enhance overall shareholder value.

Brand management encompasses various strategies and activities aimed at building, nurturing, and protecting a brand’s reputation, perception, and value. It is a holistic approach that considers the emotional connection with customers, differentiation from competitors, consistency across touchpoints, and long-term value creation. By effectively managing their brands, companies can drive customer loyalty, achieve a competitive advantage, and maximize financial performance.

How Brand Management Works

Brands have a powerful influence on customer engagement, competition in the markets, and the management of a company. A strong brand presence in the market differentiates a company’s products from its competitors and creates brand affinity for a company’s products or services.

A brand that has been established has to continually maintain its brand image through brand management. Effective brand management increases brand awareness, measures and manages brand equity, drives initiatives that support a consistent brand message, identifies and accommodates new brand products, and effectively positions the brand in the market.

It takes years to establish a brand, but when it finally occurs, it has to still be maintained through innovation and creativity. Notable brands that have established themselves as leaders in their respective industries over the years include Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Microsoft, IBM, Procter & Gamble, CNN, Disney, Nike, Ford, Lego, and Starbucks.

Benefits of Brand Management

• Distinguished Products. According to the most recent U.S. Census data, there were over 250,000 full-service restaurants in the United States as of 2019.
• Strong brand management is necessary if any of these restaurants want to be recognizable apart from their competitors.
• Strong Employee Engagement. Brand management begins with the internal buy-in of the values, principles, and perception of a product. By ensuring all people in a company are part of the brand management process, employees may be more likely to buy into the strategic plan of the brand and company.
• Increased sales quantity. Though never a given, stronger brand management that drives brand loyalty and brand equity may drive stronger sales quantities. As more consumers are tied to a brand or positively recognize a brand, they are more likely to choose it over an unfamiliar alternative (all else being equal).
• Increased CLV. Customer lifetime value. In addition to greater sales quantities, brand management drives stronger value over the lifespan of a customer. Customers are more likely to repeat purchases if they have a positive experience and may be more likely to buy different products along the same product line if they forge strong brand loyalty with a single brand.
• Leveraged Pricing. If a company has a strong reputation with the market, their brand management may be leveraged to other products. This means a company can sell products at a premium if their brand invokes a strong enough connection to consumers (i.e. Apple).
• Less Volatile Market Position. Though companies always risk depressed financial results during market downturns, companies with stronger brand management may be able to weather the storm easier. This is because consumers may find it non-negotiable to deviate from companies they have strong, positive associations with even during inclement financial times.

Effective Brand Management Techniques

Brand management may seem complex, but there are a number of simple, elegant techniques that make the process manageable. Here are some of the more effective ways brand management occurs.

Establish Branding Basics

Brand management often begins with the basics, and that means establishing a strong mission statement, logo, target audience, and vision statement. Though these are often created by the marketing team during a company or product’s infancy, it is up to the brand management team to further refine and drive the branding basics.

Create Compelling Stories

As the product or company begins to be used by consumers, it is critical that the brand management team strengthens the relationship between the good and user. This means capitalizing on emotional stories by tapping into the human connection to however the company’s products are being used.

Leverage Software

Often guided by social media and a website, brand management must be cohesive across all media platforms. This includes any televised, radioed, or printed advertising. The more marketing channels a company has, the more important it is for brand management to cohesively link these to convey a single, consistent message to consumers.

Consider Branding Language

On a related note, the brand management process must be guided by a consistent use of language and tone. This may be easier to convey using photos or printed advertisements. However, different challenges may arise if different people are managing different marketing channels. As long as the receiving channels are the same across product lines, the brand management team must ensure the wording and feeling behind communications are consistent.

Establish Internal Rules

All of the tips above don’t matter if the internal branding and marketing teams aren’t aligned. Therefore, the brand management team must effectively implement limits and rules on how certain activities are performed. For example, the brand management team may restrict the use to certain fonts, images, designs, or color schemes. Any deviations from these rules must be run through the brand management team for special approval.

Brand Management Elements

There’s three critical elements to brand management: equity, recognition, and loyalty. Though it may be difficult to quantifiably measure the benefits of each, brand management plays a direct part in developing all three aspects of a brand.

Brand Recognition

Brand management often starts with brand recognition. If a company can’t invoke positive emotions in consumers when they see a brand, that may be no brand to manage. In addition, brand recognition entails ensuring recognition of a brand invokes a favorable response instead of brand opposition.

This is especially important for new products being brought to market; a company must decide how to best manage that brand and invest upfront capital to make the brand more recognizable. On the other hand, more established brands must decide how many resources to allocate to maintain or strengthen a brand’s existing position.

Brand Equity

Brand equity is the commercial value of a product’s image. Though a company doesn’t actually receive the direct dollars of value from its products having high brand equity, brand equity often translates to greater sales as consumers associate a product or brand with greater value. Brand equity is built over time through positive experiences, associates, and demonstrated value.

Consider an example of a billboard displaying an advertisement for Powerade. Because of the positive name association of Powerade (via partnerships with professional sports leagues and massive markets), it may have greater brand equity than a generic brand. Similar to how a company may become more valuable over time as it becomes worth more, a brand’s value can increase over time in the same way.

Brand Loyalty

A customer may recognize a brand, and a customer may even assess strong positive value with a brand. However, if that customer is easily swayed to pivot to a competing product, brand management has failed. The objective of brand loyalty is invoke such as strong relationship between the consumer and the brand that the consumer can’t fathom diverting from the brand’s products.

Whereas brand recognition occurs on the front-end of brand management, brand loyalty is a long-term achievement that is earned in a variety of ways. Companies must demonstrate their products meet consumer needs. In addition, companies must ensure strong customer service ensures a customer has a positive experience along the entire life of the product.