Strategic Brand Management Process
Strategic Brand management refers to developing, implementing, and maintaining a brand’s identity and positioning to promote a positive brand image in the marketplace. It is crucial for companies to implement a brand management process that differentiates them from their competitors, builds brand loyalty, and ultimately drives long-term success for their businesses.
The strategic brand management process is explained in detail below:
1. Brand Analysis and Assessment:
This step involves analyzing the brand’s current position in the market and its performance. SWOT analyses, which assess a brand’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, are conducted by brand managers. To gain insights into the strengths and areas for improvement of a brand, they analyze historical sales data, market share, customer feedback, and competitor performance.
2. Defining Brand Identity and Values:
Defining brand identity involves defining the company’s core values, mission, vision, and personality. In order to create a consistent and authentic brand image that resonates with consumers, brand managers work closely with company stakeholders to define what the brand stands for and what it aims to achieve.
3. Target Audience and Market Segmentation:
Identifying the target audience and segmenting the market is essential to managing a brand effectively. Based on demographics, psychographics, behavior, and other relevant factors, brand managers divide the customers into distinct market segments. Market segmentation enables brands to tailor their marketing efforts to the unique needs and preferences of each segment.
4. Brand Positioning:
A brand’s positioning involves creating a clear and compelling image in consumers’ minds that distinguishes it from its competitors. Managing brands effectively requires identifying their unique selling points and communicating those differences to consumers. Positioning strategies should be consistent across all marketing communications and align with the desires and expectations of the target audience.
5. Brand Communication and Marketing Strategy:
A comprehensive marketing strategy is crucial for communicating the brand’s value effectively. Marketing managers choose the most effective channels for reaching and engaging with consumers, such as advertising, social media, content marketing, and PR. In order to resonate with the audience and align with the brand’s identity and positioning, they develop brand messages.
6. Brand Equity Management:
The intangible value and perception associated with a brand is built through positive customer experiences, a strong brand positioning, and effective marketing strategies. An organization’s brand equity is continuously assessed by its managers based on its awareness, loyalty, associations, and perceived quality. Investing in brand-building initiatives and improving product quality are some of the strategies they use to enhance brand equity.
7. Brand Extension and Innovation:
Brand extension involves expanding the brand into new product categories or markets. In addition to aligning with the brand’s core values and not diluting its existing positioning, brand managers must carefully evaluate potential extensions. To keep a brand growing and sustainable, managers need to stay up to date on market trends, customer needs, and technological advances.
8. Brand Monitoring and Feedback:
In addition to sales data, customer surveys, social media engagement, and perception studies, brand managers regularly monitor the brand’s performance. In this way, they are able to identify emerging trends, customer sentiments, and potential issues early on. In order to stay relevant and customer-centric, customer feedback plays a crucial role in refining brand strategies.
9. Brand Crisis Management:
An effective crisis management plan helps brands respond swiftly and effectively to negative events that may damage their reputations. Having a well-structured crisis management plan will help brands manage potential crises efficiently and effectively. In crisis situations, brand managers communicate transparently with customers, address customer concerns, and take appropriate actions to maintain the brand’s reputation and customer trust.
10. Brand Experience Design:
It is crucial for brands to create a positive brand experience for customers to build brand loyalty and advocacy. The brand experience must be designed at every touchpoint where customers interact with the brand. As well as the products or services themselves, packaging, websites, customer service, retail environments, and any other interactions with customers, this includes packaging. Brand experiences that are well-designed align with the brand’s identity, values, and positioning, creating emotional connections with customers.
11. Brand Collaboration and Partnerships:
Strategic brand management includes identifying opportunities for brand collaborations and partnerships that will increase the visibility and appeal of the brand. Brands can develop new markets, reinforce their positioning, and create unique and memorable marketing campaigns by collaborating with other brands, influencers, or organizations. Partners who complement the brand’s image and are aligned with its values are carefully selected by brand managers.
12. Brand Performance Evaluation and Adjustment:
A brand manager continuously evaluates the effectiveness of his/her strategy and tactics as part of the strategic brand management process, which is iterative. In addition to brand awareness and customer perception, they measure other relevant metrics.
The brand manager adjusts branding strategies as necessary based on the performance evaluation. Maintaining a competitive edge requires staying agile and adapting to market conditions, consumer preferences, and competitive landscapes.