Today, with the ease of designing logos and registering trademarks; new brands pop up every second. Despite the presence of an overwhelming number of brands, only a handful manage to succeed. Since most brands overtly rely upon the design and merchandise to deliver experience rather than the product or service itself, the essence fades away as business moves from conceptualization to delivery. For instance, most cafés have tissues with printed logos but few have excellent coffee and ambiance.
Following the adage ‘Rome was not built in a day’ an entrepreneur should ‘hold his horses’. Building brands involves intensive planning and well-coordinated efforts at multiple fronts including the product or service, consumer experience and finances. It involves other managerial aspects such as supply chain, manufacturing, and operations, in this blog we will focus only on product and experience.
While starting a brand, one should realize that the logo itself is of minuscule value. In addition to the positioning, the consumer experience builds brand value. For instance, imagine Starbucks without the coffee and ambiance, or Marriott without the service and convenience. Apart from the experience, it is also about the quality; the ability of the brand to deliver upon its commitment. For instance, while flying Ryannair you do not expect food but only a seat. Failure to allocate seat due to overbooking will be deteriorate brand value while a free meal or refreshment would only be a cherry on top.
Starting with the product or service; in food retail, one should understand their primary value proposition whether it is the food, ambiance or convenience. This is subject to the context; for instance, if you have real estate at the hustling bustling CBD (Central Business District), your product can be about convenience (door delivery or quick serve pick-up). Whereas, if you are located in the suburbs; you may be more focused on food and ambiance for a family restaurant.
Moving to experience; branded merchandise is the tiny part as nobody remembers logo printed tissues. It is more about memory cues throughout the experience; whether it is the audacity at hooters, ambiance at Starbucks, racism on an airline or obtuseness of a Ramen Store, you will forget none. The key is to include certain out-of-the-ordinary memorable cues such as a valet service that cleans up a car, a flight attendant who gives away surprise gifts to kids or an angry Chef Ramsayy barging out of the kitchen doors.
To summarize, as long as your product is at par or above the market standards and your delivery is at the acceptable standards, including certain memory cues or added value services, will help you develop brand value over a period of time. But most importantly, you have to be consistent at all of these throughout the ups and downs on your financial statements. And as long as you have strong desire to do so, even in though times you will be able to innovate thrifty means!
Since there are many more aspects of a successful business, you can develop a comprehensive understanding with our course on Business Fundamentals and Pricing Strategy
Feature Image by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash
Savvy Munshi 