Go back to basics before rebranding

COMPANIES who feel that they need to "rebrand" their brand or reposition their products have got to go back to the fundamentals of branding and figure out their strength and weaknesses.

"If you say that there's a repositioning that's going on, that tells me that something's happened in the market, either the target's changed, or the position's changed, or the need has gone away," said Brenda Bence, president of Brand Development Associates International Ltd, who was recently in Brunei to conduct a branding workshop with the Asia Inc Forum.

She added that companies who feel that their brand isn't performing as well as it should, and feel the need to rebrand, should go back to the fundamentals where they should bring down their weaknesses and bring up their strengths, and this is where market research comes into play.

"The key thing is that you have to do the most market research you can do, and it doesn't mean that you have to do a full quantitative research like the multinationals are (doing)," said Bence, who added that the same fundamental research that the multinationals are doing, can be done by any company "in a smart way".

One of the examples she gave was how big companies spend money on conducting focus groups, where fees are paid to moderators and so on.

"You don't have to do that, just find five to six people, that you think are your perfect audience, those people who are really your ideal customers for purchasing your products and invite them all to dinner," said Bence.

The feedback from these customers is a part of the market research that can be done, and from that dialogue, the company would be able to get an indication on whether there is a need for the product or service.

Another form of market research that companies can do, that don't require a lot of money, would include going online to see chatrooms or reading forums.

One of the many things that Bence pointed out during the interview was that many companies get branding and marketing confused with each other.

"They are two very different things, but they are related, branding is how you want your customers to see, think and feel about your brand, and getting that crystal clear, is fundamental for success," she said.

She added that once companies have decided what their brand stands for, then they can decide how to communicate it.

In Brunei, many small and medium companies do not have the extra budget to spend on aggressive advertising, however Bence said that one of the ways that many SMEs tend to over look, are the amount of free media that is available, such as social media, and word-of-mouth.

"This is the funny thing about small businesses, we think that we have to advertise and do all the marketing, but the truth is that strong businesses are created with a strong word-of-mouth and it doesn't cost much at all," she said.

One of Bence's recommendations for small companies is to get a handful of satisfied customers and ask them to share their experience with the product or service to five people, and by doing so, in a matter of months, there can be as much as several hundreds of people who know about the company.

Bence added that being "creative" in terms of advertising is also not always necessary, and it all goes down to the fundamentals of the company's brand.

"The number one thing is to be true to your customer, be where your customer is, so if your customer is at home, then do some form of advertising that you can reach her there, but most of the time your customer is out at a bus stop or on the Internet," said Bence.

She added that companies need to find out where the customers are, and communicate with them in the most effective way.

"Be true to your brand, and where your customer can be reached and don't worry about being too creative. Worry about being true to what you stand for and once you do that, your brand will build itself and get satisfied customers," said Bence.

She also said many SMEs have come up to her and told her that they don't have a huge team to help promote their brand. In response, Bence replied that they do have a huge team, and that every person who has ever come in contact with their brand can become "a cheerleader for the brand".

"They can market for you, so your marketing can be a lot stronger than you think," she said.

Bence is an international branding expert and certified executive coach who has managed brands for Procter and Gamble, Bristol-Myers Squibb across four continents and 50 countries.

She now travels the world, speaking, training and coaching on the topics of corporate and personal branding.

Bence has also wrote personal branding book series titled How YOU are like Shampoo.

The Brunei Times