By Curt Fowler | Fowler & Company
“If this business were split up, I would give you the land and bricks and mortar, and I would take the brands and trademarks, and I would fare better than you.” – John Stuart, Chairman of Quaker (1900)
It’s proven. Strong brands drive higher profits.
In fact, most of the value of some of the biggest corporations in the world are their brand, not their buildings or the equipment. 70% of the value of McDonald’s and 51% of the value of Coca-Cola is in their brands!
The average branded product is priced 35% higher than the generic options despite very little (if any difference in quality). Imagine what a 35% bump in sales prices would do to your margins.
Brands are clearly worth the effort and expense required to establish and maintain them. You don’t have to advertise on the level of Coke or McDonald’s to create a brand, but you do have to create and execute a brand strategy.
Branding has changed tremendously over the past 15 years. In the past, most people believed what they saw on TV or read in the newspaper. If we recognized a brand’s logo or slogan, we felt a sense of security in knowing that that product would deliver what it said it would. We live in a much more skeptical world today. With the advent of smart phones, tablets and our constant connectedness to the web, consumers now have access to more information than ever to make knowledgeable decisions about the products they buy. Just the existence of online reviews has dramatically changed how people do business. With information so easy to access, why wouldn’t you check a brand out before buying?
To establish and maintain a brand today it takes much more than a pretty logo and advertising (though a consistent look to your brand is very helpful). Today your brand emerges from user experiences and is broadcast by everyone that interacts with your brand to their friends and families.
How do your customers experience your brand? They experience your brand every time they use your product or service and whenever they come into contact with your employees. They experience your brand on your website, social media channels and through your marketing.
Your competitors are quickly losing their ability to out advertise you and fool your customers into leaving you. If you deliver a quality product and stand behind it, the transparency in today’s marketplace will be your best friend.
If the transparency in today’s marketplace scares you just a little (and it should), stay with us over the next few weeks as we show you how to create and deliver a consistent brand strategy. We’ll be dedicating the next few weeks of our Friday posts to the connection between values, cultures, brands and profits.
If you’re ready to get started now, head over to our Resource Page and check out our free tools to help you start building a better business today.
Have a business growth topic you’d like me to cover? Send suggestions to cfowler [at] valuesdrivenresults.com or use our contact form by clicking here.
Curt Fowler is an organizational growth expert and President of Fowler & Company, a business advisory firm dedicated to helping leaders create and achieve a compelling vision for their organization. He has an MBA in Strategy and Entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School, is a CPA, and a pretty good guy as defined by his wife and four children.
