Brand management: why methods should suit digital age
The Editorial Staff
Brand management is the catalyst that projects our business plans and asserts our presence even in a hostile business environment. Can we manage it?.
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Brand management is a collaborative marketing technique that tries to increase the value of a brand over a targeted period. Marketers develop strategic plans to create brand awareness, connect with the customers and sell them products or services.
In the process, they create positive brand associations, build loyal customers and maintain brand value in target markets. Business reputation is also enhanced through brand innovation. So brand management methods must change and evolve to suit emerging market trends in the digital age.
Studies indicate changes in consumer buying behaviour.
The number of consumers that engage with a brand has changed dramatically. Almost six years back in 2009, McKinsey surveyed to understand the “Consumer Decision Journey” (CDJ).
After studying the purchase decision of around 20, 000 consumers across several industry verticals, the study concluded that consumers make decisions more interactively. Their overall purchase decision journey includes a few essential stages.
Consumers consider a couple of brands, evaluate them, buy one and enjoy, advocate for the brand if satisfied and bond with the brand in the end. And to successfully attain consumer loyalty and engagement, you will need to have an extensive online presence.
Shifting to brand management is essential.
During this period of digitization, the process of managing a brand has to evolve or else, brands and brand products will lose in the competition. Brand management gives your business a competitive edge. All top brands have already recognized the importance of online presence and thus are taking immediate measures.
These are some of the things top brands are doing in managing their brand values online?
How some brands shifted to online brand management
Domino's in Australia: Domino's had a terrible time during 2008 in this part of the world. Customers complained about their food quality. Their revenue was declining. But the company took this seriously and undertook extensive customer research to launch a whole new set of recipes. Besides that, they also revamped their online presence. Domino's launched mobile apps and started taking 50 per cent off from online orders. In addition, they also created a Pizza tracker for customers. With this, customers can track pizza orders.
Under Armour: It’s an American sports clothing and accessories company. They acquired MyFitnessPal and Endomondo’s fitness apps to get access to their vast digital community. Moreover, the company has established mobile network integration. They use these apps and this network to promote its brand, new launches and create better consumer engagement.
National Geographic: National Geographic has shifted from print media to digital media. After experiencing a massive downturn in business, they restructured their brand management strategies to have a vast online presence via the internet.
They recruited Amy Maniatis as a CMO to oversee their social media presence. Under her guidance, National Geographic could drive Facebook fans to over 20,646,799 and Instagram followers to 4,091,738, which has widened their consumer reach and engagement. In addition, they have created excellent consumer engagement via the online distribution of photographs, videos and amazing stories.
The bottom line is that brand value management has changed, and it is more about making a better online presence. As a marketer, you’ve to understand that the old ways of marketing and brand management are not sustainable. Instead, you have to develop strategic brand management techniques to become competitive in your niche.
The Editorial Staff
The Editorial Staff at The Business Frontal is a team of writers dedicated to bringing seasoned news stories and how-to business articles to our readers and patrons to help maximize their entrepreneurial potentials.
