Branding Process

Question: I want to develop a brand: where do I start?

Answer

Use the following check list

Key Action Points

The main steps in the branding process are:

Getting the buy-in of your organisation and of others who help build and deliver your brand
Assessing the market opportunity
Articulating your brand as a compelling customer experience
Delivering your brand consistently through customer relationship marketing (CRM)
Tracking performance and the value of your brand
Identifying opportunities for obtaining additional revenue by exploiting the equity of your intellectual property to the full

In More Details

Getting buy-in

Convince yourself & a few fellow activists
Who will deliver the brand experience?
Educate the team in branding principles
Surface current assumptions

Assessing the market opportunity

Define the market
Identify the market structure - channels, opinion leaders and customers
Evaluate the market stability
Assess the growth opportunity
Identify the markets which are most attractive to you where you can win

Articulating your brand

Segmentation - demographics, behaviors, needs & values, situational segmentation
Define your brand experience
Choose your trademark architecture
Develop your brand trademark "look and feel"
Ensure the legal protection of your trademarks

Customer relationship marketing (CRM)

1. Assess the opportunity for developing new products & services or refreshing old ones

a. Scenario planning
b. Identify customer problems
c. Screen ideas internally
d. Develop potential winning concepts
e. Test products/services against concepts
f. Optimise the marketing mix
g. Assess alignment to a brand
h. Track products/services post-launch

2. Train and motivate all employees, including the sales force
3. Train and motivate distribution channels and other external agents who can build and deliver your brand
4. Define the process for remote interactive customer management - eBusiness & call centers
5. Develop a plan for formal communications

a. Advertising
b. Direct marketing/mail/catalogs
c. Events/exhibitions/fairs
d. Literature/brochures/data sheets/price pages
e. Promotions
f. Public relations
g. Sponsorships/co-branding/joint ventures

6. Define your pricing policy
7. Design your packaging
8. Develop your store design/layout

Tracking performance and the value of your brand

Track your brand equity
Consider developing a business scorecard
Identify future events & needs
Track the effectiveness of your product portfolio
Track the effectiveness of your service
Track the effectiveness of your communications
Track the effectiveness of your packaging
Track the effectiveness of your pricing strategy
Track the effectiveness of your store design/layout

Exploiting your intellectual property

Identify potential opportunities - e.g. licensing, co-branding, ingredient branding, outright sale
Identify who else could profit from your brand, and to what extent
Identify what impact they would have on your brand
Define the equity management and tracking process
Negotiate the terms and conditions of the deal