The Trouble with Branding

Branding: The act of intentionally creating a Name, Icon, Phrase or other gimmick to gain acceptance in the marketplace through intentional repetition.

It is one of the most, if not THE most, talked about Marketing gimmic. Yet, what does it do for you?

For Coca-Cola, Kraft and the State of Texas, it does a great deal. Is there any American who would not recognize the Texas flag? Is there any American who WOULD recognize the State of New Hampshire Flag? Obviously an image can be powerful and influential. But what about a phrase? Does the phrase, "Don't Mess with Texas," ring a bell?

So Branding must be good, right? Well…. It isn't evil, but does it give you an adequate return? Compare the return on your "Branding Campaign" to the return on your best and worst product lines. How does it compare? DId your PR firm tell you that you can't possible compare Branding in such a manner? Did they leave you thinking you were not quite with-it when you asked about the return you should reasonably expect? RED FLAG.

Yes, even Branding can and must be measured. As the Branding campaign rolls out, make sure there is a call to action in any placements (advertising, editorials, etc.) that will let you know the responder has seen and acknowledged your Branding efforts. If you pay your PR firm by successful client acquisition instead of the space they rent for you in a magazine (WHO thought of that anti-business model!!!), then they will demonstrate the effectiveness of your Branding campaign. Make sure you have an economically relevant measure to judge every marketing effort, even something as nebulous as Branding.

But before you spend and time or money Branding your entity, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you know how your most profitable customers make their decisions? What metrics they use?

2. Does your team buy in to your vision?

3. Can you turn on the Sales spigot when needed? In other words, can you walk into your marketplace and ratchet Sales up by 10% or more?

If your team won't follow you, you will fail quickly. Money can't buy love. And even more importantly, if you don't know your customers and marketplace well enough to increase sales by 10% overnight, you are missing necessary institutional knowledge - this may be a one-shot 10% increase, but the point is, you know how to rocket sales if necessary.

Knowing WHO your best customers are, HOW to reach those clients, WHAT entices them, and WHY they will prefer to buy from you is the first step. The second step is to make sure your operation is in good shape - are your operational processes clear? Can a stranger jump in to run the operation if something happens to you? Only when step one and step two are successfully completed should you even begin to consider branding. Branding is not about your customers; it is about your ego. Until you are ready, leave the branding efforts for the Krafts and Coca-Colas of the world. You have business to do.

The Trouble with Branding:
 - It is ego driven.
 - It does nothing for your customer or client.
 - It is a ridiculous use of limited resources with no positive proof of positive ROI….

That being said, if you really think that your particular company needs to be a household name, make sure you find a great PR firm to do the work for you. Pay them the big bucks. You'll have to if you want your Brand to gain market acceptance.