Brand Building Procedures - Term Paper Example

Building Powerful Brands is Inextricably Linked to a Clear Understanding of Your Consumers Behaviour Table of Contents Introduction 3 Brand Building Process 4 Role of Consumer Behaviour in Brand Building Process 9 Brand Identity 11 Brand Meaning 11 Brand Response 12 Brand Relationships 13 Conclusion 14 References 16 Introduction Organisations, in the contemporary business environment, is continuously obstructed with fierce competition at the market place, which has augmented the necessity to build strong identity that would differentiate an organisation from its rivals operating in the same industrial periphery. Correspondingly, brand development has emerged as one of the prime goals for the organisations in the current highly competitive business environment, wherein a strong brand is regarded as intrinsically associated with numerous benefits based on the competitive perimeter (Keller, 2001). In this essay, reference to the stated notion concentrating on the importance and processes of building a strong brand has been drawn from the real life example of Procter & Gamble Co. As can be observed from a generalised point of view when examining the branding strategies taken by the company, it can be observed as significantly emphasising the visionary approach that a strong brand can have considerable influence on the customers’ purchasing decision. It appeals customers to engage in purchase making by creating emotional bonding with them, which eventually leads towards the creation of loyal customers (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). According to Ismail & et. al. (2012), strong brand also enables organisations to charge premium price on their products and/or services. This particular feature can also be identified in the brand equity strategies practiced by P&G in charging premium pricing, which further implies that companies can obtain a certain degree of negotiating power over customer demands (Leiser, 2003). It is quite certain that a good experience stays fresh and memorable in the minds of customers, enriching their likeliness towards the commodities, while negative brand experience is directly associated with adverse impacts on the brand due to customer non-favouritism. In fact, negative brand experiences have adverse impacts on the purchasing decision of the customers as well as on the competitiveness of an organisation. On the contrary, positive experiences obtained by the customers are found to be related with increased customer satisfaction, which facilitates in creating long-term relationships with this particular group of people. It is often admitted in this regard that the way an experience is perceived, grounds on customer’s own beliefs, attitudes, feelings, cognitions and behavioural responses. Thus, it has become essential for organisations to build strong brand images, based on the customers’ understanding including their attitudes, beliefs, feelings and perceptions (Ismail, & et. al., 2012; Rubini, 2010). This essay correspondingly intends to discuss the statement, “Building powerful brands is linked to a clear understanding of your consumer’s behaviour”, demonstrating how strong brands are developed and how various aspects of consumer behaviours feed into the process of strong brand development, supported with the real life example of P&G’s branding strategies. Brand Building Process Building a strong brand is not an easy task, particularly in the current business environment, where a strong competition subsists amid the organisations. Every organisation, including P&G, engaged in building a powerful brand must have to consider certain factors relevant for ensuring successful brand building that would render long-term benefits to the organisations (Campbell, 2002). More specifically, building a strong brand is a constant commitment, which seeks time, planning and perseverance that may lead to the generation of customer’s satisfaction, lower price sensitivity, more referrals, and higher rate of repeat transaction (Ghodeswar, 2008). To be stated, from a general perspective, building strong brand requires organisations to follow certain defined procedural frameworks in order to ensure successful development of a brand. Applying the similar understanding in the branding strategies of Proctor & Gamble (P&G), it can be observed that the company has been witnessing a gradual fall in the returns from its traditional brand building approach, which necessitate it to innovate its branding strategies applying the contemporary ideologies of customer relationship management (Start Magazine, 2002). Currently, the company is widely involved in researching consumer attitudes and desires as well as identifying unmet needs in order to build a powerful brand following a contemporary branding approach (Ragavendran & et. al., 2009). In order to evaluate the brand building process within P&G, the following process of building a strong brand illustrated below has been focused upon in order derive a clear picture regarding the impact of consumer behaviour on P&G’s brand building process. Figure 1: Brand Building Process Source: (Chernatony, 2001) The process of brand development in P&G begins with the identification of brand vision by the senior management team, which requires them to refine over the time. A power brand vision signifies long-term, stretching intent for brand, which must excite staff, encourage their commitment, and enable them to interpret how they can contribute to success (Davey & Sanders, 2009). Brand visioning in P&G is typically a team based activity and include a process of amending draft of previous visions as feedbacks are provided from staff. Senior team is accordingly required to manage the process; however, involvement of staff facilitates in rendering benefits in the form of pool of ideas that can result in better envisioning of the brand. Furthermore, the brand vision in P&G is classified into three broad components including future environment, values and purposes. The first component involves future environment forecasting, which requires managers to consider the type of brand environment that they would like to establish the brand successfully in the future years (Gribbins & et. al., 2001). The second component include the brand purpose that is related with how the consequences of the brand will render benefits to the organisation. To be mentioned, the brand purpose in P&G goes beyond the concept of profitability (Davey & Sanders, 2009). The third component of the brand vision is associated with brand values. Accordingly, brand value aims to motivate staff to display certain behaviour that would ultimately result in delivering the brand prromise in P&G (Chernatony, 2001). Moreover, it has been identified that P&G’s brand vision significantly takes into account the aspects of consumer values, beliefs and attitudes. At the same time, P&G has framed its brand building strategy centered on “the consumer is boss” (Stengel, 2004). The second element in building powerful brand in P&G involves organisational culture. An ideal organisational culture provide brand greater competitive advantage over the competitors. In this regard, P&G’s organisational culture is characterised by three elements model that includes artifacts, values and assumptions. These artifacts (such as the company logo) needs to represent the brand’s value. Notably, P&G has adopted flexible attitude towards building a powerful brand, wherein strong focus is placed by the company on the local culture where the products are offered and consumed (Procter & Gamble, 2014). Brand vision herein acts as a guide that directs the brand development process. It is essential that the brand vision is quintified into objectives. P&G has likewise split its long-term objectives of building powerful brands into smaller short-term objectives (Chernatony, 2001). While building a powerful brand, several factors may be identified within the organisation, which require significant amount of attention in order to ensure successful brand development (Ragavendran & et. al., 2009). Emphasising this particular notion, every individual within P&G are well aware of the brand promise. In this regard, P&G is ascertained to rely on internal communication audit for building a powerful brand. In addition, deriving understanding regarding customer decision-making process is also ensured by P&G as an effective measure to support its brand building process (Chernatony, 2001). Brand Essence is also associated with deriving the nature of the brand promise, essential in building powerful brands. P&G is involved in identifying the potential advantages pertaining to the brand, which facilitate it in ascertaining brand coherence. Brand essence further requires categorising the benefits that would be delivered by the brand. In this regard, use of brand pyramid is also identified to be crucial for ascertaining the brand building process within P&G (See Figure 2) (Chernatony, 2001). For instance, P&G uses appropriate delivery system that facilitates it in supporting the functional as well as emotional aspects of the brand while implementing a strong brand building strategy. The functional aspects of the brand within P&G is primarily are linked with value chain analysis for tangible products. Similarly, emotional value of the brand in P&G is firmly supported by recruitment of staff sharing value, aligned with the brand value (Chernatony, 2001). Brand resourcing in P&G further involves addressing the issues pertaining to the use of brand’s values through its association with personality and lifestyle. It is worth mentioning in this context that P&G is regularly involved in brand evaluation, which can be identified as the continuous process wherein the company is constantly engaged in monitoring the entire brand building procedure (Chernatony, 2001). Figure 2: Pyramid of Brand Building Source: (Chernatony, 2001) Role of Consumer Behaviour in Brand Building Process Consumer behaviour has always been an important aspect of discussion amid the marketers when focusing on successful brand building. The concept of consumer behaviour is defined as, “The dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behaviour, and the environment by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives” (INFLIBNET Centre, n.d.). The behavioural aspects of consumers are often classified as social, economic, environmental and psychological having a robust influence on their purchasing decision. Business organisations, failing to derive appropriate understanding regarding the consumer behaviour, often find it very challenging to operate in the current complex and dynamic business environment. It is thus central for the marketers to derive adequate understanding regarding the consumer behaviour (Borkovsky & et. al., 2013; Brodie, 2010). Evidences in this regard reveal that the knowledge regarding consumer behaviour has assisted P&G to derive insights about consumer beliefs, attitudes and feelings towards a particular brand. Accordingly, impact of branding on consumers is widely recognised in P&G (Brown & Anthony, 2011). Brand loyalty, verification of the product, symbolic meaning and after purchase services are the major elements within P&G that are associated with the influences of brand on consumer behaviour (Bhattacharya & Mitra, 2012). Importance of incorporating the various aspects of consumer behaviour while building strong brand in P&G is also affiliated with the constantly changing consumer behaviour (Sharma & Lal, 2012; North, 2009). It is worth mentioning that the various aspects of the consumer behaviour are considered by P&G while building a powerful brand. The importance of consumer behaviour pertaining to brand building process within P&G can be recognised in terms of brand identity, brand meaning, brand responses and brand relationships (Lafley & Charan, 2008). Notably, brand identity, brand meaning, brand responses and brand relationships are the integral components of the brand building process. Building a powerful brand seeks accomplishment of certain objectives related with potential and existing customers. While building a strong brand, brand identity requires marketers to ensure and establish brand association and linkage with the customers or their needs. Brand meaning correspondingly seeks marketers to create a distinct meaning of the brand strategically in the minds of customers. Marketers, in the form of brand responses, require them to promote the proper customer responses closely related to brand identity and brand meaning. Brand relationships thus seek marketers to transform brand responses into loyalty relationships amid the customers and the brand (Esch & et. al., 2006). The detailed description of the role of consumer behaviour while building a powerful brand in P&G is discussed below corresponding to the above-determined four components of the brand building. Brand Identity P&G, in the course of creating a strong brand identity recognises the aspects of brand salience. Correspondingly, brand salience ensured by P&G is firmly related with the aspects pertaining to consumer awareness of the brand. Brand awareness in P&G also involves establishing association of brand, such as brand name, logo and symbol, with the various aspects of the consumer behaviours that facilitate its customers to easily derive considerable understanding regarding its brand. P&G has also been able to develop a strong brand identity through its close association with customers (Keller, 2001; Choong, n.d.). Brand Meaning P&G considers brand salience as imperative for building a strong brand, particularly owing to the fact that customers in the current business environment also widely engage in considering the aspects of brand image and meaning. In this regard, while building a powerful brand, P&G focuses on developing efficient brand meaning. P&G views establishing a strong brand image is paramount for creating a brand meaning. It is worth mentioning that creation of brand image in P&G is closely linked with the performance and imaginary considerations. Brand imaginary in P&G usually deals with customer’s feelings, thoughts and perceptions towards the particular brand. Accordingly, in its planned course of creating a brand image, P&G is firmly involved in deriving understanding of customers’ experience that include customers’ perceptions, beliefs, feelings and attitudes. Besides, P&G also places due importance on determining how brand will meet the psychological and social needs of the customers (Monica, 2007; Keller, 2001). Brand Response Brand response is another imperative aspect that is considered by P&G while building a powerful brand, which deals with anticipating customers’ responses towards the brand. Brand response generally is referred as the depiction of the perceptions and beliefs held by the customers towards the brand. Brand response within P&G is bifurcated into two categories, which involve brand judgement and brand feelings. Brand judgement within P&G emphasises personal opinions and analysis with respect to the brand. Brand managers in P&G, for ensuring positive responses from customers, place further importance on their attitudes that are linked with the quality aspect of brand. Another major aspect related with brand judgement within P&G involves brand credibility. Brand credibility is the measure of the brand value successfully created by the company, based on the three broad dimensions pertaining to perceptions of values and satisfactions. In this regard, brand managers in P&G are highly concerned with incorporating the factors relative to fun and interest of customers, so that the brand is able to occupy a leadership position in the minds of customers, which is important for building a strong brand (Bekker, 2006; Keller, 2001). Brand consideration also forms an important aspect of brand judgement within P&G that determines the likelihood of brand adoption by customers. Brand managers in P&G are involved in appraising the overall interests of the customers and incorporate those, which are more appealing. Subsequently, brand superiority is again found within P&G to be related with differentiation of the brand from other brands operating at the marketplace with similar features. It is predominately associated with the beliefs of the customers that influence them to purchase the brand (Keller, 2001). Moreover, brand feelings are other pivotal aspects upon which P&G’s building of a powerful brand rest. It is concerned with the emotional response towards the brand. Brand feelings within P&G is categorised in relation to the features of excitement, warmth, fun, social approval and self-respect among others. Likewise, while developing a powerful brand, brand managers in P&G consider that the brand must be able to communicate a message that possess significant and positive influence on the sentiments as well as emotions of the consumers. Moreover, brand managers in P&G attempt to ensure that brand name, logo and symbol represents as warmth, fun, excitement and social approval that would gain widespread acceptance from the customers (Piercy, 2010). Thus, due to these reasons, P&G brands can be considered very appealing amid the customers. Brand Relationships P&G also significantly focuses on the aspect of brand relationships. The major element of the brand relationships within P&G is associated with the brand resonance. Brand resonance in P&G strives to explain the relationships between the customers and the brands. Brand resonance in P&G can be further sub-divided into four dimensions including behavioural loyalty, attitudinal attachment, sense of community, active engagement. Accordingly, brand loyalty is regarded as an essential element for building strong brand in P&G. It deals with appealing customers to engage in repeat purchases. Another major aspect considered by P&G for building a strong brand involves creating personal attachment. In P&G, brand managers also constantly strive to reflect the needs and wants of the customers through its brand. Accordingly, attention is also provided when building a powerful brand incorporate messages that are closely aligned with the values and experiences of the customers (Piercy, 2010; Keller, 2001). Conclusion As discussed above, brand managers in P&G aims to ensure a series of processes in a sequential order while building a powerful brand. Each process is considered vital and necessary by brand managers in P&G. It has been observed from the above discussion pertaining to P&G’s brand building process that the role of consumer behaviour is imperative, pertaining to present businesses, fundamentally owing to the rapidly changing consumer behavioural trends. As can be learnt from the real life example of P&G, brand identity, brand meaning, brand response and brand relationships are the integral components of building a strong brand, which demands incorporation of various aspects of consumer behaviour for building a strong brand. Notably, brand awareness is considered an essential attribute while building a strong brand, as it facilitates customers to derive understanding regarding the brand name, logo and symbols. Thus, the brand managers in P&G have been observed as significantly focused on deriving valuable understandings regarding the consumer behaviour so that brand name, logo and symbol are easily placed in the minds of customers. Another major aspect of building strong brand in P&G is identified to be brand meaning. Brand meaning rests on the imaginary views held by the customers towards the particular brand. Hence, it can be concluded that deriving appropriate meaning from brand is one of the key determinants of strong brand. In order to ensure that consumers are able to derive the desired meaning from the brand, brand managers in P&G consider various aspects of the consumer behaviour, such as beliefs, attitudes and perceptions. Correspondingly, the brand response, which attempts to explain the customers’ responses and beliefs towards the brand, is also considered to be imperative factor for building strong brands within P&G. Positive responses of customers hereby ensure the successful building of a powerful brand. Thus, in order to acquire positive customer response, brand managers in P&G are firmly engaged in acquiring reliable and valuable insights relative to consumer behaviour. Lastly, a brand relationship, which deals with establishing relationships between customers and brands, is also considered by P&G as crucial for building a strong brand. 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