BY SHARLYN, FRED VICTOR.
There
are tons of books and experts out there who can tell you the marketing
strategies and how to build up your brand. However, branding is not a simple
thing to do. Branding is not as just a project creating a unique name, logo and image for a product in the consumers' mind. What really matters most is that your values, and what you really value in life as well
as business, then it will certainly steer your business branding. Why? Simply
because your brand is also a part of you, it represents you, and it is how
others see you.
It
is a human-to-human marketing era now, whether you like it or not. It doesn’t
matter how much marketing fund you have budgeted, if your brand doesn’t resonate
with your customers, it will be just a waste.
But
what precisely does it mean to be a “Human Era Brand”? According to the “Welcome to the Human Era” report: “Being a Human Era brand goes beyond merely saying
that one is more “human.” It requires an authentic story delivered consistently
through an inspiring experience. It requires hard work — establishing
organizational values and commitments that are customer driven, while also
driving them toward daily leadership decision-making and employee behaviors.”
These
are three exceptionally important keys in building a powerful human era branding in 2015 and beyond:
Key #1: AUTHENTIC. Authentic means genuine, real and not copied. A human
era brand should remain true rather than faking, and now it has become a
branding imperative. The authentic one is genuine to something rather than just
profits, and profits. It has higher ambition and purpose without compromising
its core values. Think about AirAsia, Alibaba and Zappos were just startups,
they have indeed undoubted convincingly argued that its profit-making is only a
by-product to serve a larger purpose, from the beginning.
Key
#2: INTEGRITY. Integrity means no
empty talks, from your end. It means honesty, trustworthy, sincerity and
consistency of a brand character. Ask yourself why do some brands grab our
hearts? Why some brands would just leave us browsing around to find
alternatives? Brand isn't just high budget advertising or flashy logos. Brand is
about delivering promise, it’s all about experience. For instance, a brand with
its self-claimed “luxury” promises about its product qualities and features but
failed to deliver them in the end. Eventually the customers would feel
disappointed and cheated, and so its credibility is at stake!
Key #3: RELATIONSHIP. Relationship means
customer relationship, it is vital and imperative in building a “humanized” brand.
Many people prefer doing business with someone they trust, they like, and they
know. So to build a close and long-term relationship, trust is the key that
mediates variables and necessary ingredients for a powerful humanized brand, this lies significantly
on your authenticity, integrity as well as credibility.
***
About GE Consult
Founded
since 2003, GE Consult has helped numerous local SMEs/SMIs in
developing their company profiles, business plans, business proposals
etc. assisted clients in securing business deals and contracts. If you
are looking for a winning company profile or any professional services,
please do not hesitate to contact us at (+6017) 330 8077 and/or email rachel@geconsult.org for further service explanation.
