The Importance of Branding as a Strategy in Consumer Relation Management - Essay Example

 Brands and the Consumer Brands today have become an important reality in the lives of the consumer and the market space as such. It is one of the most important economic developments that have occurred since the coming of the global era and the role of the system of branding is significant enough for a person to study in order to comprehend the economic order of the globalised society. Marketing is an important concept of the production process and there have been gradual shifts in the marketing strategies of companies. Public Relations in the marketing sector helps a company ensure that there is exposure of its products in the market, so as to create awareness and demand of the product among the consumers. It has seen a number of changes with the changes in the economic structure and social developments over the years.  The economic structure has grown and evolved into non recognition from what it was two centuries ago. There have been a number of changes that have taken place, and there have been the development of new ideas and concept for the execution of the process of production. Ideas like labour, technological changes and development, management of resources, production using sustainable methods are concepts that have developed very recently (Grunig, James & Hunt, Todd, 1984). There has been a shift from the agricultural age through the industrial age to what is existing today, the information age within 100 to 200 years. Due to the increase in the competition marketing has become very significant in product promotion and in the field of marketing Public Relations has emerged of great significance. In the following paper there shall be conducted a detailed study on the importance of public relations in the field of marketing where the focus will be on the conduction of a detailed and critical analysis of the role of PR in the management of the product and the creation of a market image (Kotler P, Pfoertsch W and Michi I, 2006). Branding is important component of the marketing and the public relations departments in any organization, as it helps market not only a product but the whole company and forms the basis of the marketing that is adopted by an organization in the long term. Brand management is the best way to create loyal customers who become brand marketers voluntarily later and without cost, the customers stick to a brand because of trust and expectation that they have from the brand. They know what the brand offers and most people like to stick to what they know. The unique and the differentiating factors of the website thus need to be highlighted (Nickles, W and Wood, M, 1997). The name, the logo should be identifiable and clearly distinguishable from the crowd. This would mean that the idea of a vacation experience for every need would be the underlying feature of the campaign. What this would do is that it would be in keeping with the broad nature of the market segment that has been targeted. Along with this the facilities and the value added products that come along with the chain must be put in focus. Brand has become a very important word in the marketing sector in the 21st century. There are a number of varying opinions in the market about what exactly branding is. Some believe it is the method through which companies are able to persuade people into doing what they want. Others still are of the belief that brand carries with it certain concepts and ideas which are associated uniquely with it. Brand is all of this. A brand can be defined as the image that the product possesses in the market and among the people (Heig M). This includes the brand experience and the brand image. Brand experience is the sum of all points of contact with the brand, while the physiological aspect which is related to the symbolic concept which is present in the minds of the masses. The latter deals with the expectations from the product, that is, the set norm while the former deals with the actual experience of the masses. A brand thus consists of both the normative as well as the realistic aspects of the product. Brand equity is in essence the level of awareness that is created about the brand in a given market. Brand equity would mean, first, the creation of a strong base of customer oriented relationships that are created and maintained through the usage of virtual communities (Kossecki, 2007). The idea to help in the creation of a brand reputation that is based in essence on the growth of brand identification with certain qualities. Second, it means the value that the company attributes to its consumers by referring to their loyalty. For example the idea characterizing brand security at places like Chanel would be the greatest key to success as a brand was the recognition by the management that the company, in order to be successful needed to be a brand that was a destination site where surfers lingered and perhaps stayed. Brand equity and it maintenance in the case of Chanel has undergone a change with the evolution of the company over the years govern the fact that the emphasis has changes from quantity to quality. This means in essence that loyalty of customers was given greater priority than the quantity of customers (Young R A, Weiss A M, and Stewart D W, 2006). This was in essence an application of the idea of idea of Customer Lifetime Value.   With this concept in mind, the importance of branding as a strategy in the Consumer Relation Management cannot be undervalued in the market today. In fact most believe that customers can more easily relate to Brands to anonymous organizations, and it is seen as a key method through which a company can develop their customer base and continue to cater to their needs in the long run. As branding is an important part of the CRM strategy that would be followed by any given company, it is important that there is established a clear understanding of the leading principle behind the strategy. The said principle is that: “you will not be trying to sell a single product to as many customers as possible. Instead, you will b trying to sell a single customer as many products as possible-over a long period of time, an across different product lines. To be able to do this you will need to build relationships with individual customers on a 1:1 basis” (Peppers and Rogers, 1993). Brand equity is in essence the level of awareness that is created about the brand in a given market. Brand equity would mean, first, the creation of a strong base of customer oriented relationships that are created and maintained through the usage of virtual communities (Kossecki, 2007). The idea to help in the creation of a brand reputation that is based in essence on the growth of brand identification with certain qualities. Second, it means the value that the company attributes to its consumers by referring to their loyalty.  The idea here therefore would be to retain consumers through quality and service and creation of new consumers through marketing and promotion. Peter Drucker stated, “The purpose of a business is the creation of customers” (Kotler and Phillip, 2002). Implied in these words and his work is the importance of keeping this same customers and of growing the depth of the consumer relationship with the company. Most consumers are only profitable in the second year that they do business with the company. Given the fact that most customers would initially cost the firm some money, the only way for the business to do well over long periods of time is to ensure that the customer that comes the first time keeps coming back for longer periods (Anderson and Kerr, 2001). Given this basic format of reality in the management of a given business venture, one can state safely that customer relationship management can be cultivated to be the strongest weapon in the management’s arsenal. This would therefore mean that the magic behind the successful initiation and implementation of a customer relationship management formula is not a mass marketing of standard products but the segmenting of consumers to follow the buildup of a true marketing relationship based on the perception by the consumer of one-to-one marketing (Dyche, 2007). This means not just an interaction with the consumer as an individual but also the development of custom products and tailored messages that are based on the unspoken needs of the customer.   Branding today is simply not limited to the Brand image of the product in the market but it also looks into various other methods to ensure creation of awareness about the product as well as the company in the eyes of the consumers and maintain its image in the market. This can be done through various methods like the establishment of the brand imaging, Brand personality, etc. A brand personality is a comprehensive concept that has evolved over the years and it helps in interpretation of the brand in a more detailed manner. It includes all the tangible and intangible traits in a brand such as way of life, ethics, ideals, prejudices, features, interests and other such characteristics. The brand personality is what helps ensure that the brand has its unique identity. Brand personality has been defined as ‘a set of human characteristics associated with a brand’. It has provided as a valuable asset in the increasing the brand’s market engagement and attachment in the market with the people. Brand personalities are distinctive as well as enduring and are the outcome of the experiences of the masses with the brand. Today it has become an important component in the marketing strategies of almost all brands, and it takes into account the varying responses that one receives from different consumers (Troutman, C.M, Shanteau, J., 1976). Thus, there arises a need to understand the basic potential of branding in the market and analyze its potential as a factor while establishing consumer preference and choice while purchasing a product.  Usage of Brand Personality:  There are various reasons as to why there has been observed an increase in the investment in brands and brand personality. In fact the study of the local as well as the international market reflects that the brands today play a significant role in developing among the Some of the reasons that have led to the increased investment in the area are: Enriches Understanding: The most important usage of brand personality is that it helps in the gaining of an in-depth understanding of the psychology of the masses, their expectations and their behavior towards the brand. The insights that are gained are better than the ones that are achieved through attribute perceptions. Thus it is one of the most effective ways through which a communication channel with the consumers can be established, which can help the company develop long term relationships with a consumer. Helps in the achievement of identity differentiation: Another important usage of the brand personality is that it helps ensure that there is differentiation in the brand perception in the market. This becomes especially important in cases where the brands are analogous in merchandise characteristics (Pinsdorf, Marion, 1986). It not only helps in product differentiation but also helps in categorizing the product’s class content and experience. Helps provide a guideline for product communication:  It helps in ensuring that the message that is communicated to the masses about the brand identity is evolved and attractive in its content and texture. If there are only very specific terms of characteristics that are associated with the brand the meaningful guidelines are provided for by the brand personality; and Helps in the Creation of Brand Equity: It helps in the creation of a long term image that is both stable and quantitative for the brand. It also distinguishes it from the other competitive offerings in the market and serves as a powerful relationship device between the brand and the masses.  There has been observed that the adoption of brand policy and branding personality has been adopted by all sectors functioning in the market. This is especially important in the 21st century, where there has been experienced the emergence of the globalised market and the competition has increased. The need for branding is thus been realized at a much higher level. This has even spread to the voluntary sectors and the role that is played by branding in the charity sector has increased manifolds.  In a recent journal that was written by scholars such as Lesly P (1991), there was mentioned that for charities to grow today so that they can compete with the companies in the market place who have a much larger budgets and names, the charities have to carefully develop and establish their brand names and brand personalities. ‘The point of brand is very simple,’ says Max du Bois, a director at the Spencer du Bois brand agency, which specializes in ethical and charity branding. ‘It’s about getting people to do what you want them to do.’  The charities had to struggle to communicate their complex messages and goals across to the masses (Lake L). To ensure that they were able to spread their messages across and garner support for their cause, the development of the brand and brand personality has become a necessity. As Max du Bois points out “You need good branding or else nobody is going to hear about you, no matter how good your cause is”. Brands and the various famous personalities that are today endorsing brands thus help n ensuring that they can: Delivering a clear message that reflects the values, goals and aspirations of the organization that they are representing to the customer so that a clear public image is created in the market. That there is credibility and confirms integrity and authority of the organizations and helps the consumers associate certain characteristics with the organization in a more simplified manner. It also helps ensure that the target audience is approached in not only a professional manner but also at an emotional and social level. It thus helps forge relationships with volunteers and donors, and Most of the scholars who have studied the strategy of branding and have researched its relationship with the consumer have focused on the fact that the brand helps a company either adapt or transcend the boundaries that is presented in the international market by cultural identities of different regions, which is also known as the business culture of an economy (Gupta A K and Govindarajan V, 2001). A business culture can be defined as a unique set of expectations and assumptions about how people are supposed to act in business. It therefore has to be remembered that what is considered ethical can vary from one culture to the next (Gudykunst W 2002). Business behavior therefore needs to be localized in order to work with the newer expectations and meet the challenges that these impose. In any given business deal, effective communication coupled with a favorable first impression can go a long way in ensuring the success of negotiations.  The second major factor that is evident now more than ever before is the fact that leadership is culturally contingent. This would mean, in essence that the views of the importance and the value that leadership holds varies across cultures. This is the dominant theme of the study carried out by House (2004) for the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program. House in his study has clearly stated that the status and the influence of leaders vary constantly as a result of the cultural forces in the countries or regions in which the leaders would have to function. The Americans, Arabs, Asians, Latin Americans French, germs, and the Russians, romanticize the concept of leadership and consider it extremely vital in both the political and the organizational sense of the term. In these cultures, leaders are commemorated with medals and titles and in the more organizational sense a cabin and a hefty raise at the end of the year. Scholars such as Cooper (2001) state that the objective of a branding and marketing plan would depend on the vagaries of the consumer mind and the demands of the market environment. Buyer readiness and PLC are factors to be studied in the agenda setting process. It is the agenda setting that determines the target audience and hence sets the tone of the campaign as well. In the Mother Coca-Cola Campaign, for example drastic changes were made in the packaging, the look, even the product so that the customer feedback on the original Mother Coca-Cola was channelized in the correct manner. Kirk, Marketing manager of the campaign in his article (2009) states that people interchanged brands depending upon which promo girls gave out free cans or which one was on price promotion. The objective in other words is to change the perspectives based on carefully laid out objectives and the execution of plans that are based on these objectives, This achieved by designing the campaign and its related phase objectives in stages, like the cognitive stage, the affective stage and the behavioral stage. The objectives therefore need to be not just consumer based but designed to coordinate with the phase by phase target and its achievement. The entire process is developed against the image that is being portrayed by an organization through the brand management and imaging (Chaston, Ian, 1998). Thus the role of brands is highly significant when an organization is looking at managing its customer base and communicating to the market as a whole. Thus, the literature review that has been presented in the section above clearly reflects that the role of branding in the world today is highly significant, especially in the context of the consumer as the competition in the market is high and the strategy of branding allows for a company to establish a completely different and unique identity of its own in the market economy. This allows for the consumer to identify more easily with the company and its products, and also helps ensure that an organization is able to retain its organizational identity in the long run. Brand allows an organization assign certain characteristics to itself which can be uniquely identified with its name. Thus, through the method of branding a company can manage its public image, communicate with its customer base, and enlarge it through integrating new characteristics to its brand which would appeal to a larger section of the consumer base. References: Anderson K and Kerr C, 2001, Customer relationship management,  McGraw Hill Publishing. pp46-53 Chaston, Ian, 1998, New marketing strategies: evolving flexible processes to fit market circumstance, Sage. p98 Cooper, R. G., 2001, Winning at new products: accelerating the process from idea to launch, Border Books. p67 Dyche. J., 2007,  The CRM handbook: a business guide to customer relationship management. Addison Wesley Publications. pp19-25. Grunig, James & Hunt, Todd, 1984, Managing Public Relations, HBJ College 1984.  Gupta A K and Govindarajan V, 2001, The Quest for Global Dominance, pub, Wiley John and Sons, pp288-300  Gudykunst W 2002, Cross-cultural and intercultural communication, 2002, Edition: illustrated, Pub. SAGE, p11-17    Heig M:  Brand Royalty; How the World's Top 100 Brands Thrive and Survive, pp.216 House R J, 2004,  Culture, leadership, and organizations: the GLOBE study of 62 societies. Sage Publications. p6  Kirk M, 2008 Now That’s Different: Mothers’ Coca-Cola, pub, Smart Agency, accessed on November 7, 2010 at   Kotler, Phillip, Jain D and Maiscincee S, 2002, Marketing moves: a new approach to profits, growth, and renewal, Pub, Boston, Harvard Business Press, p26  Kotler P, Pfoertsch W and Michi I, 2006, B2B Brand Management, pub, Springer Books, pp106-120  Kossecki P, 2007, The Brand Equity– Marketing and Financial Approach, pub, International Microconference on Computer Science and IT, ISSN-1896-7094  Lake L, What is branding and how important is it to your marketing strategy? Pub Business and Finance guide. Lesly, P 1991, Lesly's Handbook of Public Relations and Communications, AMACOM 1991. Nickles, W and Wood, M, 1997, Strategy Development and a customer focus, Routledge. p76 Peppers D and Rogers M, 1993, The one to one future: Building Relationships one customer at a time, pub, New York Doubleday  Pinsdorf, Marion, 1986, Communicating When Your Company Is Under Siege: Surviving Public Crisis. Free Press 1986.  Young R A, Weiss A M, and Stewart D W, 2006, Marketing champions: practical strategies for improving marketing’s power, pub, Wiley Publications, pp26-28  Read More