How to build a stronger brand
Win more budget and maximize ROI with insights from leading brand-builders
Learn to play the long game
In a world measured in quarters, how do you learn to think — and act — in years?
84% of marketers agree long-term brand-building is very important to their organization's success, but only 36% say they're very effective at it. This surprising finding comes from a new research report we sponsored with Harvard Business Review Analytics.
The report is based on a survey of 530 people who are involved with marketing or strategy decisions that affect their organization's brand. One roadblock to playing the long game with brand-building? Marketers cited lack of budget.
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Follow these simple steps
1. Link brand strategy and corporate strategy
All business decisions will ultimately shape how a brand is perceived. This means brand strategy should be an integral part of the business strategy, not a separate or sidelined concern.
In effect: the brand is the business, and the business is the brand.
Link brand strategy and corporate strategy. Read more
2. Don’t let short-term issues derail long-term objectives
Chasing short-term opportunities at the expense of long-term branding efforts can paint brands into a corner.
Sales and discounts might help you hit targets, but dilute brand equity over time.
Rather than seeking quick wins, ensure that everything you do aligns with where you want to be in the future.
Don’t let short-term issues derail long-term objectives. Read more
3. Keep your customer top of mind
Brands that last are the ones that provide something of value to their customers, something they will continue to want for a long time.
Steve Jobs, for example, made customer experience his main concern at Apple.
He had his teams start with customer experience and work backwards from there to develop technology that would meet customer needs.
Keep your customer top of mind. Read more
4. Be consistent, with room for variation
Consistency across a brand’s visual identity, language, content, and customer touchpoints can build brand equity through improving brand recognition and building customer trust.
But consistency does not have to come at the expense of innovation. Rather than take consistency literally, stay consistent in your approach and mission while leaving room to flex, grow, and evolve.
Be consistent, with room for variation. Read more
5. Measure brand equity and track your progress
Brand-building efforts do pay off and demonstrate ROI—in the short and long term. You just have to know how to measure them.
Brands that invest in sentiment analysis, for example, tend to be more successful at building brand than those who don't, according to our report.
The most common benefit of brand-building efforts is stronger brand equity which, in turn, drives sales and profitability.
Measure brand equity and track your progress. Read more
Get buy-in from leadership
Smart leaders build strong brands – sometimes they just need a little convincing
It’s budget season, and we’re here to help lift one of the major roadblocks to long-term brand building efforts: lack of investment. It’s time to convince your boss to buy-in big.
Download our short slide deck, with insights and strategies gleaned from the HBR report, and get more spend for your brand building efforts – and more spend in your marketing budget.
Read the full report
Researched and written by the Harvard Business Review Analytics Services, sponsored by Frontify
In our sponsored report with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services titled "Building Strong Brands: Investing in Long-Term Branding to Ensure Resilience and Meet Customer Needs", you'll get access to the following insights:
- Learn what brand-building strategies organizations are undertaking and prioritizing
- Find out how brand consistency and brand equity play a role in long-term brand health and financial success
- Uncover common obstacles to brand building and explore how organizations can overcome them