Strategy. Culture. Structure.
The huge success of brands such as Apple, Google and Microsoft has significantly raised awareness among many people of the importance and (financial) value of brands – in both B2C and B2B environments. That’s good. As the importance of brands grows, so do the expectations and requirements on brand management.
There are many important questions in brand management. And even more answers — which bring complexity and uncertainty. That’s why it’s important to understand connections and dependencies, to set priorities and to manage activities effectively.
The following selected questions show which topics brand owners (have to) deal with today. Questions that should not be answered individually, but rather coherently. Because brand management is always about the big picture.
Objectives and strategy
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“What are our business and social ambitions?”
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“What goals do we want to achieve? What success metrics have we defined to achieve them?” → learn more
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“What thoughts and feelings do we want our stakeholders to associate with us and our products and services?”
Culture and collaboration
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“What values and beliefs guide our thoughts and actions?” → learn more
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“How do we communicate and interact with our employees, customers and partners?”
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“What is particularly important to us? What do we stand for?”
Stakeholders
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“What are the needs of our employees, customers and partners? What do they expect from us?”
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“How can we be perceived as an attractive employer and win and retain the right employees?”
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“How do we inspire employees, customers and partners? How do we frustrate them?”
Products and services
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“What individual benefits do our offerings provide to our customers?”
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“How should we structure our offerings to enable our customers to easily navigate our portfolio?”
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“How can we further develop our products and services to meet future needs?”
Market and competition
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“Who are our competitors? What are they better at than we are? What can we learn from them?”
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“What social, economic, technological and environmental changes are foreseeable? What opportunities and risks are emerging for us?”
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“How should we position ourselves in our dynamic competitive environment?”
Communication
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“What should we promise our customers and applicants? What is particularly important to them?”
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“What topics should we address? What messages should we send?”
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“What is the story of our company and brand that will carry us into the future based on our heritage?”
Impact and success
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“What success metrics and performance indicators can we use to measure the impact of our brand?” → learn more
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“How can we measure and demonstrate the contribution of our brand to our business success?” → learn more
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“How can we justify investments in our brand?”
Organization
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“How should we set ourselves up in marketing and brand management? What roles and responsibilities do we need?”
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“What structures, processes and tools do we need for efficient and effective brand management?”
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“How can we manage brand topics across the company?”
Internal engagement
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“How can we better communicate the value of brand management to senior management?” → learn more
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“How can we raise awareness of the importance and value of our brand within the company? How can we make the brand the driver of our business success?”
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“How can we make our colleagues in other areas (and regions) of the company proud ambassadors of our brand?”
Partner Management
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“How do we find the right agency partner(s) for our diverse tasks?”
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“How can we work more efficiently and effectively with our agencies?”
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“How can we manage our agencies to get exactly what we need?”
That’s already a lot of questions. And there are, of course, many more. As mentioned, it is important to address and prioritize these questions in a connected way. The focus creates clarity and orientation.
The following schematic illustration summarizes the key topics for the integrated management of a company and its brand(s). By taking an overarching view of the key topics, initiatives and activities can interlock in a targeted manner and amplify each other.
Integrated corporate and brand management
