How to Build a Brand?

Businesses can live branded or unbranded. Not every business model is based on the brand. For example; Firms that supply products to brands can run their business and profit without the need for any brand for themselves.

Although branding does not directly touch the growth of a business, it contributes significantly to its continued growth. The 8 main strategies that are important in this journey are as follows;

Whether at the beginning or in the middle of the road, companies must determine what their brand serves and what they want to achieve. By analyzing the current situation, strategic plans should be prepared, first steps should be taken and these ideas should be concretized by putting them into documents. Rather than remain in the original state, these documents should be able to be updated and other strategies can be added according to the situation. 

The market, competitors, and the world are in a state of constant change and development. Strategies determined a year ago may not be valid today, and on the contrary, they can pull the company back and reduce earnings. For this reason, the strategies determined should be prepared and updated in accordance with the standards of the market, competitors, and the world at that time. In any change in the market, the strategies created should be regulated if it is observed that they pose a risk, and moves should be made when they create an opportunity.

While determining the strategies, the internal factors of the company should be considered together with the external factors. In order for all employees to unite at a single point and move towards the target as quickly as possible, the strategies determined must be adopted and applied in the company. Focus is one of the cornerstones of this process. We are no longer in a market where the big fish eat the small fish, but the small fish combine to eat the big fish. 

When a cube is held in the direction of the light, there will be surfaces that will remain in shadow, but if a flat prism is held, the light can be directed to the desired point and with it, an energy that can be turned into the fire with the spark is obtained. The important point in strategy; is to make employees adopt targets and bring them together and focus them on a single point. In this way, the company can reach its goals faster, and since everyone adopts the goals and strategies, possible opportunities can be seized and measures can be taken against risks.

While brand positioning is one of the most fundamental building blocks for companies, it is also of great importance in determining the value and position of companies in the market. When a product or service is developed, that product or service is offered to a specific customer for a specific purpose. Needs give birth to the product, and the product brings the customer. In line with this strategy, it should be known that everyone's needs and expectations are not the same and it will not be possible to design a product that appeals to everyone. For this reason, the product that appeals to everyone means that it does not really appeal to anyone.

The first move to be made in brand positioning is to carry out market research. Customer needs that could not be solved with competitor analysis should be determined and products and services should be developed in this direction. In this way, the company will quickly gain the awareness of its brand and take its place in the market with the needs of the product it offers and attract the attention of the customers. Otherwise, if everybody's needs are tried to be driven, the company will fail to lose its brand vision, while forgetting its own service.

There are companies in the world that offer products and services for every need, but there is no company that offers services and products for all needs. Being professional in one area is the key to always providing customers with the highest quality service. This strategy both gains customer confidence and increases preferability. If a customer needs a product or service, this customer knows what he wants and wants to get it from those who know what he produces.

Therefore, companies should determine their strategies correctly by making customer, market and competitor analyzes while positioning their brands so that they can make a place for themselves in the sector. In this way, they will be able to gain loyal customers, improve themselves and determine the positions of their brands in the sector.

Brand identity should contain the most important data describing companies' products and services. While creating the identity; facts, colors, feelings, targeted customers, desired points to be reached, and so on. elements such as should be determined. The most important point here is the implementation of the determined elements. Any thought that has not been put into practice is considered complete. If the direction is determined on the road and deviates from the route, it is inevitable to get lost, which brings failure and loss of time.

The most valuable fact of a company is its brand identity and acting in line with the created brand identity leads that company to its main goals. If a car company promises a sporty and aggressive look, the two strongest colors to ensure this; Can use black and red. If this car business uses the color pink, it will create a contrast to its brand identity. A company that promises sports, dynamic and fast cars should not make a slow and boring speech during customer presentations. If brand identity is about dynamism and speed, it should show this dominantly in all processes including presentation so that the customer can adapt and trust that feeling.

To give an example from another angle; A company that promises fresh vegetables and then shoots lots of advertisements in front of the customer should not sell a dead vegetable to its customer. The customer makes his purchase relying on the advertisements and promises, which is a tangible outcome of the company's efforts. If this company does not sell fresh produce, it causes that customer not to come again. If the company fulfills its promises, the customer will have a positive experience and can become permanent.

It can be used in the corridors of offices, on the walls of meeting rooms, under signs, etc. slogans and promises in places should also show themselves in products and services. Otherwise, the company will start rolling downhill as there will not be an acquired success. For this reason, companies should make promises as much as they can, stretch and reach, and provide trust to their customers while creating their brand identity. Thus, the fact promised by company X will bring this company to mind whenever potential customers appear anywhere. This will increase growth, brand credibility, and loyalty on the customer side.

Those who express the brand best are the customers who use the product of that brand. A company should produce its product and service for its customers and then develop it by identifying its deficiencies with the customer experience. For companies, the first moment they launch the services they designed and produced in line with their brands is very important. The first thing to do is to listen to the voice of the customers in the light of accurate analysis. "Is the product of good quality?", "Does it serve the need?", "Is the customer satisfied?" and "Will the brand be preferred again in the next need?" Answers to such questions can be found in this way.

If companies are only interested in producing and selling the product and do not analyze the process, they cannot determine customer dissatisfaction and their brands face the risk of being removed from the market in the future. To use a simpler expression; Suppose a hiking trail is built in a forest. Let this track be laid reliably and flatly with stone floors by spending a certain amount of time and effort. Well, what happens if this track is laid not around the places that you want to visit and see in the forest, but on the sides that are more reserved and enjoyable? People take a different route for themselves in the forest, and this route can be understood by looking at the land.

All people will choose the enjoyable route and will walk following the same place. In line with this, there will be a flattening of the soil and a natural pathway will emerge. Here, the customer experience can be seen in a concrete way. The effort and time spent will pay off if that product is useful. Otherwise, nobody will prefer that product and will start looking for other alternatives. For this reason, when companies offer their products and services, they should examine customer reactions correctly, see their mistakes, design their second products by focusing on the wishes of their customers, or if there is satisfaction, they should offer the second product to the market. In this way, healthy growth can be achieved for the brand and company, and companies can be among the first choices of customers.

As another strategy, companies can conduct self-satisfaction surveys or directly ask customers about their products without waiting for customer response. In this way, the customer feels special, conveys any complaint as a positive criticism rather than a brutal language, and may want to experience it again, knowing that he has his share in the next improved product. This situation not only increases mutual trust and communication but also makes it easier to design directly for the user, reflecting positively on the company.

Brands are created in accordance with today's industry and market and maintain their place in the market. Companies can establish an emotional connection with the brands they work for, plan, design and produce, which is necessary for success. In order to achieve success, it is necessary to adopt the business first. If the market no longer needs the products produced by that brand, the products that the industry needs and the brand can produce should be added to the product scale. The company's insistence on its products and not wanting to leave the brand line can lead to failure.

Discovering new products that are needed and can be produced in the same sector, without leaving the brand identity completely, is an important step to protect both the brand and the company. Just as a car continues on its way by exiting the first right if there is an accident ahead of the road, companies should also gain from time and effort by advancing in this strategy. Otherwise, they will lose time in traffic, miss out on possible opportunities, and be left behind from the market. If a company insists on its brand and products, but sales are decreasing, the brand should be accelerated by making an innovation here.

For example; A horseshoe company established in the 1940s cannot do business under today's conditions, but if it can evolve its brand into a car tire and continue to serve in this sector, it can continue to maintain its place in the market as a well-established and experienced company. Looking at the bird's eye view; In the 1940s, horses were used for transportation, and cars were used in 2021. At this point, both horseshoe and tire become part of the transportation vehicle. Changing point; time and technology. Here perspective is very important.

In the example we gave, the firm continues to serve the same sector with the same brand. If this company had not changed its product from a horseshoe to a car tire, it would not have been in this sector today. Therefore, companies must insist on their brands but be flexible in their products. As long as the brand identity is flexible and applicable, it can always continue to maintain its success by developing in direct proportion to the market.

Marketing is a phenomenon that increases the sales of a brand as it increases its awareness. If the brands provide the sector with products and services of high quality and need-oriented, if they do not introduce themselves to the market and do not market them, the product and service produced will have no importance. Since the products and services are marketed for sales, when the sales part is not realized at the end of the day, the company will have a huge zero.

Companies need to analyze their marketing processes after the needs assessment, product planning-development, and implementation phase. The promotion of the products is as important as the production of that product because access to the customer will be provided in this process. In this direction, a marketing department should be established in companies and a team should be formed together with the marketing manager. The product and service produced is a kind of sapling of the company. With the right strategies; Growth of that sapling is ensured with both customer experience and needs analysis. Its fruiting is supported by the marketing process. Here, the marketing process can be compared to the right sunlight. Therefore, if companies can manage the marketing processes for their brands according to the customer and the market, they can reach the desired sales and increase their awareness.

Although crisis moments may seem negative for companies, they can sometimes create opportunities. A properly managed crisis moment allows the company to take a leap by creating awareness of what the company needs most. To be able to leap forward, the company must gain momentum, and the closer it gets to the bottom, the bigger it gets. Failure is a feeling that many companies fear, but the best experiences are always achieved with failure.

Although it is not known what to do as a result of failure, it is known exactly what not to do. For this reason, every moment of crisis definitely provides a gain for companies. In times of crisis, companies can panic and make sudden decisions worsening situations. It is very important that these moments are not perceived as completely negative. In moments of crisis, the shortcomings of the company and situations that ignore customer expectations and where the market has come can be realized. This gives the company the opportunity to correct the situation and start over.

Crisis moments are the company's last stop before reaching the finish line. If managed correctly, the company can stand up stronger and prove itself in the market and discover all possible opportunities that it is not aware of. Human nature instinctively develops a survival reflex when faced with difficulties. This situation allows him to free himself from the current danger and to step on the ground more firmly. This is also the case with companies. In a crisis, it can run faster than before, jump and succeed.

Brand ambassadors are people or companies that express the company's brand in a positive way, move it from one place to another, increase word-of-mouth awareness and reveal the elements that can attract the attention of potential customers. Most companies today use brand ambassadors to convey and demonstrate awareness and customer experience to the customer in a concrete way. The simplest; When even a soap used is shared on social media to indicate satisfaction, its sales directly increase. There is a relationship of trust between the person who shares it and their followers, and the viewers want to experience that satisfaction. People are making a kind of brand ambassador by recommending products they are satisfied with to their spouses and friends in their daily lives.

Brand ambassador is the promotion of beyond experience in product promotion of a brand. As this serves the main purpose, it creates a desire to buy directly. People think, "Does it work?" question wakes up. By seeing the experience with the brand ambassador personally, the purchase is made with confidence that the product will work, and this is the best opportunity a brand can have.

Let's talk about brand embassy with another example; a mother buys a computer from Monster Notebook for her child. But after a few days, she was dismissed and had to return the computer within 30 days using her right to return. The child then writes a note inside the computer; I had to return my computer because my mother was dismissed, but I will take it back as soon as my mother gets to work. "Then this note reaches the manager of the Monster computer. The manager posted this note on social media," This computer is our gift to you. " The event is being shared by influencers by growing like an avalanche on social media, and although it is shared not for the brand but for the goodwill, there is also an increase in the awareness of the brand and the trust it awakens. The brand ambassador's effect is one of the most effective methods for the growth of the brand.