Building Your Company Brand

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA) a brand is a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers".

A good brand should be able to meet the following objectives:

* Convey the message clearly
* Validate your credibility
* Relate to your target prospects in the emotional aspect
* Encourage the buyer
* Creates User Loyalty

In branding, it is essential that the needs and wants of the business' customers and prospects should be taken into consideration.

A strong brand is important to remain competitive. Time should be invested in researching, defining, and building the company's brand. It should be given due importance since the brand serves as the focal point of the company's marketing communication.

Skoda makes use of branding to be able to develop into a powerhouse. Advertising has made its brand widely perceived as a car that offers great value of money. Due to this, car sales have increased speedily through the years. The proper branding and the appropriate perception it created on its target market allowed Skoda to rise from the multitude and a company to watch in the future.

At the opposite end of the pole we see recovering megabrands M&S, Sainsburys and Burberry that suffered reversal of fortune from once being at the top of food chain to acquiring losses.

The brands are perceived to be VFM or those that provide value for money. Unfortunately the perceived value for money changed and standards were seen to be deteriorating for the three companies. It became apparent among surveys conducted within the companies and outside, from customers. Another fatal error was the top managers were not able to take swift action to address the matter. Good thing though that they were able to wake up just in time before M&S, Sainsbury and Burberry sank to the bottom.

This serves as a lesson to those who want to embark on business to stay alert to customers and employees feedback.

Advertising campaigns made by Gap designed to increase Hollywood celebrity excitement into the Gap's floundering brand image did not go as expected. This, according to industry analysts and the retailer's own decreasing sales show.
Conclusions/Recommendations

Embarking on business venture is a huge undertaking for a first-timer. Therefore, every step, every decision matters and should be weighed carefully. There is a huge market which could possibly translate to more sales and profit waiting for the business.

The local and international market opens a lot of opportunities at the same time but it is also laden with a number of risks for a business. Going into business is no small feat. It is not something to take lightly. For a business to succeed it requires an amalgamation of factors - effort, money and time.

Learning how to maintain competitiveness also enables the company to acquire necessary rudiments to keep their advantage at the local market. To be successful, the best strategy for the company would be to weigh risks against the possible benefits.