IS BRANDING REALLY THAT IMPORTANT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Branding is about connecting with the people who matter to you - customers, employees, business partners, etc. A strong brand creates a powerful emotional attachment - feelings like trust and loyalty – to your products and services. It engages the target audience so that they can discover, experience and love the "real" you. To understand a little bit more about branding, we invited Mr John Ong, CEO & Principal Consultant of FT Consulting to give us the 101 in a Q&A session.

Mr John Ong, CEO & Principal Consultant of FT Consulting

Q: What is branding?

John: Branding is about capturing the minds of the target audience with an idea. The more distinctive and attractive the idea, the more powerful is the brand. Today, a brand is not necessarily owned by the person behind the product associated with it. More often than not, it is owned by the target audience which, in many cases, means you and I.

Take, for instance, Starbucks. It is not just about coffee. It is about a certain lifestyle that people aspire. It is about a “third place” between work and home where like-minded people hang out. It’s about supporting fair trade. Try changing any of these and there will be an outcry – by people like us!

Q: Would a SME benefit from branding?

John: I often tell people that branding is not just for the Big Boys. SMEs can benefit from branding if they plan to do something about their business, product or service, in order to occupy a distinctive position in the market. They can therefore create brands that people will gladly own. I call them passion brands. 

For every BreadTalk (which is a highly successful brand), there is perhaps one neighbourhood bakery that has a diehard (or even generational) following. It could be the gorgeous cakes, or it could be the impeccable service, or just that friendly baker who personifies the values and qualities that people love to love. This is a passion brand.

Q: What are the common branding pitfalls SMEs faces?

John: SMEs often think that branding is all about facelift – made to the corporate logo, shop interior, packaging or marketing collaterals. Others think that it’s all about advertising campaigns. Yet others bank on clever communication such as coming up with a compelling story or a nice tagline. All these can contribute to building a successful brand, but they alone do not make a brand. 

First, the brand’s foundation must be laid by seeking to thoroughly understand itself – what are its fundamental strengths; and also understanding its environment – which other brands are in the same playing field and what space do they own in the minds of the target audience. Next, the brand must adopt a robust strategy that will differentiate it from the others in a meaningful way, thereby owning a unique space in people’s mind. 

Everything else that I have described earlier – from facelift/overhaul, to communication – will follow next. In fact, the entire organisation needs to be mobilized to live and breathe the brand, so that the target audience can really feel that it’s alive! Branding is a momentous and continuous undertaking.

Q: Is branding costly?

John: Yes and no. The famous char kway teow stall could be a brand because the old uncle who fries the stuff is a unique character in himself, and the food is exceptional. You can’t say he’s not a passion brand. It probably didn’t take him a lot of investment to create it. The only problem is that the brand may not last beyond him.

To create a sustainable brand that has a structure and system to support growth, it can be costly. It is costly not only at the beginning when the brand strategy and identity are being created, but also in the long term when the brand requires on-going nurturing and rejuvenation.

Q: My company has a logo, isn’t that sufficient?

John: For reasons mentioned above, it is not sufficient. People won’t know what the brand stands for, if there’s no strategic engagement with the target audience besides showcasing the logo. What’s worse is when the logo has nothing to do with (or is opposite to) people’s actual experience with the brand (eg. how many times have we entered a shop with a nice logo signage, only to leave with a below-par experience?).

Q: How often should I update my SME’s brand image?

John: There’s no hard and fast rule about it. The best guide as to the frequency is probably the profile of the target audience. Any brand that wishes to keep capturing a particular type of customer (eg. those between 25 and 35 years of age) need to ensure that the brand will appeal to this age group – at all times. 

If my brand identity and image were created 10 years ago and appealed to a 30-year-old then, today, it would be appealing to a 40-year-old. I better do something to rejuvenate my brand if I still want to capture the 30-year-olds of today. Another reason why a brand needs to update its identity and image is when it wants to capture a new customer segment. For instance, a single-gender fashion brand wanting to capture the opposite sex must relook at its brand image, if it wants to succeed.

About the expert: In the last 23 years, FT Consulting has helped more than 400 companies with their franchising, licensing and branding needs. Their mission seeks to enable clients in harnessing the power of intellectual capital and to build effective systems for sustained business growth. Leveraging on their in-depth experience and integrative approach, FT Consulting has successfully enabled their clients to transform into recognised brands and successful franchises worldwide. Their diverse clientele ranges from F&B, retail, education to hospitality, logistics and technology.