Three Reasons Traditional Brand Development Fails

Companies typically initiate a branding process when they want to redifferentiate themselves from competitors, increase sales, realign, or when they are on the tail end of a merger or acquisition.

For many, the process usually starts with an external research study to gain insight on brand perception, identify top competitors, discover buying criteria and determine how they measure up in their category. Once the data is collected and analyzed by the CEO, a meeting is usually called to order where research findings are presented to key executives in the organization and next steps are discussed.

However, this traditional, unchallenged approach to brand development has several major flaws:

1)    It seems very logical to find out what customers are looking for and what they want, and then tailor your website and marketing communications accordingly to win their business. The problem with this approach is that competitors are doing similar research, acquiring similar results and tailoring their websites and marketing communications accordingly to win the same business. It’s the reason so many competing companies say the same things, just in different ways. It confuses customers and forces them to base decisions on price and/or other factors outside your control.

2)    Brand perceptions and buying criteria can change in an instant. For example, the actions of the rebranding company or a competitor can shift the tides; large swings in the economy can redirect behaviors; fast-moving trends (such as technology) can change how people engage with brands; and a variety of other factors beyond your control can affect customers in different ways.

3)    Customers don’t know what they want. When answering questions on a research study, they articulate preferences, likes and dislikes, but beyond smaller, better, faster and cheaper, customers aren’t able to define what they really want.

iPads, heated car seats and Bluetooth technology weren’t consumer-generated ideas. Nor were services such as cloud computing, Google Maps, eBay or print on demand. These innovative products and services spawned as a result of companies being able to answer the three most important questions about their brand:

Who are we? How are we different? What are we capable of becoming?

A brand must be built from within, where unique talents, experience, intellect and passions are unearthed and leveraged to become what no other company or organization can duplicate.