Are you ready for tomorrow
Your business is always in one of two situations: winning or losing. It loses when it stands still or stagnates. Wins when it develops. It makes no sense to analyze all the barriers that stand in the way of rapid development of your business - there are too many of them. However, there is one that is extremely important, depending not on the production and resources, the size of the company and its cash flows, but on the ability of your employees to think.
This barrier is called "understanding the buyer".
We say that any Russian or Ukrainian company that neglects this knowledge will sooner or later go bankrupt and leave the market. And sooner rather than later. The development of the modern world economy does not leave a single chance for survival to anybody.
You, as a director of the company, need to know that today most of the purchases are made by people, taking into account a huge number of factors that modern marketers combine by the concept of "brand".
You, as a director of the company, need to know that today the entire business is built around the buyer. So, around the brand.
You, as the director of the company, need to know that only those organizations that have put the brand at the center of their development will survive. In such organizations, the CEO opens a meeting of directors every Monday with the question: "What have you done over the past week to strengthen our brand?
In order to survive in modern business, Russian companies must include their ability to think. About the future, about yourself, about the buyer. Markets are developing at such a pace that there is no time left to scratch the back of the head. And you will either put the brand at the forefront of your business or you will not have this business!
What benefits does your brand bring to the buyer?
A brand is a benefit. Functional, emotional, psychological or social: Anything a person buys with a product or service. It is for this additional benefit that a person is willing to pay more when buying a brand compared to the "usual product". To see if your brand is okay, start with a simple test: continue with "My brand gives you the following additional benefits..."
My brand provides the following additional benefits to the customer:
1) ____________________________________
2) ____________________________________
3) ____________________________________
In order to make it clear what we are talking about, I will give some examples of how well-known companies would have finished this phrase.
The BMW car is an opportunity to demonstrate that it belongs to a certain group of people.
Lego designers allow children to develop by playing.
Danone yoghurts are the best source of useful bacteria for the full functioning of the body.
Apple notebooks demonstrate to others that their owner is an original person.
Next, we will discuss in great detail how to formulate the benefits of the brand. In the meantime, check yourself out: have you been able to describe the benefits that the customer gets "under load" on your product? If yes, then put in the margins of the book "plus".
Do you know who buys your product?
There are virtually no goods or services in the world that are meant for everyone. In order to determine who should buy a product or use a service, the concept of "target audience" has been introduced in marketing - a group of people united by certain criteria.
You've probably heard of these target audiences, so you'll be able to easily articulate who your brand's primary buyer is.
My product is bought
What if your business is selling food on the street? Or if you own a chain of cinemas? Or do you provide access to the Internet by means of cards? That is, you seem to sell everything and everyone...
In this case, describe your consumer in terms of income, desires ("I want to be online all the time", "I want to eat", "I want to kill the weekend"), clothing, habits of buying newspapers, etc. You MUST know your consumer in person. Otherwise, he will forget the "face" of your product!
If you are able to describe your customer, put another "plus" in the margin.
Does your brand have a plan?
All brands should be sold to the extent that justifies the investment and allows you to "save" money for future development.
This "volume" should be precisely defined: in units, market percentages, profits, samples and re-purchases, etc. Sometimes brands cannot please their creators in the first year (or even years) of existence with positive figures in the column "profit" - for some markets it is perfectly normal. Nevertheless, this situation does not relieve the brand from the need to obey the general logic of business - to earn money.
So, if you know exactly the tasks performed by the brand and can name the number of their performance for a year (season) and three years, you deserve another "plus".
Why is your brand better?
You are ready for this question: above we have described the benefits provided by our product to the buyer. However, any product must have a whole set of additional benefits and justifications for its selection. For example, a BMW car, apart from its direct function (moving people in space) and the demonstration of belonging to a certain group of consumers (which you will never confuse with the owners of Mercedes-Benz) promises:
1. a distinctive appearance;
2. a certain interior filling that helps the driver to drive the car;
3. the exact colour scheme of the car;
4. recognizable location of the devices;
5. a variety of appeals to different target audiences
6. regular updating of the appearance;
7. original and memorable advertising;
8. address to the owner-driver.
Your brand, like the BMW brand, must be multifaceted. If expressed figuratively, it should be pleasantly taken
In the hand: bumps, cavities, cracks, roughness, texture, smell, color - everything must be designed so that the buyer never wants to part with it.
My brand has the following additional advantages for the consumer:
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
If you were able to write down and identify three additional benefits that you are constantly communicating to the consumer through different channels (the original packaging is also an advantage that is constantly being passed on to the market), then bet yourself another "plus"!