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Before I go any further, I have to make an important difference. This article looks at growing a brand within an existing category. As such, it is likely to bring less growth than launching a brand in a country with a fast growing economy or expanding an existing brand into an entirely new category. Most marketers, however, have yet to battle for market share, and to do so successfully these ten measures should be considered.

1. Create a difference that has the potential to be meaningful

Competitive advantages lie in design, the way to the customer, service, purpose, positioning or communication, not just in product innovations. Regardless of the form, innovation must differentiate the brand from the competition and take into account a functional and / or emotional need that must be relevant to potential consumers. Without meaningful differentiation, brands become commodities and struggle with weak consumer demand.

2. Maximize availability and make sure your brand is easy to choose

Today's "omni-channel" is just another way of saying that you can't buy what you can't easily find. Brands need to ensure that they are available wherever consumers expect them to be. There are few brands that are attractive enough that people are actively looking for them. Marketers should look for new ways to give customers easy access to their brand. Within a retail channel, make sure the brand is obvious. Make buying a smooth one by removing all current buying barriers. Look for ways to make shopping easier, such as: B. after automatic replenishment.

3. Reinforce your brand's meaningful difference

Make sure the significant brand difference is evident to everyone. Reflect this in every touch and consumer interaction with the brand to create coherent mental "real estate" and a strong disposition to buy. Create positive anticipation of usage based on the significant difference to improve people's experience. Make sure the brand keeps its promise.

4. Make sure the product and equity justify the brand price

Make sure the brand's significant difference justifies its price and helps generate better margin or higher demand (remember that improving margin has a bigger impact on the bottom line than increasing volume). If variants are sold under the same brand name but at different prices, make sure the perceived value of each offering is well differentiated to avoid people bargaining down on the cheapest option.

5. Make sure your brand is distinctive

Recognition automatically triggers an instinctive desire based on pre-existing brand associations. Build distinctive brand values ​​and use them to ensure they are recognized online or in-store. Assets include design and logos, but they can span many different properties, including celebrities, images, sensory experiences, rituals, jingles, and tone of voice. Consistently incorporate assets into communication and experience to build mental connectivity, and then use those assets to create positive associations in searches and shopping.

6. Make your brand as great as possible

With the boost the pandemic is giving e-commerce, making sure your brand stands out is more important than ever. People cannot search for a brand unless they immediately think about a need being identified. Invest in paid communications to ensure that your brand is automatically considered when a relevant need or occasion arises. Invest more in SOV than in SOM to improve brand awareness compared to the competition. Use these expenses with convincing creatives to build and strengthen strong, branded memory structures and to influence the purchase now and for the future. A consistent idea, based on the significant brand difference but updated with new designs, will help build strong memory structures. Stimulate positive word of mouth and social enthusiasm.

7. Maximize customer loyalty

Every customer retained is one of the few who has to be acquired for the brand to grow. Deliver a consistently positive and memorable customer experience that fulfills the brand's promises. Fix problems immediately and create experiences that excite and inspire. Enthusiastic customers are more likely to choose your brand, buy new products and services or trade up to a premium variant. Find ways to make repurchase easier and avoid searching and shopping.

8. Give your brand the greatest possible visibility

The aim is to reach and influence all potential buyers. Within the budget available, choose media channels that combine to maximize effectiveness and highlight the brand's meaningful difference, then target specific needs and behaviors. Find the right balance between demand generation and activation for your brand and category. Adapt the creative to each media channel and continuously optimize reach and frequency.

9. Trigger a wish while searching and shopping

An average of three quarters of the growth comes from people who tend to choose a particular brand. Ensure brand awareness at the point of purchase in order to trigger existing positive associations between the assets. Make sure point-of-purchase content creates perceptions of immediate relevance and communicates the meaningful brand difference. Use price promotion strategically to increase penetration and keep retail partners happy, but don't rely on it to increase volume. Otherwise, consumers will expect deals and perceived value and margins will be undermined.

10. Continue to innovate or risk disruption

Stay true to the brand's significant difference and create real added value for the brand's primary target audience. Be vigilant of changes in consumer needs and context that open up new opportunities or that may require revitalization. Make sure all types of innovations generate additional revenue: new users, new occasions, new value, or new reward. Don't fragment the mark with meaningless variants and line extensions.

Contribution to Branding Strategy Insider by: Nigel Hollis, author of The Global Brand

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