As
margins are squeezed and sales begin to dip, the temptation for many bosses is
to cut costs and slim down what they wrongly perceive as ‘non-essential’
spending on marketing.
">
As
margins are squeezed and sales begin to dip, the temptation for many bosses is
to cut costs and slim down what they wrongly perceive as ‘non-essential’
spending on marketing.
">
Branding Design Leeds: Strengthen your brand rather than diminish it -
As
margins are squeezed and sales begin to dip, the temptation for many bosses is
to cut costs and slim down what they wrongly perceive as ‘non-essential’
spending on marketing.
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You are here: DIME Home > Computers & The Internet > Branding Design Leeds: Strengthen your brand rather than diminish it
As
margins are squeezed and sales begin to dip, the temptation for many bosses is
to cut costs and slim down what they wrongly perceive as ‘non-essential’
spending on marketing.
Author: David Woods
Date: Jan 22, 2009 - 2:32:33 AM
As
margins are squeezed and sales begin to dip, the temptation for many bosses is
to cut costs and slim down what they wrongly perceive as ‘non-essential’
spending on marketing.
Being
part of a
marketing consultancy in Leeds and a graphic designer at a renowned
Leeds design agency I hear time and time again businesses
justifying falling sales as the reason for downsizing their marketing
investment – without challenging whether those falling sales will plummet
still further if marketing budgets are compromised.
When
the pressure is on, internal decision makers thrash out which areas of spending
are essential and which are disposable. Short-term choices amounting to false
economy often take precedence over long-term investment which can pay dividends.
Research
on market positioning and driving and sustaining a robust marketing strategy is
crucial to boost your brand awareness and desirability in order to attract new
customers. To ensure maximum effectiveness, the process must comprise strong
evaluation criteria with a toolkit of key performance indicators.
Tough
times undoubtedly mean tough choices. In a fiercely competitive marketplace,
you have two clear options. To either compete directly on price or reduce
profit margins, or to add value in areas which are not price-sensitive to stand
head and shoulders above your competitors.
These
areas can include surpassing customer expectations through excellent service or
through elements such as
packaging design and point of
sale material – all of which can make the difference between good or great
services and products. Adding value can
also be quite a simple process and you should never underestimate the power
that good
branding design can do for your business.
Yet
when faced with a potential downturn, quality can often be sacrificed for
bare-bone research and rushed creative processes. During my time at a
Leeds marketing consultancy I have seen this hundreds of times as
clients begin to do in-house branding design putting at risk the quality of the
brand and how it will be perceived.
Such
lack of foresight is one that frustrates those of us who have spent a career
forging and nurturing brands. Astute consumers are also aware that it’s far
harder to justify brand loyalty if your product they bought six months ago is
now being sold at a significant discount.
So
slashing your prices in the fierce battle to compete for every last customer
and win on short-term profits could lose you the long-term endgame of
re-establishing your brand and its values in the market space it occupied
before.
The
lessons of continued investment have been highlighted time and again. We recall
the dark economic days of the early 1990’s when brands like Adidas and Nike
were upping their marketing spend to unprecedented levels, while their
competitors fought over “bargain basement” space. In the short term Adidas did
see a fall in sales, but the long term value of their brand was enhanced and,
as economic prosperity returned, consumers likewise returned to aspirational,
higher value products.
It’s
a proven fact that customers will pay more for a quality product; the argument
is merely about how much premium can be commanded. However, if your brand is
associated with poor-quality, consumers with money to spend will shun your
products for better-positioned competitors.
It
is therefore possible for firms to protect their brands, while ensuring sales
do not fall catastrophically in the short term. The key issue is to balance
current commercial pressures with the long term stability and brand value.
One
way to achieve this is to incentivise rather than discount. Offering customers
additional reasons to buy, rather than simply making low-price the only reason
to purchase, can boost your sales without diminishing quality.
This
tactic also allows you the flexibility to adjust your offering when the market
begins to grow, without undermining your brand positioning.
Digital
media is one area which many businesses are adopting to add-value to their
brand, particularly by increasing the ways they can communicate with their
customers. Firms like Wagamama have found that, by investing in more
interactive communication channels, they can increase customer loyalty and
sales without altering their core product, or squeezing margins. Investing in
good
packaging design or
graphic design for your
business can pay dividends in the long run.
Businesses
that spend money intelligently make more profit. If you are part of a small
business, in times of trouble it is worth getting advice from a marketing
consultancy to realise how you can make the most of your marketing budget.
Investing in strategic, focused marketing, even in turbulent times, makes it
possible to stay one step ahead of your competitors and leverage yourself to an
even stronger position when market conditions improve.
David
Woods has worked in
packaging design for over 20 years.
More information can be found at http://www.icmcreative.co.uk
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