By M. Isi Eromosele

As a business imperative, it is a total necessity that you have a strong identifiable brand. The constantly changing market landscape necessitates new obligations for brand expression, both online and offline. Developing your corporate brand is one of the most important business investments your company can make.

It is imperative that you have a corporate branding strategy that will help you cut through the clutter of marketing messages out there. A powerful branding will infuse your products or services with enhanced credibility and value. The key to this is to create and protect a strong corporate brand. Corporate branding is not to be confused with corporate brand identity. Corporate identity involves a company’s design strategy only. It is one component of a wholesome brand strategy.

A strong corporate brand adds depth and value to a company’s product offerings. It is a public statement of the company’s culture and values. With corporate branding, you can help create high demand for your products or services. A strong corporate brand can also set the tone for further development of a company, especially for one with multiple brands such as Pepsi. Pepsi markets many different brands under its corporate name. The company’s corporate brand is firmly built on the premise that it is sincerely committed to the values that will bring product contentment to its millions of customers.

Corporate branding also enhances fiscal efficiency. With the high cost of product development and the ever shorter life span of products, it is imperative for companies to recover costs while maintaining quality. An excellent brand reputation can help sell products, thereby reducing marketing costs. Apple is masterly at this. Its product offerings are replete with state-of-the-art technologies merged with astute innovation. These are characteristics of Apple’s highly successful global branding strategy. While this kind of brand strategy may not work for every company, it is instructional for how differentiated branding can be successfully applied in the marketplace.
The strength of a brand is indicative of the strength of a company and its brand equity. In today’s highly competitive global market, having a strong brand is essential to increased market share and sustained corporate profits. A strong brand is achievable through the establishment of an assuring relationship with your customers, which over time builds brand equity, thereby engendering improved brand value.

Once established, brand value relationship with your customers can be measured and enhanced at regular intervals to strengthen the company’s brand effectiveness. This boosts the value relationship between corporate profitability and the way your brand is perceived by your customers.

In making purchases from your company, customers always factor in the strength of your brand. A strong brand gives the customer product clarity, increasing the chances customers will make the purchase. This provides a foundation that will only get stronger as the customer comes back again and again to purchase your brand product. This established brand value becomes a benchmark for future purchases by your customers.
Effective corporate branding requires accentuating the qualities and attributes of your company, products and services, differentiating it from your competitor’s. Your brand is your company’s most important asset. In developing effective branding, it is important to define the personality of your brand in the marketplace.

When done correctly, brand definition increase growth and earnings potential. It establishes a clearly defined brand vision for management and employees to follow. This increases the incentive for both groups to further recommit themselves to the effective delivery of the brand to the marketplace. The branding development should include planning that contains internal and external strategies, with the objective of turning your brand into a powerhouse. This branding plan would define:

• Brand Objectives
• Brand Positioning
• Brand Strategy

The perceptions your potential customers have concerning your company and its offerings are crucial to your business success. The key to a successful corporate brand strategy is to have a full understanding of what sets your company apart from its competitors and define these in a definitive way.

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

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