Branding Strategy
In the last twenty years, enormous technological changes brought about a boom of information, which caused in the lives of the people bombing never experienced by previous generations.
The consequences of this phenomenon resulted in the impacted markets in several ways:
Growth of competition: global economy
Overly segmented markets
- Accelerated life cycles of products
- Changing habits and consumer attitudes
- The information reaching the consumer is such that it is difficult to reach without noise and with clear messages. Obviously, times have changed. The times
- when products are developed, launched and kept it long in the market have disappeared
So what can companies do with their products, if their life cycle is short and they require as much investment in communication, to remain for a long period with acceptable levels of profitability?
The answer is decidedly simple renewal. This means you have to upgrade at all inherent in the product: market, competition, consumer, non-consumer, technology, communication.
The United States conducted a study in which people had to answer about marks to identify different products: 60% of them answered with brands that had more than 50 years in the market.
That was why it needed permanent repositioning in the different life cycles of products in order to have products / services / brands / companies profitable and healthy.
Reposition
When many years ago was taught in universities curve lifecycle of products, was said to have different stages: introduction, growth, maturity and, inevitably, decline and death of the product.
Today companies have a major challenge: ensuring that when you reach the maturity of the product, I can reposition and revitalize so you can stay on the market. The investment was made to gain entry into the market justifies it.
If the position is the location of a company, product or service in the consumer's mind to others, always competitive situation, the repositioning means finding in the consumer's mind a new concept that harmonizes with the above, but that fits the time and circumstances of the market. Consequently, we can be repositioned next to our regular users and access to more new customers.
One of the most important questions to be answered is at what point the repositioning should be addressed. There are several, but we must remain alert for signs that may cause serious damage to products, image and income, and which may serve to make the decision.
Changing market: when it has changed the perception that the consumer of the products in question. His attitude has changed for various reasons, which may be technological, ideological, change of habits and so forth.
For example, in the United States had to adapt the production of big cars to medium burst when the Japanese industry with great success in the market. American consumers accepted the new proposal they were doing, and we had to listen.
Aggiornamento brand / company: often various economic and financial circumstances make companies neglect their products and positioning, blurring on market trends. This has been seen recently in the purchase of companies by other professional and financial capacity to reverse that situation.
When Unilever bought Pond's in Argentina, the brand was outdated with respect to the generic product. The image that she had the no consuming and even the same consumer-product was that of an "old", which had not changed in recent years according to new trends, both in communication and in the product itself . Work was carried out repositioning with new formulas and new products such as marking the market, and today Pond's is one of the leading brands in its price bracket. The repositioning was successful because it wanted to hear what the consumer and non consumer.
Product Focus / brand / service / company: a recurring problem repeatedly is to extend the brand to different products. This causes confusion in the minds of consumers and blurs the concept of brand. That's where you should rethink the strategy to follow, returning to the origins and strengthening the primary concept of the brand. Kodak, for example, is undergoing a process of return to the business of photography after unsuccessful venture into other business areas. Xerox, with its copiers, has returned to its origins.
One could continue listing times and reasons why you should reposition a product / brand / service / company, but there are elements that we must never lose sight.
React to change: if you do not, their future may be negative.
The message of the repositioning will be more clear, precise and effective if it is respectful of what the consumer has in his mind.
It is clear that the repositioning involves a commitment to the consumer, why should have finished a thorough knowledge of their sensitivity and guidelines to follow that path. It should be made so that consumers can adapt and digest the changes you are proposing.
This will, changing things today, we are ready for tomorrow.
