According to Interbrand Design Forum’s report on “The Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands 2009”, brands are even more important during a recession. The report states that the brand accounts for 25% of the decision to shop at a particular store, and the trend toward large and impersonal retail spaces has been upended by stores with “more emotion, creativity and community.” As a retail jeweler, you have a distinct advantage when it comes to all three; it’s just a matter of capitalizing on them through your branding efforts.
David Peters, Jewelers of America’s resident education and management expert, says you must work hard to brand not only your company, but also its products and services.
Peters suggests the following action items to achieve successful branding:
- Be Consistent: Create a consistent and clearly defined brand identity for your business. As the Interbrand report notes, even as stores evolve to meet changing shopper needs, brand leaders are able to stay consistent and retain their core strengths.
- Get Feedback: Use staff meetings and customer focus groups to clarify the difference in how you perceive your brand and how they perceive your brand.
- Communicate Across All Channels: Incorporate your branding message in all forms of marketing and advertising so that your customers will have accurate expectations.
Interbrand’s top brands provide these additional tips:
- Have Clarity of Purpose: There should be no confusion about the business you’re in and for whom. For example, in the current economic climate you may need to subtly adjust price points to fit the needs of your clients, but that doesn’t mean re-doing your store (and brand) as a place for bargains.
- Surround the Purchase with a Relevant Experience: Your store needs to constantly reiterate the branded feeling you want to customers to experience – whether it be emotion, beauty or elegance. Everything, from the way your store looks to how your staff interacts with shoppers, will add to or diminish the experience.
- Make Good on Your Brand Promise. Whatever your store is promising through your brand, make sure you can deliver it -- or lose your credibility.
Take The Tip:
Click here to read Interbrand’s full report on brand leaders.
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