Jeff Bezos once postulated that “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”
In this journey we will all agree that they are various complexities that follow operations of a successful entrepreneurial business.
Correspondingly, an entrepreneurial business has its brand personality as perceived by the market(s) it currently serve and those to come in the future.
As inspired by the thrust of this edition, through some experiences in various consultancies made so far we have noted that connection between brand management and entrepreneurship is often perceived as complex and exclusive.
However, we assure you that it's a practical process of building from within and outside.
Mostly African SMEs/entrepreneurs need to see these two elements as integrated and part of their management responsibilities rather than as an afterthought or a consultant's prerogative. Understanding this integration can lead to tangible benefits for sustainable growth.
In our instalments through this Pan-African business development column, we are inspired by the stories of local (African) SMEs that emerge from African soils and scaled huddles to evolve into brands that are part of the broader global community product portfolio ecosystem.
These success stories, such as Dangote Holdings of Nigeria, Econet, and Wireless of Zimbabwe, among others, are a testament to the potential and power of African entrepreneurship. They should serve as a source of pride and motivation for all African SMEs and entrepreneurs.
There is also an assumption that when the enterprise is still start-up or medium, it is too small to craft a competitive brand strategy.
One that can see the established brand growing as the SME evolves or the brand strength anchoring the SME’s growth trajectory.
In most instances, brand management is deemed wasteful, as the company is still small and struggling to strike an existential equilibrium.
Moreover, it’s also taken less seriously in some large-scale entities that confuse brand management with public relations, advertising and sales promotion.
Going forward we should give each of these marketing cogs their space rather than covering them with the same blanket.
In most of the contexts, their continent, just like the broader global economies, is in recession due to various shocks at the international level ranging from strife, armed conflicts, prolonged years of pandemics and endemics, climate-induced famine and the general rise in the levels of societal inequities spearheaded by high levels of unemployment, poverty and other isms.
As a way forward in these challenging contexts, it's crucial to remember that brand management is not a luxury but a necessity.
Even when companies and SMEs are fixated on the bottom line, the first lines of casualties are marketing and brand management budgets.
It's essential to stay committed to brand management to ensure long-term success.
Having noted the preceding as a platform for pragmatic advice to entrepreneurs, we proffer six strategic insights on the value of brand strategy to entrepreneurs to bolster SMEs from their current state into global brand players like those before them and those that shall emerge as their successors.
These six strategic issues are:
- Make wise decisions for your brand strategy.
- A destination is described in a brand strategy.
- Alignment promotes unity among the team
- Brand strategy is inside – outward-centred
- Adapt your brand to the needs of the various audiences.
- A strong brand strategy unlocks endless opportunities
Make wise decisions for your brand strategy.
The company/SME has the role and responsibility of defining the brand. Here brand ownership is critical.
Remember we said that one of the fundamental factors for brand success is uniqueness.
This is solely because people know the brand better than anyone else. How the brand will emerge and compete in the market must be a deliberate effort of the SME itself.
This is a serious responsibility and role that cannot be delegated to a consultant or other third parties.
There is an imperative need to appreciate this fact to avoid the brand being defined elsewhere and not fully representing its essence.
On numerous occasions where we assist entities with the brand strategy, we get the surprising reality that most senior and general-level employees believe that we must draft a plan and bring it for discussion for their validation.
Where the consultants come from, it is to engage with the team better to capture their view and definition of their brand and help in packaging it.
This does not entail the consultants writing the brand strategy from their experience and knowledge since that knowledge fails to understand a specific brand needs as defined by the targeted markets.
Brand strategy defines the destination
The brand strategy helps the SMEs envision their collective destination. Where various segments need to be engaged before a louder and wider publicity of the brand.
This is a critical process as it paints a graphical picture that pulls the multiplicity of stakeholders towards that centre, which is graphically defined in the brand strategy.
This will help in dining the road/route signposts, the speed with which we will be travelling, engagement with the critical stakeholders, and building consensus on the destination so that all have a broad-based understanding of the vision.
Failure to do this the brand will not have takers at all.
Alignment promotes unity among the team
If the entire team's vision and soul of the brand are clear and coherent, the strategic objectives will likely be achieved.
If the finance director is alive to the essence of Marketing, seeking certain budget lines, which shapes informed product/service development in the production team and the human resources team seeking the strategic fit in the talent identification, recruitment and placement processes.
In this regard, the brand strategy will be the centre pivot in gluing the strategic pillars together and delivering efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy at the business model level.
Brand strategy is inside-outward-centred
As highlighted earlier, a well-designed brandy strategy builds without facing outward.
The document's first clients are the internal stakeholders, who are charged with driving its success and influencing their immediate boundary lines, specifically those of stakeholders and customers.
Adapt your brand to the needs of the various audiences
At the centre of the brand strategy is the ability to understand that you only have one brand that serves multiple stakeholders and their needs must be attended to through the very same brand without one of them feeling neglected, as it affects the brand positioning processes.
Strong brand strategy unlocks endless opportunities
A competitive brand strategy opens the organisation to endless opportunities and possibilities, eliminating hindrances that prevent the brand and customers from engaging and co-creating the evolving brand.
The strategy will consolidate the various brand touchpoints to continuously be part of the customer’s conversations and the purchase journey.
Our hope is that these six strategic pointers will inspire our current and future crop of entrepreneurs to scale the brands upstream, break the narratives of Africa as a dark continent, and spotlight the innovation, creativity, and leadership abundantly evident in the business and all facets of the continent.
Till then, sleep, eat, drink, and walk branding!
- *Dr Farai Chigora is a businessman and academic. He is a senior lecturer at the Africa University’s College of Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance. Also a global business modelling practitioner.
- His doctoral research focused on business administration (destination marketing and branding major, Ukzn, SA). He is into agribusiness and consults for many companies in Zimbabwe and Africa.
- He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted for feedback and business at fariechigora@gmail.com, www.fachip.co.zw, WhatsApp mobile: +263772886871.
- *Dr Tabani Moyo is an extra-ordinary researcher with the University of North West, South Africa’s Social Transformation School. He holds doctorate in business administration (research focus on new media and corporate reputation management, UKZN), he is a chartered marketer, fellow CIM, communications and reputation management expert based in Harare. He can be contacted at moyojz@gmail.com @TabaniMoyo (Twitter)