On realising the full potential of your brand

Managing director of Landor & Fitch India, Lulu Raghavan, describes how being brand-led can drive extraordinary value for your business.

Have you been frustrated because your customers don’t perceive you in the unique way that you see your brand? Are your achievements not reflected in the stories being told about you? Are your employees not as fired-up and energised as you’d like them to be? Are you seeing emerging ESG imperatives as a huge burden instead of as an opportunity?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then perhaps you are not using brand to its full potential to drive value for your organisation.

Often, brand is understood as logos, labels and colours. When viewed this way, the scope of brand is limited to marketing communications. Its sphere of influence is minimal.

What if you saw brand as a platform for action? Think of it as the meaning you want to be associated with or the story you want to tell all stakeholders which has to be manifested in everything you do from the culture you cultivate for your employees, the products and services you develop, the experiences you create for your customers, the tone and manner of your communications, and even the lens through which you see the emerging ESG opportunity.

When viewed this way, brand management becomes the management of meaning across the organisation. You put on the hat of ‘brand-led’ to drive all your efforts across the spectrum of business activities.

Brand-led culture.

How might your purpose inspire stories, symbols and rituals to create a unique culture that attracts top talent and fully engages current employees?

Brand-led experiences.

How might the meaning of your brand and its personality help you deliver above and beyond generic physical and online customer experiences?

Brand-led innovation.

How might your brand attributes help you in choosing the right innovations that are not just relevant but also differentiated, to create customer love and build brand equity and brand value?

Brand-led sustainability.

How might you use the lens of your brand to rise above sustainability compliance and create competitive advantage through your sustainability initiatives?

Brand-led communications.

How might the purpose, positioning and personality of your brand shine through brightly in all your communications?

When you are brand-led, you are unshackling your brand and giving it the opportunity to add extraordinary value to your business. Greater relevance, greater differentiation, greater momentum – all leading to greater brand strength which correlates with market share. Our research shows that a 3% increase in brand strength translates into an average 1% increase in market share. Additionally, relevance is highly predictive of current performance and differentiation is highly predictive of future growth potential.

Put on the brand-led hat and see how brand-led business transformation can help you achieve greater business growth.