A brand management strategy is used to build, enhance and protect a brand.

All companies should have a brand management strategy to build, enhance, and protect their reputation.

For today’s session, we will take a closer look at brand reputation management, the dos and don’ts, and how you can enhance your brand reputation using different approaches.

What is a brand management strategy?

The perception of a brand can be imperative for your business. A brand management strategy is used for managing your brand to make sure it’s perceived in the best possible way by all stakeholders.

Brand and reputation management strategies vary from company to company, but key components include building a brand identity and doing brand governance work such as maintenance and enhancement of the brand.

Why it’s important to do brand strategy management

A brand is one of the most valuable assets a company can have. That’s why it’s important to manage it. While some companies come up with a name and logo and call it a day, other companies continuously work with their brand to maintain it, enhance it and prevent it from reputational risks.

Here’s three reasons why you should have a brand management strategy:

1. Managing a brand can build trust
   With a brand management strategy, you can maintain and enhance your brand to make sure it’s perceived as trustworthy by your customer base. That’s important for the bottom line – 81% of consumers need to trust a brand to consider buying, according to a 2019 Edelman study.
2. Brand management can lead to a higher valuation
   Brand value may be difficult to measure, but it’s an asset that can increase overall company value. Apple is the most valuable brand in the world, and Interbrand estimates the value of the Apple brand to be more than $400 billion – a significant portion of the company’s $3 trillion valuation.
3. Be prepared for crises
   Companies with strong brand strategy management may have it easier in times of hardship. Whether it’s an economic downturn or a reputational incident, with the right brand governance measures in place, brands can manage their way through tough times and come out stronger.

Risks of not having a brand management strategy

While there’s potential benefits to having a brand management strategy, there’s risks to not having one.

1. Brand value can decrease
   Your brand is one of your most important assets, but the value can diminish if the brand is not tended to. Brands have to continuously do brand maintenance and enhancement to stay relevant and keep up with competition.
2. Inconsistent brand identity
   Lack of an effective brand and reputation management strategy can lead to inconsistent branding which can be perceived as unprofessional by potential and existing customers.
3. Vulnerability to reputational threats
   Loose or non-existent management that does not have brand governance and crisis response strategies in place can open a brand up to reputational risk. Threats can come from anywhere, and without mitigating the risk, a brand will be more vulnerable and less agile in its crisis response.

Core elements of a brand management strategy

There are many different brand management strategies. However, they all share key aspects. By learning about the different components, you will be well-equipped to develop and implement your own brand management strategy, so let’s take a closer look at core elements of brand management.

Case: Why Tesla’s brand value has skyrocketed

According to a study conducted by Interbrand, Tesla experienced the highest brand value growth of any company when it tripled the value of its brand to $36 billion. To understand why Tesla’s brand is so valuable, it’s crucial to look at the key elements of their business. Tesla is borrowing ideas from the most valuable company in the world – Apple. Both Apple and Tesla have management strategy elements in common that are contributing factors to the value growth both brands are experiencing.

1. Clean identity
   Apple’s name and logo is imprinted into our minds. This is mainly due to their clean, minimalistic identity that makes their brand easy to recognize. Tesla has read the playbook and adopted Apple’s approach to branding and developed their own clean visual identity.
2. Consistent branding
   You will always meet Apple’s and Tesla’s brands in a consistent manner, both in the digital and in the physical world, and on everything from products to advertisements. This is because these companies know that brand recognition is important to get a competitive advantage.
3. Innovative product
   Apple and Tesla are both incredibly innovative in their approach to product development and business in general. Innovation is something that excites people and makes them like your brand which creates the foundation for a strong management strategy.
4. Values and purpose
   Apple’s vision statement is “To create the best products on earth, and to leave the world better than we found it” while Tesla’s is to help the world transition to a sustainable economy. Both companies have ambitious goals on behalf of humanity, and they are demonstrating that they are practicing what they preach, making customers want to support their work.

How to implement a brand management strategy

Implementing a brand management strategy entails setting up processes and procedures for building brand reputation, maintaining compliance and consistency, enhancing your brand to stay relevant, and mitigating reputational risks that could cause damage to the brand. 

In a digital society, online brand reputation management is important for any business. However, online brand management services vary in how powerful they are and how much they cost. Which tools to use depends on the size of your company and the resources you have available.

Templafy: The go-to choice for brand management

Templafy is a leading platform for enterprises to manage their brands. With centralized asset management, Templafy enables enterprises to easily manage all of their branding assets in once place. This ensures that all employees are always using the most up-to-date company-approved brand material.

Additionally, with a platform like Templafy, you can mitigate reputational risk through brand compliance and rest assured that all content and documents are in line with legal and branding guidelines.

Implement a brand management strategy with Templafy 

Your brand is one of your most important assets – it should be treated that way. Get onboarded on a platform where you can centrally manage all of your branding assets to ensure consistency and compliance and prevent reputational damage. Start managing your brand – schedule a demo today!