In a discussion with friends and entrepreneurs, someone asked if anyone could explain “Branding” and which is more important, personal branding or product branding. So I said, I’m not an expert; I only have a little experience and knowledge about branding, and I’m sure there are many great experts out there.
I will only provide an explanation in a casual and easy-to-understand manner. I will not provide complex concepts and models. I will also give examples in analogies to make it easier to understand, God willing. This is a personal opinion, and everyone has their own opinion. We ask traders or entrepreneurs what they want to highlight, themselves or their products. But now there is a situation called “Brand Conflict,” where entrepreneurs do not know whether to promote themselves or their products.
The billboard and poster show the face picture as much bigger than the product. Perhaps that’s what their teacher advised. Many want to highlight themselves rather than the product.
In my opinion, we should focus on the product unless our self-asset or value like a singer, actor, or individual who uses themselves as an asset to highlight their value. However, what needs to highlight is because that is the “Value Proposition,” which is the voice and acting. For me, focusing on the product, and strengthening product branding.
Branding is not just about corporate logos and colors. Branding involves the “branding ecosystem” starting from the First Touch Point such as how to answer the phone, how to speak, UX (User Experience) when people step into the store, the store’s smell, rules, etc.
When we are with individuals, entrepreneurs, or a company, we need to diagnose their needs to create a company’s “Brand Vision.” From this “Brand Vision,” will be translated into “Brand Persona,” and “Brand Visual” so that the public or target market can clearly understand what is being conveyed.
And when the company promotes and people see posters, ads, pictures or songs (jingles), there will be a perception in their minds.
When we promote, people see it on social media, and there will be a perception of our product, but they have never tried it. This is what we call “Brand Expectation” or what they feel they have received from using our product or service.
This Brand Expectation will raise the question “Is this product okay?” or “Looks okay” or “Doesn’t look good enough.” And when we promote, we put various “promises” and packages or hopes in posters or FB or IG. This is what we call Brand Promise and Brand Hope. We try to present packages, promotions, and words in copywriting or our narrative story to create “Brand Promise and Brand Hope” so that people are interested. We “promise” something to the public.
And when customers come to our store or take our services or try our products, this is called Brand Experience. So customers will check if the Brand Experience is better than the Brand Promise? If the Brand Promise is more than the Brand Experience, this is called Over Promise and Under Deliver.
If the Brand Experience is better than the Brand Promise, this is called Under Promise and Over Deliver. This is Excellent. An analogy, we go to a shop to repair cloth or clothes or robes, and we ask “when will it be ready?” He said two days, but he knew that it was ready in one day. When he called the next day, he said “Your clothes are ready.” What do we feel? “Wow experience,” we say it’s good.
But there are shops that say things like this; we ask “When will it be ready?” “It will be ready in the afternoon,” but when we go there it’s not ready and we are disappointed.
So branding starts with brand vision, leading to brand positioning, where you want to position your product as ultra-premium, premium, moderate, low-priced, and so on. There must be continuity from the basic branding to the brand experience, and the company will always try to improve this branding ecosystem for self-improvement.
An analogy we can use is going to a roadside stall and ordering iced tea or coffee. The stall owner usually charges us RM2.00 to RM2.50, or maybe RM3.00. If a stall owner charges RM15.00 the next day, it will surely go viral. But why isn’t there any viral news about Starbucks or Coffee Bean charging RM15.00?
It’s because the brand expectation of customers is different. The value of a glass of drink is translated into a brand experience, where paying RM3.00 at the roadside stall is only for the drink, but paying RM15.00 at Starbucks is not only for the drink but for the image, for the “feel-good factor,” for the feeling of “I want to be seen at Starbucks.” So the value proposition by Starbucks has “justified” the RM15.00 and it hasn’t gone viral because Starbucks’ brand positioning is different from that of the roadside stall.
There is no right or wrong in the brand positioning agenda. What is important is that it needs to be aligned to create a suitable “mind game” with the target market.
I will share a little bit of a Hadith that we can see from the perspective of “branding.”
“Verily, the character of the Prophet ﷺ is the Quran.” (Hadith Muslim)
The meaning of the word “Rasullulah” shows the branding of Islam by clearly displaying all of Allah’s commands, and the Prophet is a “Brand Ambassador” of Islam chosen by Allah.
