First published in The Business Goa
At
the recently concluded Konkan Fruit Fest we tested our new
positioning of placing many products using the brand name SHAKTI
under a single umbrella. “SHAKTI for your home”. With this
positioning many hitherto disparate products were aligned for the
first time. While SHAKTI water tanks had a very high recognition and
association with the brands values, viz: good quality, right price
and timely delivery. Other products within the SHAKTI stable derived
no such benefit. Infact feedback indicated that customers did not
even associate the Brand with any product except tanks.
The
concept trial was very successful and we learned that just using a
well known brand name without a plan, even if it is your own does not
guarantee transfer of brand value automatically. What we did
essentially was point to the fact that SHAKTI also makes tanks, and
emphasised the other products placing them around a home with the
tank on the top as it is usually placed. In this way we were able to
link the septic tank, the compost bins, dust bins, grease trap and
planters using the line “SHAKTI for your Home”.
Before
we did this we had decided to split our website into two websites,
linked internally. While one set of customers know SHAKTI, they
rarely relate to the Company name GMI Zarhak Moulders. On the other
hand our OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers viz:John
Deere, VOLVO, Putzmiester, Atlas Copco, Godrej etc never refer to our
brand and know only the Company name.
Earlier
searching for our website shaktiindia.com was easy for our home
products customers but the website made no sense to our OEM
customers. This obviously led to confusion. Another aspect kicked in
once a person reached our website, difficult to separate custom
moulded parts which cannot be sold or specifications cannot be given
due to restrictions on one hand and regular products on the other.
Here again we see the complexity caused by brand and company name. We
have decided to address this issue going forward by having two
websites shaktiindia.com and GMIZarhak.com, both linked internally
but each having information relevant to the customer segment it
addresses.
The
aspect of choosing a brand name was peculiar for us as it will be for
everyone who chooses a brand name. We could have used some name
associated with Goa, eg coconut or Maad or Talav or even SEATEX for
that matter but we choose SHAKTI keeping in mind that the name
implies strength/long lasting and is easily recognisable pan India
which would be our long term goal. At the fruit fest there were many
selling wines and pickles without a brand name, how does a customer
who wants a repeat experience find the product later or recognise it
in a shop. One brand name seemed to be associated with a famous
cartoonist given the name and typeface, is there a connection?
For
a start up it would be good if they can consider these lessons right
at the beginning so that like us they do not waste valuable time
before they figure out through experience. The first thing is to
choose a brand name, better in my opinion if the name has some
relevance to the values the brand wants to inculcate. These days it
is advisable to use the internet to ensure your chosen brand name
does not infringe on anyone else’s rights. Decide early if the
brand and company name have to be linked, then design brand
communication accordingly. When launching new products, decide early
if you need new brand name or you will use the existing name and then
tailor brand communication early, biscuit companies are a good
example of using a different brand name for each category of product.
The
bottom line is there is a lot of value in names brand as well as
company, think hard and long early on, so that you enjoy the fruits
for a long time.
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