Build and protect business brand perception to increase profitability

According to a recent study at least 25 per cent of the overall value of a business is influenced by its reputation, that is, the perception that customers have of your company.

I will use an example. Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his entourage visited Kenyatta Market in Nairobi and ate lunch at a certain butchery, despite there being many eateries at the market.

It is believed that the butchery was picked out due to its perception as a clean and neat out of the numerous other establishments there. The public perception of this butchery influenced the choice.

This simple principle also applies to brands. A brand that is well perceived will have a higher value and profitability than a poorly perceived peer.

In fact, some brands are so well perceived by the public that they form the generic name for products in the same class. When I was growing up, we called all biro pens “ bic” notwithstanding what brand the biro pen was. Bic became synonymous with biro pens.

Some products have such a good perception that they end up being part of a language. Some commonly recognised English words, were actually derived from brands. This illustrates how important brand perception is to a business.

Perception is not only applicable to businesses and products but is also to personal branding. As a professional, for example, how does your target market perceive you?

Many celebrities have been able to leverage on this to the point that their brand is desired for product endorsements.

When it comes to personal branding, I would advise the professional to focus on appealing to their targets. The old adage “you cannot please everybody” would apply in this strategy.

For example, if you are an artiste who sings a certain genre, your music may appeal to one class of people yet be totally offensive to others. It is, therefore, important in brand perception to understand who your target is and focus on that target. Despite the importance of brand perception, a lot of businesses do not leverage on it to increase profitability.

Experts argue you can influence brand perception and therefore increase profitability. It is advisable to have a strategy that defines your desired brand. If it is a business define the type of product and services you offer and what reputation you would want them to have.

As a professional define your services and the reputation you would want associated with you. Thereafter, measure your current brand perception to know what people say about your products or services.

This can be done through customer reviews, tools such as Google search, social media and sites such as brand watch. For larger brands you may need to do a market research.

It is important to understand your target, especially by finding out what influences their perception, then actively shift your strategy to suit their expectations.

According to Socrates “a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear.” In some cases simple steps such as the way you dress, business location and speech influence perception and profitability.

You should have a proper communication strategy and hire experts to manage your brand. It is important to protect your brand through intellectual property. A protected brand is better perceived than an unprotected one.

Trademarks help build and maintain reputation. You can also get standard certification marks to verify that your products meet the regulated standard.

It is good to undertake an intellectual property audit to value your brand professionally so as to know how much in monetary terms your brand is worth.

Such a valuation raises the book value of your as intellectual property is an intangible asset of your business just as goodwill is.
Ms Mputhia is founder of C Mputhia Advocates. Email: [email protected].