Branding: instructions for use
One of the most frequent tips given to entrepreneurs by consulting and advertising agencies is related to building and developing a brand. Strong and successful brands are a clear guideline, a quality guarantee for the consumer, on the one hand, and a successful investment asset for the company, on the other. In the fashion industry, especially in the current economic conditions, a successful brand building policy is also yielding results.
The world of communications is becoming more complicated than ever - we receive information from different sources at the same time and are forced to build our own system of trust in them. The modern consumer is spoiled and disoriented at the same time, and at the same time he begins to actively influence the policy of companies: the information received moves both from the seller to the consumer and from the consumer to the seller. The globalization of markets has yielded results, and according to the apt definition of one of the authors of the research, teenagers in Japan and Europe have much more in common in behavior and brand choice than the same teenager and his parents in the same country.
Do consumers continue to trust the promises of brands? Yes and no. According to the annual Global Luxury Retail survey conducted by CBRE, history and authenticity are still extremely important for the consumer of luxury goods. Those companies that continue to bet on this, communicate with the consumer, telling the story of the creation of their iconic products, win: in an era of trust deficit, such information is more than valuable.
On the other hand, the consumer today easily and confidently switches to other brands or follows the mix-nmatch principle, mixing products of well-known luxury mass-market brands and no name products in his wardrobe. And the products of luxury brands are becoming more affordable. A significant contribution to the development of the luxury segment is also made by new buyers for the traditional markets of Europe and America: tourists from Arab and Asian countries are coming to replace Russians. And if retailers in Europe and America have already got used to the tastes of Russian buyers and even prepared, then the new situation forces them to act according to circumstances.
The main conclusions that retailers have made for themselves and which are confirmed by the CBRE research data can be used in the strategy of not only global, but also Russian brands and designer brands. Firstly, new consumers of luxury goods care less about the status and prestige associated with the conscious choice of a particular brand, but they, as before, care about the quality and sign of products. Secondly, the researchers note, there is a "reverse effect of the showroom".;: a new consumer prefers to look and choose an item online before buying it in a boutique. And thirdly, the future belongs to a well-balanced online and offline presence system, but at the same time service requirements remain a key topic. It is the exceptional service that customers are waiting for that remains the main driving force of the luxury brand.
IrinaKarimova
Photo: Shutterstock.com
