BRANDED MEANS… INTEGRITY?

Imagine a brand with high and mighty promises about its benefits but at the end of the day, doesn’t deliver them. Its customers would automatically feel disappointed and cheated, and they would most likely to wonder if they should give the brand a second chance or remove it from their shopping lists.

Keeping and delivering brand promises are crucial in building strong customer-brand relationships. If such integrity cannot be established by a brand, it will not be able to withstand today’s competitive market. Even friendships are built on trust and honesty. Integrity is one of the most important ingredients to ensure the long-term success of a brand. Without integrity, the brand may not survive even with a lot of money and time invested. A brand should know that promises that cannot be delivered should not have been made in the first place. On the other hand, a brand that builds integrity into its brand reputation can expect great Return On Investment (ROI) as well as consumer recognition.

Shangri-La, a prominent Hong Kong-based hotel and resort chain in the world has a proven track record of being one of the most respected and prestigious hotel management companies. And, in more than three decades of its service, Shangri-La has long understood that integrity is the key to success. That’s why Shangri-La has striven hard to deliver the best hospitality services to its customers all over the world. Shangri-La’s mission to delight its customers each and every time as part of its brand promise is executed by learning what its customers want and going all out to provide beyond their expectations. This in return has made Shangri-La a trusted and reliable brand whilst it builds great customer-brand relationships and brand loyalty. In recognition of its great commitment to hospitality, Shangri-La has won numerous international awards over the years. Among the awards recently won were the “Best Regional Hotel Chain" and "Best New Spa" for CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok at the 16th Annual TTG Travel Awards ceremony in October (www.shangri-la.com).

Today’s generation of consumers are media-savvy and sceptical. They know what they want and their rights as consumers. They too are not easily persuaded to purchase what they don’t believe in. Consumers can sense the lack of integrity from miles away and any distrust would not get them near the brand.

Of course, it’s even harder for a brand without differentiated attributes to get close to consumers’ shopping radar. Thus, it is important that a brand should have a distinct brand identity, brand personality, brand elements, Unique Selling Propositions (USP) and Emotional Selling Propositions (ESP) for the right target market in order to be on the highway of success. All these are part of branding, the process that ensures a brand’s success and long-term survival in an ever-changing market.

Brand differentiation distinguishes a brand from its competitors. Brand building helps a brand to grow noticeably in the minds of the target market. A brand that continuously delivers its brand promises will earn itself respect and trust – the foundation to greater customer-brand relationships. Eu Yan Sang, a medical hall from Gopeng, Perak has been selling traditional Chinese medical herbs for health benefits for more than 120 years. It started as a small business selling Chinese herbs and medicines to help local tin miners improve their health and well being. Over the years, Eu Yan Sang has grown and evolved alongside its consumers, providing and innovating certain medical herbs into ready-made products for their convenience, such as Eu Yan Sang’s flagship Bak Fung Pill (www.euyansang.com.sg). As Eu Yan Sang successfully expands its network in Malaysia, word of mouth has helped to convey trust and reliability from one consumer to another. Brand integrity has helped grow Eu Yan Sang beyond Malaysian shores and into Singapore, Hong Kong and China markets. With its on-going efforts to provide the best quality in its products whilst positioning itself as a trusted brand, Eu Yan Sang aims to be the largest Chinese medical herbs retailer in the world.

To build a successful brand, always know who the consumers are, how to be different from the competitors and deliver more than expected of the brand promise which will build a better brand reputation. A brand that earns trust, respect and loyalty from its consumers can be sure of long-term success and great profit. Never should a brand jeopardise its integrity for profit alone because at the end of the day, consumers are the ones who build or break a brand’s success in the market.

To build brand integrity,
talk2us@peopalove.com or call
+604-2288 696.