Advantages of a Brand Manager

Discuss about the Brand Manager Advantages and Responsibilities.
 

The steady increase in competition around the world for any given product or service has ensured that just the quality of the product or the price of the product are not enough to make a mark. The concept of branding has hence seen a growth in today’s world to ensure that uniqueness of the product is highlighted in its customer base. Be it a simple logo or a slogan or a product that is identified with the company, branding intends to form emotional bond with customer. Branding helps in significantly increasing the customer base and retention of customers as it highlights what the company is known for (Urde, 2013). Ashraf Homemade Ice-creams have hence seen the possibilities that branding could provide and hence have hired Ahmed, a branding manager who would able to develop an new product and flavor that highlights what Ashraf Homemade Ice-creams stand for.

A brand manager can make major changes to how a company is perceived in the current market. This is the key analysis to be made to understand where the company stands. This analysis done by the brand manager would help in understanding what the company’s strengths are and the key areas it needs to focus on. It also helps in understanding the other possible markets into which the company could penetrate with its existing products or the new products it can develop to target new customers.

Brand managers are also helpful in developing marketing strategies. Since they have an insight of where the company needs to make a mark, advertising based on the target customers can be done. Also, the company would have one person focusing on the development of the brand, this would help in a concentrated development of the brand (Balmer, 2013). Experienced brand managers in particular have the capacity to pool in ideas from their experience and use them for the development of the current company. This would involving remodeling of innovative ideas that have worked in other industries. Since brand managers are particularly trained in this field, the cost of training for a company is negligible. Also, some companies may see a brand manager as a cost, however, compared to the possible sales that a brand manager can fetch in, this cost is insignificant.

In case of the Ahmed below listed are the key responsibilities of a brand manager

1. Understand what Ashraf homemade Ice-cream stands for. The company is known for the high quality innovative products and hence the same has to reflect in the new product being developed (Panigyrakis, 2015).
2. The company already has a significant number of clients, however, increasing competition implies that the retention of the same can be challenging (Thakur, 2012). Hence, Ahmed would have to understand why clients choose the current company over the other company and what changes the client would like. This would highlight the strengths and weakness of the company (Aaker, 2012).
3. Next, Ahmed would have to identify a new target customer base to increase sales keeping in mind not to lose the current market. Understanding the common points of these markets and developing a product for the same by highlights the pros of the company and minimizing the cons is required.
4. Also, Ahmed would have to analyze what the competitors in the current market are doing and how Ashraf is different from others. Using this analysis, bits of competitor’s business strategies can be adopted (Golant, 2012).
5. Post analysis Ahmed would have to come up with a brand plan that is simple, unique and esthetic.
6. Once the plan is developed, he should be able to predict the possible issues that may arise and find ways to minimize the same.
7. The new brand plan has to be informed to every employee to ensure that the uniqueness in highlighted all over.
8. He should make sure that the new brand identity does not erase the original brand identity but rather empowers it
9. Also, he should be able to do all the above in the provided budget.

Conclusion

Choosing a brand manager is an intelligent decisions especially when a company is looking to grow in the current market. A focused trained personnel would be able to analyze the market and come up with ideas that would highlight the brand thereby increasing the sales and enhancing the growth of the company

References

Aaker, D. A., & Joachimsthaler, E. (2012). Brand leadership. Simon and Schuster.

Balmer, J. M. (2013). Corporate brand orientation: What is it? What of it?. Journal of Brand management, 20(9), 723-741.

Golant, B. D. (2012). Bringing the corporate brand to life: The brand manager as practical author. Journal of Brand Management, 20(2), 115-127.

Panigyrakis, G. G., & Veloutsou, C. A. (2015). Brand Manager’s Planning Role for Fast Moving Consumer Good Products. In Global Perspectives in Marketing for the 21st Century (pp. 182-185). Springer International Publishing.

Thakur, S., & Singh, D. R. A. (2012). Brand image, customer satisfaction and loyalty intention: a study in the context of cosmetic product among the people of Central India. EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies, 2(5), 37-50.

Urde, M., Baumgarth, C., & Merrilees, B. (2013). Brand orientation and market orientation—From alternatives to synergy. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), 13-20.