5 different perspectives
Brand-oriented entrepreneurs and companies that understand and embrace branding as a leadership approach recognize today, especially in economically challenging times, that brand work and management are ideally suited as growth drivers. Why is this? The pandemic is – hopefully – coming to an end this year. COVID-19 is becoming endemic, and we will once again adapt to a changed reality. In doing so, we will undoubtedly regain a significant degree of quality of life. What does this mean for our brands?
Perspective 1: Positioning and Differentiating
We all know that successful companies have a clear idea of what makes them unique, what they do better than the competition, and where they can leverage a competitive advantage (innovation, product, technology, business model, time, customer service, etc.) in the market. They know what makes them the first choice in the market and in the minds of customers. Not just for a limited time, but sustainably. In other words, they are clearly positioned and differentiated (for example, Cree Buildings focused on a completely new timber-hybrid construction system from the outset, clearly positioning itself in the industry and differentiating itself from the competition; source: www.creebuildings.com).
Perspective 2: Think from the market's perspective and offer customer experiences
This approach – in modern parlance, customer-centric – has been repeatedly cited by both academics and practitioners for several years as another key success factor. Or, simply put, constantly keeping your finger on the pulse, recognizing early on what customer needs are and how to meet or even exceed those needs with your own offerings. How to truly delight customers at the most diverse touchpoints, both analog and digital. Today, you have to keep the customer in mind in everything you do, in all processes and supply chains (Cree Buildings offers a cooperation model for construction companies, enabling them to transfer knowledge and skills to their local partners).
Perspective 3: Innovate and bring to market
Another starting point that can lead to growth is innovation – in technology or new products, in services, in processes or procedures, in addressing new customer groups or industries, in new pricing models, or even in completely new business logics and models. Genuine innovations also have the potential to create entirely new markets for the first time (Cree's visionary, highly innovative, and sustainable timber-hybrid building system uses resources efficiently and also offers great design freedom for different customer groups).
Perspective 4: Showing attitude and living values
A clear entrepreneurial spirit, deeply rooted within the company, is crucial for business success – especially in challenging (crisis) times. This spirit is actively practiced and consistently communicated both internally and externally. This is where the company's own employees come into play; their positive attitude towards the company, their dedication, and their expertise are essential for achieving top performance. Values guide daily actions and provide clear orientation for all stakeholders. (Cree's strategy of collaboration and the involvement of all stakeholders from the outset leads to higher quality, speed, and sustainability.).
Perspective 5: analog and digital
Whether companies conduct their business analogously or digitally is no longer a question. Digitalization has shown us how entire industries can reinvent themselves and generate growth. Analog, digital, and ideally agile – in any case, networked – is how companies are successfully managed today (The Cree Community is a digital platform and ecosystem for knowledge exchange, further development, and the overall use of resources).
These and other areas of action and success factors can sustainably promote the growth of companies. And these perspectives are precisely the essence of holistic brand management. Without clear positioning, without placing customers at the center of considerations, without sustainable innovations, without defining values, and without coordinated analog and digital business logics, there is no brand. Thus, it can be confidently stated that brand management is synonymous with corporate management and therefore a growth driver with depth and success. The first step towards this is to elevate the brand from the depths of marketing and advertising to the executive suites and C-level management. Cree Buildings recognized and implemented this long ago.