Brands become stronger if#nbsp;they are focused. As#nbsp;narrower the focus is#nbsp;as#nbsp;better for the brand.
What do#nbsp;you think about Chevrolet? Probably not many things, except probably the fact that they make cars and may be that they are part of#nbsp;GM brand.
Chevrolet produces large rage of#nbsp;very different products from small cars to#nbsp;a#nbsp;luxury and sport cars like Chevrolet Camaro. The brand becomes weaker as#nbsp;it#nbsp;expands and looses focus.
How did it#nbsp;happen with Chevrolet? They put short-term interests ahead of#nbsp;their long term strategy and weakened their brand. In#nbsp;the first place it#nbsp;allowed them to#nbsp;sell more cars, but in#nbsp;just 10 years their sales declined almost twice.
A#nbsp;company brand grows much stronger, when it#nbsp;is#nbsp;focused on#nbsp;something specific or#nbsp;pretty narrow. When it#nbsp;comes to building brand strength is#nbsp;to#nbsp;focus on#nbsp;maintaining absolute consistency over time. Narrow your focus and stick to#nbsp;it. A#nbsp;good example here is#nbsp;Volvo, for decades they were saying solid and reliable mid-class sedans and became a synonym of#nbsp;safety. When they tried to#nbsp;expand to#nbsp;sport and convertible cars, they loosed focus, weakened their brand and finally got bankruped. Their customers missed what they get when they buy a#nbsp;Volvo. The expansion must be#nbsp;only taken when it#nbsp;doesn’t damage a#nbsp;core identity.
Strong brand makes product names synonymous with a#nbsp;common thing or#nbsp;idea. As#nbsp;Tesla became a#nbsp;synonym of electric cars. Or#nbsp;let’s take Walmart as#nbsp;an#nbsp;example. They sell thousand of#nbsp;different things united by#nbsp;a#nbsp;common idea of#nbsp;low prices.
Lots of#nbsp;marketers make a#nbsp;mistake thinking about brand growth using advertising. Those two things are quite separate, because advertising is#nbsp;aiming to#nbsp;maintain brand’s visibility, but it#nbsp;is#nbsp;not effective when you’re building a#nbsp;brand -for this purpose we#nbsp;use publicity. Brands need to#nbsp;attract press coverage and omnipresent in#nbsp;our every day life.
However, we#nbsp;must remember that nothing lasts forever. Once hype is#nbsp;finished, we#nbsp;need to#nbsp;switch gears and that’swhere advertising helps. The purpose of#nbsp;advertising is#nbsp;maintain all or#nbsp;most of#nbsp;the gains brand achieved on#nbsp;the marketplace. Many firms publicly compare their products with others showing that they are better in#nbsp;some aspects than their competitor’s, but in#nbsp;reality it#nbsp;doesn’t motivate customers as#nbsp;they are seeking for the best in#nbsp;class, something superior, not just something which is#nbsp;better.
Remember, a#nbsp;strong brand represents quality. What you can do#nbsp;to#nbsp;grow up#nbsp;your brand is#nbsp;to#nbsp;narrow the focus to#nbsp;a special niche, where customer will get a#nbsp;feeling that you’re the best of#nbsp;the best. Some of#nbsp;the examples might be#nbsp;Rolex or Ferrari.
Many brands associate themselves with a#nbsp;single concept or#nbsp;detail. For instance, Mercedes-Benz is#nbsp;prestigious, even itis not build to#nbsp;last forever (Take your time to#nbsp;read my#nbsp;thought on#nbsp;Planned Obsolescence), but some others concentrate ontheir brand’s best attributes, but what is#nbsp;really matters is#nbsp;making your brand a#nbsp;synonym of#nbsp;something which distinguish you from others.
Another good example from automotive world is#nbsp;Toyota which is#nbsp;a#nbsp;synonym of#nbsp;reliability and Honda sticks to#nbsp;their "well engineered". There is#nbsp;only better option when your brand is#nbsp;a#nbsp;word which stands in#nbsp;for a#nbsp;type of product. Like Google it#nbsp;or#nbsp;Kleenex. In#nbsp;most of#nbsp;the cases customers don’t care about who delivering their product, they care about values and benefits they obtain in#nbsp;exchange to#nbsp;their money.