Does your brand actually matter anymore?

Summit Panel

In a world of free flowing information, is your brand still relevant?

Ashish Braganza,  director of global business intelligence at Lenovo, thinks that developing a brand is key. With  a minor presence in North America, they have seen the struggles of pushing into the market, but their development in has paid off.

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By having a longer lead time before any results are seen, it can be harder to prove that the money is well spent. However the return is far greater, as they work through the analytics, they have found that they can expect a 12X  return on investment with brand marketing.

With the longer gestation period,  the ROI can be difficult to show, but Braganza knows of the power of a brand. He states, “Paid social media we see a lower conversion rate as opposed to organic social media, so how do we foster those organic interactions and actually drive the brand thorough those organic interactions?”

Brian Gress, Vice president of CRM at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, believes that your brand tells the story of who you are. It is through the brand they formed at the Cosmopolitan that has kept it going so well, helping it’s rating as the best hotel by Gogobot, keeping customers coming back and attracting new fans- which you can do inclusively.

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This is not a new idea- Branding and brand images have been around for a long time.

So what has changed in brand marketing over the years?  Data. With all of this data flowing in, companies are able to customize the focus on their customer modeling groups and target them directly for whatever stage of the buying process they are in. Data is important in understanding the customers, what they like, and who they are. It allows the companies to evolve their product, their brand and their communication, making them stronger.

With a large increase of data coming in, companies are able to tailor the customer experiences to fit the customers. It is with this understanding that these companies are tuning their brands to fit the needs and expectations of their customer base, but the data doesn’t have all the answers.

In the era of online buying and selling, it’s increasingly difficult for companies to be able to offer the personal one on one service that they have been able to offer in store, this data is essential in forming the customers experience and help them to feel a connection even when not seeing them in person.

The ultimate goal is “Can we make the experience a little better?” says Ryan Bonifacino, Vice President of Digital Strategy for Alex and Ani.

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Businesses must make sure to use the available resources to optimize the experience for the user. The key is the integration of the knowledge that is gathered through data into the the way the company is run.

By identifying the needs of their customers and asking the right questions, companies are able to tailor the individual experiences for the customers and in time turn those customers into brand advocates, spreading their passion for the brand and helping to continue to grow the brand through a more powerful organic reach.

Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads.  He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations.You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel.You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.