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Recession, meltdown, slowdown, economic doom, downturn, stagnation - whatever you may call it, is the best time to invest in branding. Why? Well, when money is tight people tend to cling to their wallet. They think twice before spending their hard-earned money and thus they intensely study a product now, more than ever. From branding perspective this thinking helps in brand building. So, think strategically and work towards to make your brand more visible now.
Positioning Your Brand
A brand is the face of your company. It represents the services that your company promises. What comes to your mind when you think of branding? An attractive logo, a catchphrase? If brand positioning is done correctly it can catapult your business to new heights. Thus, positioning a brand is very important in terms of gaining people's confidence and winning the brand race. Brand positioning is a must in recession because:
* Expresses your uniqueness
* Increases the value of your brand
* Makes your brand widely visible
Once your brand is widely accepted, people will defend it when it is at stake.
Brand Identity and Brand Awareness
Definition of brand identity states 'how you want the consumer to perceive your product or your brand'. Creating brand identity and increasing brand awareness is a step-by-step procedure.
1. Have a clear idea of your brand and research on brand image.
2. Keep aside your personal likes and dislikes and focus on the objective of the company.
3. Design a unique identity for your brand keeping in mind your goals, audience, and how different you are from others.
Brand identity and brand awareness goes hand in hand. Be conscious and design your brand image intelligently, analyze the market and learn about what market leaders do and what mistakes they have made in past and how they recovered. Finally, bolster your brand message at every single opportunity you get.
Axing Marketing Budget - Bad Idea
In tough economic times, everyone is looking for ways to cut down costs; however, it is advisable that you resist slashing the marketing budget, the reason being 'Visibility Loss'. If you stop marketing you will lose visibility and if you lose visibility you lose your market share. Remember, when out of sight you are out of mind. Thus instead of cutting marketing costs, think of cost-effective ideas to stay top-of-mind. Branding during recession is essential because:
* It saves time of your sales department and decreases you sales and recruiting costs
* It helps to stay on top-of-mind with increased visibility
* Increases brand awareness
* Educates clients and prospects on new ways to use your services
Discounting battle is a no-win battle. Ideally, the brand that avoids discounting emerges stronger as the brand equity of the competitors has faded away due to heavy rebate.
Winning the Brand Race
It takes courage and sometimes changes in your business strategy to become a winner. Now is the time to revise and improvise your business strategies.
1. Educate your employees on core brand values
Your employees are your best brand ambassador. Ensure that they understand your brand inside out and convey your brand values to others.
2. Don't slash prices
Don't panic, economy will recover. So don't cut prices to attract clients. Cutting prices depreciates your brand and may cause irreparable damages.
3. Don't compromise on quality
Now is the time to find clients who will shop for the quality you provide. Hence, instead of slashing prices concentrate on improving the quality.
4. Nurture your customers
Send e-newsletters, postcards, emails to build customer loyalty. Remind them of your products and services and stay top-of-mind.
Recession is not eternal. This temporary phase will end and market will pick up again. Remember, recession is not permanent but brand is. Therefore don't take decisions which may have adverse effects on your brand. However, if someone is selling a better service at a lower price then you have think seriously to offer a permanent discount or add value to your brand. Think strategically to make your brand stay for a long time. Tough times don't last but tough brands do.