Merits of Brand Flexibility

How flexible is your brand? Is your brand able to meet changing consumer needs? Is your brand still relevant to your customers today? Is your brand shrinking or growing? These are probably burning questions brand managers and owners face. The best way to measure brand flexibility is survival-ability.

Brand flexibility is not about changing brand proposition because of changing trends or tastes etc. A brand needs a grounded promise. Brand flexibility is not changing that core proposition. Will Starbucks ever set up a dedicated juice bar counter during hot summer months? Quite possibly but selling dark roasted coffee is what Starbucks as a brand stands for but they are flexible enough to incorporate non coffee (fruity blends) and seasonal treats in their product mix. Toffee nut latte during Christmas period is my absolute favourite!

Brand flexibility is about staying relevant in order to survive tough compeition.

A defeated tune
Sembawang Music Centre is bringing down its shutters after years in the retail mall scene. Sembawang sells music just like That CD Shop and Gramophone but the latter two survive despite declining CD sales. These survivors have their own ways of selling music. Gramophone takes on a mega store approach that sells CD, DVDs, Blu-Rays, earphones, speakers and even PC accessories. Gramophone recognizes consumer needs for a one-stop supermarket shopping experience. Whereas, That CD Shop fuses sexy (strictly all female sales team) with their own private label music called High Society. That CD Shop builds their own discerning music followers (High Society Tribe, complete with a dedicated website), who appreciate their handpicked compilation, complete with in-store eye candy. Unfortunately, Sembawang failed the flexibility test to evolve. 'Neighborhood-style' music stores simply cannot cut it in retail malls anymore.

Inflexible brands expect customers to listen and follow. What if customers don’t? Tribes get disbanded to join others because there is always another one round the corner that feels and looks better. Profit goes where your tribes go. SMEs in Singapore are more vulnerable. On the bright side, SMEs do have lighter feet to make relatively fast turnaround or brand revamps. Big brands are huge oil tankers, takes longer time to change directions. Being small might not be all that bad.

Is your brand tuned for flexibility to relate and adapt? Building flexible brands start with integrative thinking with your customers. Be relevant; be flexible in your branding.

Please leave your comments, if any.