By EZE, Kenneth

While many believe that marketing can confer high quality on products or services, due to its abilities to portray the products or services as being high quality, it does not confer quality.

In today’s reality, brand marketing communications must show proof-points for the perception they labour to build for products or services.

Here are some pointers that can help products or services attain gold standard.

Advertise 

Adverts are good. Depicting quality to the public has become essential in the bid to win them over by means of articulately planned and meticulously implemented communication strategies.

In the strict sense, gaining positive mindshare for products or services is most likely attainable with the tools of professional planning and execution, riding on the wings of division of labour.

For instance, while product or service quality might be down to the ‘eye of the beholder’, it is common knowledge that majority often stand together on these issues based on personal experiences blended with word-of-mouth.

Choice of Words, Phrases

Consider the slant, “high quality” against “premium” or “unparalleled.” While high quality tends to place a product or service among others, premium or unparalleled moves to stand the product or service out as primus inter pares.

This helps to distinguish products and services in the minds of consumers.

Words, phrases or slogans that stick to the minds of people and endear the service or product to the people.

A good example is MTN’s “What are we doing today?” This tends to inspire or motivate people, thereby triggering self-confidence.

Though the aim is to sell the brand, the communication comes through as “wake up and go for it” for the populace. This has the potential of endearing people to the brand and planting the quality of the brand in the public psyche.

Name Aptly

It is important to weigh things up before including “high quality” in the name or tagline. Rather, it is more advisable to imply quality when naming products or services.

Company names that stick to the psyche of the populace tend to popularise the companies and subsequently their products.

The name, Airtel, for instance speaks to the industry in which it operates. In the same vein, Glo Mobile is also apt, particularly given the ambition being shown by the brand.

In the financial services sector, First Bank of Nigeria Plc’s claim “truly the first”, is something that can confer brand recall.

Clearly Identify, Speak to Audience

The branding nugget that “you cannot be all things to all men,” dictates that each service or product should clearly identify and target a segment of the populace to serve.

A product or service for mother and child for instance, should bear this in mind in product design and packaging, as well as campaign design and execution.

This would also inform the language, images, platforms, locations and periods of exposure of communication materials.

For instance, a product or service targeting the upper-class should pursue exposures at Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki for instance, instead of Ajegunle, Ajangbadi or Oshodi.

Similarly, it would serve a product aiming to show itself as premium quality to communicate in “Queens English” instead of colloquial, street, or native (Pigin) English, as some products or services tend to do.

Vivid Communications

It is important to present verifiable claims of quality with a peep into strong points. This should trigger curiosity of the public and strengthen engagement. This is sure to engender word-of-mouth and necessary bonding with the populace.

As much as possible, show the features that mark your product or service out. If a product is more expensive to produce than rivals, that might be a sufficient reason to sell at a higher rate, but the onus of adducing evidence is on the product or service owners.

Need I add that this claim must be seen reflecting on the product’s quality, else, the ploy might backfire. It must not be questionable, else, competitors will cash in on the loopholes.

Strong Visuals, Images or Photography

The difference between a mobile devise snapshot and a professional shot can not be understated. People can see through a high-resolution and a low-resolution file. Low-resolution photos or images indicate that a product or service is struggling or at most running on a tiny budget.

The feeling of a tiny budget sparks-off low quality. The choice of printer is equally as important as the choice of photographer.

Commit to a Niche

Bear in mind that the upper market segment is not particularly pocket friendly. Unparalleled services or products are aimed at the top – at the buyers with deep pockets.

“Quality”, “Inexpensive”, and “Value” mean different things to different people. Deploy the words carefully, connotatively.

It is advisable to use “value” or “affordability,” instead of “low cost,” “inexpensive,” or “cheap”, unless the focus is the mass market. Those who want to spend for quality want to be seen in their own class, not in the mass!

Refine Message to “Gold Standard”

Companies earn respect by consistency. Continuous show of confidence and consistency leads to customers’ respect.

This explains why marketing and corporate communication materials and messages must be carefully thought out, and tested before being deployed. This is also important to avoid derailing from corporate goals.

Competitors’ Endorsement

Get famous and key people behind your competitors to use your product. By so doing, you send the signal that your quality is right and cannot be ignored by even rivals.

In addition, you stand a chance of subtly exploiting the opportunity to send the message: ‘if their quality could match ours’, would they be patronising us?’

It also offers an opportunity to claim that competitors came to learn from the primus inter pares.

The effectiveness of PR cannot be overemphasised in today’s media dependent business environment.

Mere pictures showing board members or promoters of a rival brand in your colours, in the media, is bound to generate sufficient talk to convey your brand as premium or market leader.

Little Things Matter

Pursuit of ‘premium’ should be manifest consistently with all intents and purposes. Little things like dress code, call-cards, delivery vans, personnel and distribution network, cannot be left out on this.

Pick each partner carefully, knowing that the product or service can be measured by that partner’s output or perception. How would you react to a company with a contract to supply N100m worth of gasoline, whose delivery trucks often breaks down on the way?

Support services must be taken seriously, because they help to position your product or service in the minds of the populace.

Each Personnel is a Brand Ambassador

The days of considering the Chief Executive Officer or top management as the face of the business are over. All personnel are brand ambassadors in their capacities.

For instance, service companies need to double check the history of the people they hire into key positions.

In addition, while recruiting models, check out those, whose personal image would not clash or erode your brand image. Carefully ensure a brand-fit.

Take on Competitors

Never shy away from taking a bold shot at what rival brands are doing.

If they are touching lives and impacting communities, for example, look for lives to touch and communities to impact, then flaunt your own.

This might be tricky, because, you must never run in the shadow of rivals, to avoid giving yourself the reputation of a copycat, second rate and being short on innovation.

Care and research would open the door for you to position your products or services miles ahead and watch competitors struggling to catch up!

You need to constantly remind yourself that business is merely a money making game. Just as confidence is important in winning games, confidence is very important to win in business. You must win to be top quality.