Re-look at markets to minimise damage

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

Business people cannot use the same tools as before with the global recession and they need to re-look at markets to minimise the damage said, Director, Centre for Research in Brand Marketing Birmingham University Business School, Prof. Leslie de Chernatony.

Prof. Leslie de Chernatony

He was addressing Sri Lankan Marketers at a workshop on “Achieving leaps in value by becoming a market driving brand,” organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel recently.

Prof. Chernatony said that people have to think differently and act differently in this situation and highlighted four steps to be taken towards this journey. They are Characterising market driving brands, Having strategies to drive greater value, Capitalising on brand beliefs and Thinking differently about value with challenger brands.

A market driving brand means a cluster of values promising a unique experience, challenging market norms, either through radical ideas, innovatively redeploying assets or with a unique business system. They offer a leap in customer value and are typically visionary, exciting, unconventional and boundary pushing, Prof. Chernatony said.

Elaborating on the culture required for a value driven consumer choice, he said doing things right, timely, efficiently with quality and achieving specialisation is very important and at the same time it has to be done first, innovatively anticipating the future and to do it fast to achieve the objectives and do things together ensuring staff development and satisfaction.