MANAGING BUSINESS SERVICE EXCELLENCE

Managing Business Service Excellence



Managing Business Service Excellence

What is branding? (Creating Value Preposition)

The British Marketing Association defines a brand by 'A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from competitors'. For our purposes, we find it useful to think of a brand as a signal. That way, we can investigate it from the manufacturer's perspective (what does the manufacturer want the consumer to understand when they see the brand?) and from the demand side (what do consumers believe about a product based on the presence of a brand name?). We consider these two perspectives (that of the manufacturer and consumer), particularly with respect to the purpose or benefit derived; we are interested in what the brand does for the company (which we term the brand role) and what the brand aims to do for the consumer (which we call the value proposition or brand identity). It may also be useful to distinguish between what the company wants the brand to do for consumers (the brand identity) and what customers actually see it as doing (the brand image). We will examine global brands according to their ability to meet the objectives of their manufacturers (brand roles) and to meet the need of their target consumers (value propositions). Global brands cannot be deemed managerially successful if they do not fulfil both supply and demand sides of the marketing exchange equation. We regard this duality as fundamental to the understanding of global (and indeed all) brands' performance in the marketplace. Supply side: The role of brands in meeting company objectives defines the supply side objective of the brand to be the 'brand role'. Keller suggests that brand globalization allows companies to capture economies of scale in production and distribution, lower marketing costs, increase power and scope, afford consistent brand image, enable the leveraging of good ideas quickly and efficiently, and implement uniform marketing practices. (Chick, 2004, 251-73)

Going Green (The Best Strategy)

Several major purposes of green consumerism organizations and business organizations serving the interests of green consumers appear to exist: advocating more green products and services; promoting green businesses, locally produced products, and Fair Trade; establishing standards and promoting and/or certifying green products; ensuring the validity of claims made by companies; identifying instances of greenwashing; educating consumers regarding sustainable living; and advocating less consumption. Few organizations are solely aimed at serving green consumers. This article therefore briefly discusses those activities that advance the interests of green consumers—several of which are examined in more detail in other articles—and identifies some of the organizations engaging in these activities.

In addition to its corporate partnerships, the Environmental Defense Fund has advocated for greener products and services by championing market incentive-based government policies—cap-and-trade systems for sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide, and “catch shares” giving fishermen incentives to conserve fish stocks—establishing costs for harms (“negative externalities”) caused by pollution or resource ...