Do Spanish companies tend to focus their strategies on their brands? What are the advantages for those that decide to do so? Do they achieve better results than those whose strategy does not focus on the brand?

These are the questions that the study “Brand orientation and business performance”, carried out by Marcas Renombradas Españolas Forum and Summa Branding, with the collaboration of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and Iberinform, tries to answer.

This study, which was presented on January 14, aims to analyze the factors that companies consider essential to adequately support their brands. In addition, it also tries to answer the question of whether companies that bet more on their brands are able to obtain better results than the rest.

The ultimate goal is to find out which brand actions and strategies achieve an improvement in the competitiveness of companies and in which variables of business performance this improvement is reflected.

It is necessary to clarify that Brand Orientation is not exclusive to a specific type, sector, activity or size of company. It has more to do with the attitude and philosophy of the company, which places the brand at the center of its strategies and actions.

However, this recent study does highlight some characteristics of brand-oriented companies:

• These are companies in which there is a strong brand culture, which extends to all employees. Brand value is believed and promoted from the top of the company.
• The company’s business strategies focus on the brand, constantly analyzing its position in relation to its competitors. At this point, innovation is essential. At this point, innovation is essential.
• All necessary resources are allocated to the brand, even in times of budget cuts.

Do brand-oriented companies achieve better results than those that are not?

According to the data shown in this study, this is the case. Especially when it comes to companies with an Advanced Brand Orientation (the study distinguishes between companies with an Advanced Brand Orientation and companies with a Medium-Low Brand Orientation). In this case, aspects such as:

• Higher turnover
• Higher medium-term growth
• Greater longevity of the business
• Doubling their chances of market leadership
• Greater investment in R&D
• Increased generation of new jobs
• Higher margin on sales
• Increased profitability
• Increased employee productivity

The study also reveals that more than 80% of companies develop specific plans and actions focused on the brand.

Keys to orient a company towards the brand: some recommendations

The new study offers as a final conclusion a series of recommendations for those companies determined to put the brand at the center of their strategies. Among them are:

• Take care of and value the brand. The entire company is responsible for building brand value.
• Ensure that the organization’s business strategies always focus on the brand.
• The brand must have its own strategic definition within the company: objectives, mission, values, philosophy…
• Promote the brand culture within the company, at all levels, both top management and the rest of the employees. The CEO and managers will be in charge of promoting and spreading the brand values and culture. Employees can be the best brand ambassadors, but they must be motivated and have the necessary tools.
• Constantly work to offer a brand value proposition that is able to stand out and arouse the interest of the company’s target audience. The brand must be prepared at all times to be able to adjust at all times to the needs and expectations of its customers.
• Constant innovation to stand out from the competition. The brand must be the starting point and inspiration for all innovation processes. Innovate for and from the brand.
• Offering the brand all the necessary support and resources at all times, even in the most complicated moments or in times of cutbacks.
• Offer the customer a complete, unique and different brand experience. It is essential that every customer interaction with the brand is analyzed in detail.

This is the first study on this subject. Various quantitative and qualitative techniques have been used, as well as a sophisticated statistical analysis of variance.

A selection of Spanish companies (of different sectors, sizes, etc.) served as a sample for the study, which, according to its authors, is intended to continue. To this end, an analysis model and an index have been created. All this will make it possible to analyze the evolution of Brand Orientation in the fabric of Spanish companies and how it influences their results.

To see the video with the presentation of the study, access this link.

You can also download the summary of the report by accessing this link.

Would you like to improve the Brand Orientation of your company? Do you need to know what is the perception and current relationship of your customers with your brand? Does the brand adapt to the current needs and expectations of your target audience? If you need a market study or more information about any of Calma’s services, please do not hesitate to contact us.