Is Your Private Label Growth Coherent?
Private label strategies are becoming more sophisticated as retailers adopt many approaches typically owned by national brands. An often overlooked factor in ensuring the full potential of a new private label initiative is brand coherence. The ability to align every facet of the organization behind a private brand's unique value proposition through a collaborative process is critical for its success.
Imagine that you are part of a rowing team competing in a race where every stroke from each individual player has to be executed flawlessly with the exact same rhythm. Every second counts. Now image if one or two of these rowers have decided to row at a different pace with a different level of energy. The result is a loss of momentum — and ultimately, a lost race for the team.
Coherence is all about ensuring that every facet of a retailer’s organization is clearly aligned and supports the given private label initiative. That means aligning marketing and strategy to a clearly articulated position that fits the opportunity’s white space; R&D developing the right formulation that meets the exact needs of consumers; procurement looking for the best supplier to deliver the product; and store operations and human resources delivering the in-store experience for the given private label brand. The improper execution of just one of these factors could put the entire program off balance and hinder the delivery of a winning proposition for the retailer.
We have all experienced situations where the best branding intentions fail when the front line staff does not clearly understand the strategy and cannot effectively respond to a customer’s inquiry about the new offering. Brand coherence has become critical, as recent studies have shown organizations that support and execute a coherent brand strategy tend to lead in both profits and market share. And in today’s volatile and commoditized market, even the smallest percent of market share and margin can mean the difference between success and failure.
The true test in brand coherence is how much organizations spend on-boarding their employees toward delivering the brand promise, compared to the amount of marketing dollars they spend leveraging their unique point of difference. Only when these are in balance does a retailer have true brand coherence.
Consider the following:
Retailers need to ask themselves the following questions when implementing their corporate brands, namely:
Have the brand position and value proposition, the core reasons for the brand’s existence, been properly communicated to the entire organization, including front-line staff, which interfaces with customers everyday?
Are the brand position and value proposition articulated in easy-to-understand terms and memorable sound bites? Think 144 characters, and consider easy-to-remember catchphrases or attributes (no more than three). The human brain has difficulty remembering more than three things at a time, and the more we add to the message, the less the intended recipients retain.
Do all facets of the brand launch and ongoing support have a single focused visual theme around the value proposition? Images speak louder than words and tend to increase message retention and emotional connection with the audience.
Are the theme and brand platform sustainable for a long period of time? A brand is a promise of performance delivered consistently over a long period of time. Brand coherence is all about delivering a consistent and aligned message at all touch points, both internally and externally, over a sustained period.
The biggest challenge in delivering a strong coherent brand strategy for private label programs is in ensuring both internal and external stakeholders are aligned. When this occurs, the ultimate benefit is winning the race.