Over 30 Percent of Businesses Struggle With Managing a Global Brand

Many marketing leaders express frustration at the difficulty of staying relevant to an audience whose needs and interests fluctuate at a rapid rate. Analyst house Gartner, Inc., has recently released research that gives us more insights on this topic. Today’s consumers are fickle and will jump from trend to trend, business to business, product to product. In order to drive predictable and profitable consumer behavior, it’s important to stay aware of competitors and market trends. Additionally, it’s vital to not only be ambitious, but also realistic.

“Brand relevance and resonance can be extremely fluid based on a polarized marketplace, new disruptive business models and ever-changing consumer requirements,” Mr. Ross said. “Marketers who want to stay relevant must be highly attuned to their customers, competitors and larger cultural and economic trends.”

Over 50 percent of marketing leaders believe brand is a critical driver of buyer behavior, and over 60 percent believe it’s an even more important driver of existing customer behavior. In order to help marketers overcome the challenges of maintaining relevance and brand performance, Gartner offers marketing leaders three strategies:

First, brands should be aware of their competitors and everything that they do. Are there any regional or cultural trends? Are there particular products or categories of products that seem to do particularly well? Brands need to balance consistency with the ability to respond and adapt to individual market needs.

Second, brands should do more than just commit to being relevant. They need to actively monitor the market, remain tuned into trends and preferences, and understand how their brand fits into the larger picture. Finally, brands must be realistic. They should measure factors that are measurable, such as brand investments and other factors. But they should acknowledge what can’t be measured while maintaining an ambitious outlook.

Want to read more about Gartner’s research? Click here.