By SHABBIR H. KAZMI
Jan 29 - Feb 04, 2001
The process of globalization is demolishing the
physical boundaries of the markets and fuelling competition. Now
brands, result-oriented strategies and efficient customer relationship
management play important role in achieving an edge over competitors.
The charisma of brands cannot be undermined. Some
of the brands have become, more or less, generic names. These include
Fridge, Xerox, Insta, Dalda, Surf and Lifebouy. People use these brand
names whenever they wish to refer to the actual product even if it
carries a different name. The word Fridge has become a synonymous for
refrigerator, Xerox for photocopy, Insta for cellular phone, Dalda for
vanaspati ghee, Surf for washing powder and Lifebouy for carbolic
soap.
The brand names assure the users of certain quality
standards and consistency of quality. At the same time brand loyalty
generates repeated sales for the brand owners. The confidence level is
often to the extent that consumers even do not know the name of
manufacturer or the country where these products have been
manufactured.
Pakistan cannot remain immune to the process of
globalization. While it has to open the domestic market for the
overseas suppliers, Pakistani manufacturers not only have to face the
competition in the local market but also compete in the international
markets. The biggest challenge is for textiles and clothing sector
which has been surviving due to quota regime. Some of the Pakistani
brands from the sector, i.e. Bonanza and ChenOne have become known in
global markets and many more names are passing through the process of
recognition. Therefore, by following the foot prints of the leaders,
other can also let the world known about their products.
Exploring the influence of branding in various
industries is very interesting story. While most of the marketeers
accept the importance of brands in case of consumables and durables,
even agricultural inputs are being sold with brand names. The two
examples are Engro and Kissan urea. As a majority equity participant
in FFC-Jordan, Fauji Fertilizer preferred to use Kissan name due to
its widespread brand loyalty.
In the consumer market the strength of brand names
like Surf, Dalda, Robin Blue are the stalwarts. In urban areas and in
case of brand-loyal customers the insistence of a consumer to buy a
product is understandable. However, in rural areas where people cannot
read names, they identify the products by logos. Some of these brands
are often considered as generic names. This kind of brand loyalty or
association has been developed due to extensive and intensive
promotion by the companies. The impact of brand influence can also be
gauged by lubricants buying habit of drivers. Now they insist of a
brand rather than compromising on unbranded lubricant.
As regards consumer durables, some of the brand
names have been imprinted in the memories of users. These are Philips,
IBM, Intel, Sony and Waves. Consumers consider these names as industry
bench mark. Interestingly, Intel was initially a microprocessor
manufacturing company but the name Intel was, and still, considered to
be the bench mark for evaluating the performance of a computer. The
other interesting example is Sony. They are the pioneer of flat screen
technology. Wega is their flat screen model but when people go to
purchase a television, they insist on Sony although they mean a flat
screen model produced by the Sony company.
TeeJays was a pioneer of branding in ready made
garments. While it has not been able to get wide recognition at local
and domestic level, some other manufacturers have attained such
recognition. Two such names are Bonanza and ChenOne. While Bonanza
became known due to its massive marketing and promotion, ChenOne has
become a pick of those who love to buy world known brands. The
manufacturers of ChenOne based their marketing strategy on four Ps,
product, price, promotion and placement.
They realized the importance of product and
produced items which were, in way, inferior to the some of the world
leading brands. They also priced the products accordingly and used
massive advertising to let the buyers know about the products.
However, they were very choosy about placement. They decided to sell
the product from their own outlets which are located in the areas
where the residents have the corresponding purchasing power. Lately
the ChenOne products have been made available in the Middle East
market. To conclude, it is enough to say that unless local
manufacturers establish the credibility of their products by branding
them they may not be able to compete in the local market and maintain
their share in the global markets.
