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BRAND_e-book by Mahesh Enjeti_Purpose of my Book and your Brand_pages 5 to 8_Part 2 of 6

Mahesh Enjeti
Mahesh Enjeti

The document discusses how a brand is the foundation of a business, not just a marketing function. It argues that businesses often focus on revenue over profits, and leverage brands only for awareness rather than profit generation. The booklet aims to connect the ideas of profitable sales growth and sustained brand value in order to help businesses build long-term prosperity. It defines a brand as a company's purpose - who it is, what it stands for, its offerings, behaviors, and how it fulfills its social or other motives. Discovering a brand's purpose can clarify and shape brand thinking.

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A Brand is not a function of Marketing. It is the very foundation of a business.息 Mahesh Enjeti A BRAND NEW WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? 5
A BRAND NEW WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? 6The BIG idea behind this little book THE BIG IDEA BEHIND THIS LITTLE BOOK Actually, it was not one idea but two. I have worked in Marketing for over 40 years now - across sectors and segments, products and markets, countries and challenges. Over this period, I have noticed two distinct factors that seem to limit how well businesses can perform. Firstly, they seem to be chasing revenue rather than growing profits. Sales become the primary driver - often achieved by dropping price. Revenue increases, margins decline, profits remain the same or even disappear. Per Davidson, Paul Steffens and Jason Fitzsimmons, in a chapter titled Growing profitable or growing from profits: putting the horse in front of the cart1 , demonstrate that SMEs that pursue profits at the expense of growth are more likely to achieve high profitability and high growth over time. On the other hand, businesses that seek growth in sales while sacrificing profitability end up with low growth and low profitability as the years go by. A revealing insight! For large companies, Bain and companys work on the provides a good perspective on sustainable growth. This booklet shows how businesses can grow sales while also making profits. 1 The chapter appears in a book titled New Perspectives on Firm Growth by Per Davidsson and Johan Wiklund, Edward Elgar, 2013. Its findings are based on research undertaken in both Sweden and Australia. The second factor limiting performance stems from businesses being unable to leverage the power of their brands. Brands merely become the means to increasing awareness and expanding sales. Their value has mostly to do with value for the consumer, rarely about profits for the business. There is a different way to look at brands, not as a marketing cost but as a business investment that generates incremental profit. A way that allows brands to deliver value to the business as much as to the consumer. This booklet is an attempt to connect these two ideas - profitable sales growth and sustained brand value - to help businesses in building long term prosperity. You will find in its pages an approach to building your business that will work each time, every time if you are passionate and committed to your task and learn to be smart about how you spend your dollars. I have applied these lessons in my corporate and consulting life, mostly in large companies, and now want to share it more widely. This is a little book that can make a huge difference to your business.
A BRAND NEW WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? 7 YOUR BRAND IS YOUR PURPOSE Brands pervade our lives - from the womb all the way to the tomb. This familiarity breeds a certain sense of false knowledge, especially among those in Marketing. When asked to define a brand, businesses, big and small come up with a variety of answers. Some see the brand as the mere identity of their company, product or service i.e. the name, the logo, the typography, tagline and colour scheme. Others view the brand as their reputation, the reason why customers buy their product or service and pay the asking price. Still others may have a narrow perspective and consider their Facebook presence, their website or banner ad as their brand. Whatever the interpretation, it often relates to how the brand is seen through a Marketing lens. My own definition of a brand informed by years of learning and discovery is this: This view goes back to the very purpose of why you are in business. The brand, according to this business lens, is about who you are, what you stand for, your companys offerings, the how and why of it and the way you behave with every stakeholder, including staff, shareholders, suppliers, community and environment. ...because, your product and process, people and performance are all linked to your purpose. When working with clients, one of the first things I try and do is help them discover their purpose, and whether that has a social motive or not. (CAUTION: Do not claim a social purpose if you cannot back it up with tangible actions). Your Brand is your purpose A Brand is not a function of Marketing. It is the very foundation of a business.息 If you dont know your purpose, pause, ponder and persist until you find one...
A BRAND NEW WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? 8Your Brand is your purpose A while ago, I created a consumer brand for a clever piece of ingredient audio technology that went into devices such as television sets, portable audio, video games and mobile phones. The techies were ecstatic about the code that was at its heart. Digital signal processing enabled a range of amazing features such as listening to Hotel California the way you wanted it, or watching Psycho at night by enhancing whispers and subduing screams so you enjoyed the film while others were fast asleep. Take away the technical wizardry and there was one core purpose left - The personal enjoyment of sound i.e. the ability to alter sound, and experience it according to your taste. This purpose became the inspiration for a powerful visual metaphor - the sea shell that captured the unique property of the brand to both create and consume sound. Knowing your underlying purpose can clarify and shape your brand thinking. SOUND THINKING YOUR BRAND IS YOUR PURPOSE

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BRAND_e-book by Mahesh Enjeti_Purpose of my Book and your Brand_pages 5 to 8_Part 2 of 6

  • 1. A Brand is not a function of Marketing. It is the very foundation of a business.息 Mahesh Enjeti A BRAND NEW WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? 5
  • 2. A BRAND NEW WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? 6The BIG idea behind this little book THE BIG IDEA BEHIND THIS LITTLE BOOK Actually, it was not one idea but two. I have worked in Marketing for over 40 years now - across sectors and segments, products and markets, countries and challenges. Over this period, I have noticed two distinct factors that seem to limit how well businesses can perform. Firstly, they seem to be chasing revenue rather than growing profits. Sales become the primary driver - often achieved by dropping price. Revenue increases, margins decline, profits remain the same or even disappear. Per Davidson, Paul Steffens and Jason Fitzsimmons, in a chapter titled Growing profitable or growing from profits: putting the horse in front of the cart1 , demonstrate that SMEs that pursue profits at the expense of growth are more likely to achieve high profitability and high growth over time. On the other hand, businesses that seek growth in sales while sacrificing profitability end up with low growth and low profitability as the years go by. A revealing insight! For large companies, Bain and companys work on the provides a good perspective on sustainable growth. This booklet shows how businesses can grow sales while also making profits. 1 The chapter appears in a book titled New Perspectives on Firm Growth by Per Davidsson and Johan Wiklund, Edward Elgar, 2013. Its findings are based on research undertaken in both Sweden and Australia. The second factor limiting performance stems from businesses being unable to leverage the power of their brands. Brands merely become the means to increasing awareness and expanding sales. Their value has mostly to do with value for the consumer, rarely about profits for the business. There is a different way to look at brands, not as a marketing cost but as a business investment that generates incremental profit. A way that allows brands to deliver value to the business as much as to the consumer. This booklet is an attempt to connect these two ideas - profitable sales growth and sustained brand value - to help businesses in building long term prosperity. You will find in its pages an approach to building your business that will work each time, every time if you are passionate and committed to your task and learn to be smart about how you spend your dollars. I have applied these lessons in my corporate and consulting life, mostly in large companies, and now want to share it more widely. This is a little book that can make a huge difference to your business.
  • 3. A BRAND NEW WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? 7 YOUR BRAND IS YOUR PURPOSE Brands pervade our lives - from the womb all the way to the tomb. This familiarity breeds a certain sense of false knowledge, especially among those in Marketing. When asked to define a brand, businesses, big and small come up with a variety of answers. Some see the brand as the mere identity of their company, product or service i.e. the name, the logo, the typography, tagline and colour scheme. Others view the brand as their reputation, the reason why customers buy their product or service and pay the asking price. Still others may have a narrow perspective and consider their Facebook presence, their website or banner ad as their brand. Whatever the interpretation, it often relates to how the brand is seen through a Marketing lens. My own definition of a brand informed by years of learning and discovery is this: This view goes back to the very purpose of why you are in business. The brand, according to this business lens, is about who you are, what you stand for, your companys offerings, the how and why of it and the way you behave with every stakeholder, including staff, shareholders, suppliers, community and environment. ...because, your product and process, people and performance are all linked to your purpose. When working with clients, one of the first things I try and do is help them discover their purpose, and whether that has a social motive or not. (CAUTION: Do not claim a social purpose if you cannot back it up with tangible actions). Your Brand is your purpose A Brand is not a function of Marketing. It is the very foundation of a business.息 If you dont know your purpose, pause, ponder and persist until you find one...
  • 4. A BRAND NEW WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? 8Your Brand is your purpose A while ago, I created a consumer brand for a clever piece of ingredient audio technology that went into devices such as television sets, portable audio, video games and mobile phones. The techies were ecstatic about the code that was at its heart. Digital signal processing enabled a range of amazing features such as listening to Hotel California the way you wanted it, or watching Psycho at night by enhancing whispers and subduing screams so you enjoyed the film while others were fast asleep. Take away the technical wizardry and there was one core purpose left - The personal enjoyment of sound i.e. the ability to alter sound, and experience it according to your taste. This purpose became the inspiration for a powerful visual metaphor - the sea shell that captured the unique property of the brand to both create and consume sound. Knowing your underlying purpose can clarify and shape your brand thinking. SOUND THINKING YOUR BRAND IS YOUR PURPOSE