Barbadian entrepreneurs have been encouraged to think carefully about the way they brand goods and services.
According to Regal Resource sales and marketing manager Michael Russell, effective branding could be the difference between a “cash cow” and a “get-by” business.
Russell was one of two facilitators for a branding workshop hosted by the Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT) last Wednesday.
Speaking following the event at BYBT’s Harbour Industrial Estate office, he noted that many entrepreneurs either didn’t understand the importance of branding or believed it was too costly.
However, he suggested that they see the exercise as an investment rather than an expense.
“Entrepreneurs usually would not have that sort of money to throw around to get a big agency to create their branding or their logo, so you really need to think about the whole thing and understand it is an investment,” he said.
Russell said he expected businesses would begin to think about branding more seriously in the future.
“Based on culture and how Bajan culture, especially, is accepting [BlackBerry Messenger], Facebook, Twitter and that sort of thing and the rate at which it is happening, I don’t see it staying like that . . . especially with the younger generations coming up and ending up in more influential positions as time goes by,” he said.
Russell stressed that companies with an online presence could be viewed across the world.
“Everything is there to make the world a little easier to get around and to touch people in other places.
“Just as easily as someone could watch a video of you on YouTube, they can easily get access to your business once you put it out there in the right way,” he said.
Russell stressed that companies should never stop marketing their brand.
“A lot of companies and a lot of businesses usually get either comfortable or too settled and they can become a bit complacent,” he said, noting that complacency can lead to consumers’ becoming tired of the product.
He added that companies should never stop marketing their brand because the world is constantly evolving.
“You really don’t have a choice but to keep, not necessarily changing or evolving your brand, but developing different angles for it to be able to adapt to different market changes and different preferences that your target markets may come across or desire,” he said. (NB)
