What makes a successful brand?

So what makes a brand endure? In last Friday’s post, we mentioned three qualities that, according to Lovemarks, convert people from detached consumers to loyal fans: mystery, sensuality, and intimacy.

Over the weekend, I had this casual conversation with a friend, a marketing guy who runs a dessert/breakfast shop. “Building a successful brand mostly depends on luck,” this marketing man admits. Here’s the skinny on this man’s business secrets:

Offer a unique product that has value to your consumers
Name recall is important, so think of a catchy name that fits your product well. Ever heard of a cake shop named Bubbles or a toothpaste brand called Spice? What a disconnect, huh?

But how does one make a brand successful? I asked this friend, who has more than five years of business management. Is it promotions? Social networking? Advertising?

His secret? “There is no one way,” he admits. “You have to try a lot of things and discard what doesn’t work. What works for one business may not work for another. You just have to find the one formula that works for you. What’s working today may not even work tomorrow.”

So it’s simply finding your own gospel, right? The bottom line, says my resource person, is to understand the customer and pay attention to his decision-making process and how it changes. He cites one successful US business that branched out in the UK. “The company failed there, miserably,” he assesses, “because it did the things it was doing for its US customers, and apparently its UK clients didn’t give a damn about that.”

Apparently, you can do everything right in the business, but if it doesn’t arouse certain emotions in your customers, then it’s a no go.

We want to hear from you! Based on your personal experiences, what made your brand successful?

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