‘Stay true to your brand’

Noëleen Bruton, group marketing director for the hotel group whose head office is in Fourways, said in tough economic times marketers are sometimes tempted to compromise their brands in order to drive sales, but this is a danger.

“Marketers may need to resort to special offers to boost sales, but we should always be mindful of what we’re doing to the brand,” she said.

Bruton explained that an error in judgement that many businesses have succumbed to on occasion is offering promotions or specials that are so attractive that they achieve the desired numbers but not the right market.

Bruton said that she has learned not to panic when times are tough. “Good decisions are seldom made in a state of panic,” she said.

“Decisions made in these situations may result in quick short-term gains but are likely to mean longer-term damage to the brand.”

Bruton said that in difficult times businesses can ensure that they maintain their brand positioning and integrity and at the same time build customer loyalty, not by making their product cheaper but by delivering more value for money.

“Once you’ve taken the image of an aspirational brand down by discounting and potentially appealing to a different market it’s difficult, if not impossible, to take it back up again,” she said.

Bruton suggested creatively packaging an offer or discount so as not to appear desperate or cheap. “Disguise the discount as a promotion, make it only applicable to a specific market, like loyalty cardholders, run it for a specified period, don’t make it too cheap and try to package it as a value offering so the discount is not so apparent,” she said.

“Marketing in a recession is not for sissies but it does offer rewards such as building your brand and entrenching your values in the consumers mind. That’s priceless,” she said.

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