Global Branding Strategies - 10 Rules You Must Follow

This article is about the global branding strategies that have allowed small businesses the opportunity to go global within years, and the 10 rules they followed that showed them success.

Because the global markets are increasing in size, opportunities are being created that allow you to build your brand globally. There are plenty of advantages to be had with selling internationally, but there are also booby traps and pitfalls that can keep you from success.

The following are the 10 rules you must follow when you want success in global branding.

Rule #1. Be like Mcdonalds. The marketing people behind Mcdonalds understand the differences and similarities in the landscape of global branding. They remain consistent with their worldwide theme, but alter some of the smaller things (e.g. menu items, store design). The theme will remain consistent. This is what makes the best brands different from the others.

Rule #2 Brand building takes time and energy. Do not take shortcuts when it comes to your brand. Build it from the bottom up, and put as much time as needed into making it successful.

Rule #3 Make sure you have a sound infrastructure. If you want investors to give you their money, your infrastructure is one of the first things they will look at. Review your distribution and manufacturing and make sure that you are competent in both areas.

Rule #4 Use as many marketing avenues as you can find. In some industries it does not make sense to spend your entire marketing budget on television or printed advertisements. If you are limited to only a few marketing avenues, check out other forms such as public relations, speaking engagements, or sponsorship opportunities.

Rule #5 Get a Partner. If you want to compete with the big boys, and go global with your company, it is a wise idea to form a brand partnership. These can include distributors, franchisees, or joint venture partners.

Rule #6 Make sure the guidelines for your operations are established. Establish the rules that will allow your brand to be positioned and marketed.

Rule #7 Research which products you want to standardize and which you want to customize. This can be done after you have launched your products and gotten feedback on changes that need to be made. Look at it from a financial aspect, and through a branding aspect.

Rule #8 Focus on the 4 main areas of local and global control. Controlling your global branding image is crucial to sustained growth. These four areas include mechanisms, entry strategies, coordination processes, and the structure of the organization.

Rule #9 Get measurable facts about how effective your global branding strategies are doing. Ideally, you will want a system that gives complete, accurate, and up to date information on the brand and its competition. This information should be given to all relevant decision makers.

Rule #10 Use leverage to increase brand equity. If you have created a brand from the ground up, and it is easily identifiable worldwide, you have created a brand that can be placed on other objects. This can be used as leverage to diversify and gain more market share.