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Branding
in Times of Duress
By Michael Alan Hamlin
July 21, 2003
If you do business overseas, then
you've almost certainly been asked why your business is headquartered
in the Philippines. Headlines like those that dominated the front
pages last week so erode the brand image of the Philippines that
association with the country results in negative perceptions for
its enterprises, even if they happen to be very well run. When a
convicted international terrorist simply walks out of a high-security
prison and Asian investment analysts refer to the local stock market
as "irrelevant" - as happened this past week - every Philippine
enterprise is affected.
No matter how devoted a company or
its people are to the Philippines, therefore, prospering overseas
requires building a brand that withstands the usual stereotypes
associated with this country. We all know what they are. Fortunately,
this may be an often daunting task, but it isn't insurmountable,
as many organizations and sectors have demonstrated. The most obvious
include e-Services sectors, electronics manufacturers, and furniture,
accessory, and handicraft exporters.
e-Services sectors are growing dramatically.
For example, growth in the contact center space is expected to reach
or exceed 70 percent this year over last year. The Philippines builds
and exports extremely sophisticated electronics, and this sector
grew 36 percent in the second quarter of this year, and dominates
our exports. Philippine-designed and manufactured furniture, accessories,
and handicrafts are appreciated worldwide, and continue to be an
important generator of jobs.
Even for the multinationals in the
group, however, negative perceptions of the Philippines present
a challenge. One Cebu-based executive whose company is doing very
high-value-added design work for sophisticated computer peripherals,
for instance, recently told me that despite the local subsidiaries
success, convincing the head office to continue expanding the Philippine
operations is a continual uphill battle. The reason: negative publicity
associated with the Philippines.
Local exporters must meet the challenge
of convincing customers that deliveries will be made on time, the
quality will be consistent, and that costs are locked in despite
the chaos reported on CNN. Service industries, such as the one I
operate in, to get a foot in the door must make a compelling argument
that outsourcing intellectual talent to the Philippines is a good
idea that won't backfire.
There are at least five ways that
these companies build strong brands despite the negative perceptions
associated with their host country. The first is to communicate
regularly. It is human nature to assume the worst when we don't
have better market intelligence. However, when a supplier regularly
communicates to a customer, the company is saying that business
is proceeding as usual.
Regular communications don't have
to go just to customers; of course, they should also go to prospects
and other important "constituents," such as banks, suppliers,
and regulators. But they should be focused. Focused communication
is hard to achieve through traditional advertising channels, and
so efficient brand builders increasingly seek to leverage non-traditional
channels like trade publications, events, and e-mail and faxes.
While there is a lot of rage about spam these days, that mostly
has to do with consumer-directed spam for mortgages, medicines,
and a host of "earthly" services, rather than business
communications.
Third, communications must be relevant.
To be relevant, communications must have something to do with the
product or service you are offering, and the relationship you are
trying to build or sustain. If you're in the business of providing
fashion accessories, you probably don't want to talk about growth
in business process outsourcing, for instance, or the tourism industry.
Fourth, communications should be
meaningful. Value and insight should be exchanged in each communication
you make. How meaningful? That brings us to our fifth characteristic
of effective communication: impact. Ideally, every communication
should have the potential to impact the way you and your client
or prospect do or will do business in a way that benefits your customer
or prospect in a measurable way.
If that sounds a bit complicated,
it is. Communication is both a science and an art, and effective
communications reflect both those qualities. While you may take
your product or service seriously, no matter how good it is, it
won't sell itself, especially in as competitive a global marketplace
as ours is becoming. Quality product is the Yin of your offering,
and quality communications is the Yang. And they always go together.
(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing
director of consultancy TeamAsia and the author of three books on
Asian economies and companies. His latest book is Marketing Asian
Places, of which he is a co-author (Wiley, 2001), and he is
currently at work on High Visibility: The Making and Marketing
of Asian Professionals into Celebrities. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).
Copyright © 2003 Michael Alan
Hamlin. All Rights Reserved.
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