Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Warren Buffett and Secrets of Management - 36

When considering the battle to not become a company that is subject to the pressures of being only a commodity, how do you fight that from happening within your company? There are a couple of answers. This post we'll talk about branding.

It has become somewhat fashionable to read that branding is no longer a thing that can offer a benefit to company because people are no longer loyal to a brand. This is absolutely a false statement based upon one portion of the overall public demographic.

Now in reference to younger people, this is true, as they're more open to trying new things. But in their trying of new things, they're still establishing the brands that they want to interact with. A brand isn't as important in the initial stage, but they still eventually keep with a brand once they've tried out different offerings. Think of certain types of sports shoes as an example.

So one of the key things to do in battling becoming a commodity in the minds of consumers is to brand the company to them. One example of a company that has done this well is Target (TGT). When Wal-Mart (WMT) began to emerge as the company they've become, most of their competitors didn't differentiate themselves from them, and as a result have continually shrunk in their growth and market share.

Target understood what the problem was and responded accordingly. Do you remember when people started saying Target with the French sound to the last part of the name? When people started doing that all over, you knew that Target had successfully positioned themselves as a retailer that was different from the rest.

That's branding. Target is not a company that can be considered a commodity company. Buffett has found this out himself as he recently bought a large amount of shares in the company through Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A).

Other Buffett Resources:

Investment Whiz Kid: Buffett Amasses a Fortune

Management Styles - The Buffett Way: Learn from the maestro himself

Understanding the Company

Brand names Commodity companies

THE REAL GENIUS OF WARREN BUFFETT

Remember to Sign up for my feed, bizzbite and digg this!