The keys to success 2023: the importance of brand and business planning in business results

We start with the following current and global premises:

In a highly competitive business world, effective brand planning is essential for medium- and long-term success. Both small and large corporations must overcome the mentality of low investment and brand development and adopt collaborative and co-creative approaches that leverage cross-marketing, neuromarketing, neurolanguage, and creative writing techniques. By investing in a solid strategy, proper planning, and co-creative work, brands can stand out in the market and achieve successful results, regardless of their size or industry.

However, the majority does not do so. Brand and business planning is the key, but what no one says is that, for planning to work, it needs a significant budget, time, and, above all, a willingness to change the culture of the entire company. The first step is to stop making "rational" excuses for not consistently investing in what needs to be invested in.

The most common global symptoms of any venture or company today are:

Brands, in general (except for the very successful ones), still fail to fully accept, understand, and consistently apply the investment in brand value, planning, marketing, media investment, experience development, channels and products, and especially today, the cross-association of products (cross-brands) or even cross-category. These are actually the main strategic tasks. Additionally, consumers love and demand brands the most today.

Strategic marketing still reigns: In general, as we know it today, it started in the 1950s. Today, there is a significant mistake in attempting to replace, shorten, or even eliminate all the necessary and rich steps of strategic marketing and its communication tools (expansion into the real experience, offline and online) by solely focusing on the latest layers of digital marketing. This produces a significant distortion in valuation and analysis, misjudging the "metric" (digital) as the only productive element, eliminating many ways of measuring and analyzing that are broader, more real, more profound. Consequently, it neglects the multitude of real value actions in the life of a brand, resulting in a trap where the customer loses all connection to it.

The paradigm of focusing solely on production versus the entirety of a brand: While there is still a "stingy" focus on only producing profitable products, avoiding any value chain and eliminating "costs," using only massive digital marketing tools, on the other hand, there is a drastic growth of value-based brands, regardless of their size or segment, based on quality of service, experience, cross-category associations, added experiences, marketing generosity, the beauty of their proposals, and their focus on multimedia and multibusiness.

There is no order, no conversational competencies, no long-term and comprehensive plan. The main problem companies face today is not profitability but internal contradiction and complexity, conversations, and disputes based on a consciousness of massive "failure" and great frustration resulting from conflicting forces that clash today. On one hand, there is a trend towards hyperproductivity and devaluation, minimal brand or product experience, instantaneity. On the other hand, there are companies that deploy a new era of multi-experiences, a wide variety of actions, cross-marketing, cross-media, and cross-channel with a complete amplification of products and markets. Denying this reality leads to much frustration. Today's complexity is greater, and the commitment must be in line with reality. This is why capital, investment, talent, and comprehensive planning are so important. It is the reality of competitiveness today.

Exponential era: "The winner takes it all." Once again, there is a moment where the one who does it all, who does more, who wants more, who dares to be disruptive, innovative, broad, who invests more, wins and eliminates their competition like never before, because it is also true that few dare to follow that path. This implies constant growth, new channels, new media, new categories, new markets, new developments, improved internal and external quality. It is the exponential era.

The cross-sectional diagnosis of companies today:

Low investment and limited brand development: A common weakness

Companies, both large and small, often underestimate the importance of investing in the construction and development of their brands. The excuse of lack of resources is often used as a barrier to effective growth. However, this limiting mindset can lead to missed opportunities and business stagnation.

The era of collaborative and co-creative work: A powerful strategy that requires conversational competencies, agile methodologies, and a significant change in mindset. The vast majority of ventures still operate under the paradigm of technical knowledge and specialists. Today, it is vital to have soft skills, a holistic approach, and the power of crossing over different "worlds." Collaboration among experts in different areas is an innovative approach to enhance brand planning. By joining forces with diverse professionals, co-creative and conversational individuals who can engage with everyone, including AI, are needed. It is a return to generalism. Companies can achieve a stronger and more appealing approach to their brand strategy through diversity. The combination of diverse skills and perspectives allows for coherent and excellent creations, fostering a more empathetic connection with different audiences.

Neuromarketing, neurolanguage, sociology, and anthropology are powerful tools to connect with consumers. These disciplines, along with other soft sciences, must have a constant and valued presence at the planning table alongside the CEO and the finance department. Listening to soft skills must be continuous and valued, not occasional.

Here are some tips to boost brand planning:

• Strategic planning: Set clear goals, define target audiences, and design a differentiated positioning strategy. Allocate time, resources, distinctions, and budgets. Planning is continuous, co-creative, comprehensive, and strategic.

• Create crucial roles such as the Head of Culture and provide them with budget and decision-making authority. Change the company's culture, focusing on a dynamic system that improves conversations between the intersection of the soft and the hard in all senses.

• Effective time management: Avoid a lack of temporal planning and allocate appropriate resources for the implementation of the brand strategy. Planning is not when it's convenient; it is foundational, systemic, and cultural. It applies from leadership to tactical teams.

• Investment in multimedia and value-experience chain: Allocate financial resources to promote the brand through diverse communication channels tailored to each market segment. Real experience has once again become essential.

• Co-creative work: Foster collaboration and co-creation with the internal team and external experts to develop innovative ideas and effective strategies.

Drive your brand towards success by investing in proper planning and leveraging the most innovative marketing tools available today!