Marketing is one of the essential strategies that can help an organization to meet its competitive edge. Marketing can be termed as the stone that can be used to kill several birds at one given time. The reason behind it is because marketing can be used to communicate to the customers about the products of a company and at the same time, marketing can be used to promote a positive image or reputation for a company. In marketing, branding comes in handy, and it helps in creating a perception that the customers can use to refer to the respective company. Organizations that budget heavily in branding are in the best position to sell their products to as many customers as possible. Wal-Mart is one of the global organizations that have for many years been on top of the list of the best performing organizations. It is essential to note that when the name Wal-Mart is pronounced before any customer, there is the image that comes in the head of the customer. Different methods and strategies are present for branding and organizations use the methods that best suit them. In the case of Wal-Mart, it is no doubt that the company is not a manufacturer. Therefore, it would be a challenge for the company to brand products that are owned by other organizations. Therefore, the company uses the strategy of organizational branding to sell its image and business. The paper will be looking into how Wal-Mart has adopted branding and what the data says about the effectiveness of branding at Wal-Mart.
The value of any strategy is known through the results that the strategy helps the company to attain. Wal-Mart is an organization that has branded itself in three different ways. The organization has branded itself as the place for all products. When an organization brands itself as the store that has all products, the customers are likely to seek the services and products of the company (Boisen, Terlouw, Groote, and Couwenberg, 2018). Wal-Mart has also branded itself as one of the cheapest stores. Price is essential when it comes to influencing the purchase behaviours of the customers. When the price of a product is low, the customers are likely to flock in the store with the aim of purchasing the products of the company. Wal-Mart has also been known to be one of the biggest employers (Braun, Eshuis, and Klijn, 2014). In this respect, the company brands itself as an organization that is not only interested in making profits but also providing opportunities for the members of the society to earn and make a living. The quantitative data that will be used will help to understand the value of branding at Wal-Mart as well as the impacts that have come as a result of branding.
It is essential to note that one of the reasons why organizations venture in marketing and branding is to add the number of customers. The increased customers are supposed to impact the sales positively because when the customers flock in large numbers, they come to buy and that means that the sales of the company are likely to increase. The sales of Wal-Mart will come to help to understand if the branding strategy has impacts on the company or not. In 2017, Wal-Mart recorded a massive sale of $481.32 billion, and this was an increment of 0.8% (The Statistics Portal, 2018). The increased sales in 2017 are proof that the branding of the company had an effect on the growth of the company. The sales of a company can be dictated by many factors, and one of the factors is the aspect of marketing and branding (The Statistics Portal, 2018). Branding may affect an organization positively or negatively. When branding affects an organization negatively, the organization suffers, and this is because its operations are affected. As a result, the sales of the company drop by a significant percentage. Therefore, when the sales increase by a certain percentage, it is evident that the company is growing and due to the fact that branding is one of the strategies employed in the company, it becomes one of the potential factors that have an effect on the company.
The sales of Wal-Mart increased by a significant percentage between 2017 and 2018; in 2017, the sales stood at $481.32 billion globally, and in 2018, the sales have stood at $495.76 billion (The Statistics Portal, 2018). The two figures show something about the value branding. It is imperative to note that the data of 2018 only focuses on the third quarter of 2018. Therefore, the fourth quarter will automatically increase the sales of the company by a significant percentage. The data, in this case, shows that branding can have a significant effect on the organizations that brand themselves positively (Richards, 2015). The increment of more than $14 billion in sales is an indication that branding helps an organization to realize its goals.
As far as the aspect of finances is concerned, Wal-Mart has been doing a recommendable job. The finances of a company are known through the profits as well as revenue. The data that will be provided will help to analyze if Wal-Mart has experienced positive change or if the company has been experiencing negative change (Brennan and Croft, 2012). The data will, therefore, dictate if the branding of the company has added value to the company or not.
The profits of an organization are able to help a person to understand the performance of the organization. When the profits increase, it is evident that the organization is doing a good job a far as its growth is concerned. However, when the profits fail to increase, there is a problem that ought to be dealt with. The value of branding can only be seen or realized after the results have been seen. The data that was collected from 2015 to 2018 shows that between 2017 and 2018, there was a significant change in the profits of Wal-Mart (The Statistics Portal, 2018). In 2017, the Gross Profit of Wal-Mart stood at $124.617 million. When it came to 2018, an upward trend was noticed, and this is because the profits stood at $126.947 million (The Statistics Portal, 2018). Looking and comparing at the two figures, there is one fact that cannot be ignored, and that is the increased percentage of the profits that were made in these two years.
The data that has been presented can be used to dictate the direction that the organization has taken. As far as the data is concerned, the company has taken the right direction that is promising. If this was to be associated with the marketing and branding of the company, it is evident that the value of branding would have been seen (Resnick, Cheng, Simpson, and Lourenço, 2016). It is, therefore, appropriate to state that the value of branding in the company for the last two years has delivered nothing less than favourable results. The reason for stating so is because the value of branding can only be known if positive results in the company are registered.
The revenue of a company is dictated by the way the company sells its image and products. It is imperative to note that the process of selling proves to be a challenge if the company has not marketed itself the way that will attract more customers. An organization that wants to attract a lot of customers and to retain others must make sure that it brands itself in line with the needs of the customers. The data that has been collected shows that the revenue between 2017 and 2018 at Wal-Mart has increased by a significant percentage. The increment of revenue is dictated by the sales of the products of a company (Ottman, 2017). When it comes to the sales, there is the factor of marketing that is essential thus should not be ignored. Therefore, it becomes apparent that the way an organization brands itself and its products dictates if the organization is likely to have a competitive edge in the industry or market.
In 2017, the revenue of Wal-Mart was $485.873 million, and that was an indication that the organization had done well than the previous year (The Statistics Portal, 2018). However, the fascinating fact was that the company also increased the revenue when it came to 2018. In 2018, the revenue of Wal-Mart stood at $500.343 million, and this was an indication that there was something positive in the company (The Statistics Portal, 2018). This was proof that the value of branding was starting to be seen because the way the organization branded itself attracted many customers. The customers came to affect the revenues of the company by a significant percentage.
The quantitative data has shown two positive results about branding (Melewar, Dennis, and Kent, 2014). One result is associated with the value that branding has. For the last two years, the sales, profits, and revenues of Wal-Mart have increased. Even though there has been a decrease in the price of shares of the company in recent days, the overall finances of the company have been affected positively (Zavattaro, 2014). The growth of Wal-Mart cannot be refuted, and this is where the value of branding comes in place. When the organization realizes positive growths, it is evident that the company must be doing well in terms of marketing itself to the customers.
The second positive result is associated with the positive growth in the finances of Wal-Mart. It is no doubt that in the last two or three years, Wal-Mart has been one of the organizations that have realized a positive change. The increased revenue is an indication that the branding of the company has added value to the company. In this respect, there is the essence of understanding the theory of valuing a brand (Posner, Williams, and Posner, 2015). A branding exercise is supposed to have positive effects on the customers. The psychology of the customers is affected by what is presented to them. One of the reasons why a name of an organization can be tarnished and later affect the company is because what the customers hear and see in an organization affects the way they associate with the organization. Therefore, it is evident that the positive branding of the company led to the company increasing its finances from different perspectives.
Qualitative data is used in most cases to help the audience understand the matter at hand from a wider perspective. The data that will be collected must be strictly associated with Wal-Mart, and it will help to understand the value of branding in the company.
Wal-Mart has positioned itself in a unique way in the market. The company is the largest retail store in the world and that alone brands the company as the best. The psychology of the customers is that the largest organization is likely to be the best (Fetscherin and Heilmann, 2015). The organization is considered to be the best in terms of service delivery and production of goods. The branding of Wal-Mart as the best organization has not been directly promoted by the company, but the company has indirectly fostered it through its operations. When the operations of the company fit the world class needs, the company is honoured globally.
Wal-Mart has also positioned itself as the organization that takes care of the needs of the low-income earners. In many organizations, the growth to the world-class level alienates them from the local organizations. However, Wal-Mart still stands as the organization for the local customers who do not have a high income. Globally, Wal-Mart is recognized as one of the cheapest stores. This places the organization in the best position to succeed, and this is because the customers feel that this is the organization that takes care of the needs of the regular customers (Hanna and Rowley, 2017). Wal-Mart is also branded as the organization where all products are available under one roof. This image has a positive impact on customers. Customers want a place where they can shop all the products they need (Lischka, Siegert, and Krebs, 2018). The reason behind it is to save time and fuel. When products are concentrated in one place, it is evident that gathering them and loading them to the means of transport is made easier as opposed to if the products were collected from different points.
Wal-Mart has also branded itself as a store that cares about the well-being of the members of the community. Apart from being branded as the largest retail organization, Wal-Mart is still one of the biggest employers, and that means that the company has received favour from the customers. The members of the society are connected at different levels. The actions of organizations towards some of the members of the society have effects on the rest of the members of the society (Lambert, Bassell, and Friedman, 2017). It is for this reason that when an organization proves that it can be of help to some of the members of the society, the rest return the favour to the company by being loyal to it. The aspect of branding Wal-Mart as one of the largest employers in the world makes the customers want to be part of the mission of providing employment to the fellow members of society. As a result, the customers purchase more products because they know that they are part of a bigger mission.
Advertising is significant to the success of any given organization. Wal-Mart utilizes all marketing avenues and tools that are present. The company has been able to reach where it is because it has been keen on the advertising tools that it uses. To make sure that the company reaches a more significant population, it has advanced in the methods of advertising by utilizing social media as well as the internet (Mohebbi, 2014). Today, it is easier for a customer to know more about the products and the presence of Wal-Mart in different areas by using the internet. In advertising, it is also significant to note that the brand that is being advertised is also essential because a weak brand might prove to be a challenge when it comes to advertising it.
The value of branding is seen in marketing from two different perspectives. The first perspective is associated with the aspect of the intended results (Zenker and Martin, 2011). When the intended results are met, an organization proves that the brand is valuable and it has helped to attain the specific goals. The second perspective is when the news or rather information about the products or the company tends to spread faster (Kavaratzis, Warnaby, and Ashworth, 2014). When an organization has established a strong brand, it takes a short time to reach a more significant number. The reason behind it is because the company has already established a good image for itself.
Wal-Mart is a global organization, and it is evident that the company could not invest in an initiative that has no positive results on the company. The employment of different methods of advertising is a sign that the company knows the value of branding (Warnaby, Ashworth, and Kavaratzis, 2015). When an organization knows the value of an initiative, it invests in the initiative without looking back, and that has been demonstrated in the case of Wal-Mart (Hoppen, Brown, and Fyall, 2014). Information about advertising shows that Wal-Mart invests in different methods and strategies of advertising. However, the company does not apply a lot of effort in making its advertisements a success (Kotabe and Helsen, 2014). This is because the company has already established a strong brand and this is an indication of how valuable a brand can be in any given organization.
In 2017, Wal-Mart tested the full automated stores which did not need the attendance of the cashiers. The utilization of the stores affected the image of Wal-Mart, and in this case, the company marketed itself as an organization that is transforming with times. This is likely to cut the cost of labour and increase customers in different stores (Eshuis, Klijn, and Braun, 2014). The positive results that will come out of the creativity of Wal-Mart is an indication that branding has value.
Customers know Wal-Mart as the largest employer and the largest retail store in the world. This sparks positive debates that lead to favourable public opinion (Zenker and Jacobsen, 2015). The excellent reputation of Wal-Mart precedes it, and that is why the growth of the company is continuous. The growth is positive because the company has branded itself in a way that the members of public only talk positive of the company (Dinnie, 2015). The brand of a company has an effect on what people say. Organizations that have branded themselves negatively have been faced with the challenge of clearing their names, and this is proof that the public opinion is shaped by how an organization brands itself in the market.
The positive public opinion about Wal-Mart has also led to a positive attitude to the brand. A positive attitude leads to customers being loyal and motivates them to purchase from the organization (De Mooij, 2018). The same scenario is evident in the case of Wal-Mart where the company has been experiencing increased profits and sales. The attitude to the brand shows that branding has value because it influences what the customers feel about the brand.
Different methods are used to calculate the value of a brand and each of the methods has its weaknesses and strengths. The two essential methods are cost-based brand valuation and income-approach brand valuation. The cost-based brand valuation looks at the costs that have been associated with the brand since its inception. The income-approach brand valuation is the method that looks at the potential income that will be made after the branding process. The strength of cost-based brand valuation is associated with helping an organization to have the specific budget for the brand. However, there is a weakness which is associated with the unpredictability of the performance of the brand. This method of valuation only looks into what has been spent and not what the company is likely to gain from.
When it comes to income-based valuation, it has strength because it helps to dictate the value that has been attained after the promotion of the brand. The method looks at the outcome of the brand and therefore an organization is able to understand the impacts of the brand. However, a weakness is present because the process of estimating the income that has been made out of the brand takes a lot of time and there are other variables. For example, there are other factors that affect the income of an organization and they might be mistaken for the brand.
There are different ways of increasing the brand value but two specific recommendations are essential in this case. The first recommendation is to understand the needs of the customers. A brand is supposed to appeal to the customers and this means that it should meet the needs of the customers. Understanding the needs of the customers helps an organization to brand its products or image in a way that they meet the needs of the customers. The second way is employing the most effective marketing communication tools. It is essential to note that despite the strength of a brand, it must be communicated to the potential customers. It is at this point that the most effective marketing communication tools come in handy. The employment of the tools helps to add the value of the brand from the income perspective.
Conclusion
Wal-Mart is an excellent example of the effects that come along with branding. The company is proof that branding has value and it can either benefit an organization or limit its success. The data that has been collected about Wal-Mart shows that the company has been making profits recently. Even though there are other factors that are associated with the success of the company, it is evident that the branding of an organization has an effect on the overall performance of a company.
References
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