The times, they are a-changing. And will inevitably continue to do so. So how, in our fast-paced, ever-evolving world, can a brand guarantee long-term success?
As with all business matters, there are no guarantees. What we can do is look to brands who have garnered lasting success through the key strategies they use to keep them at the top of their game.
Even the most ardent vegetarians or clean-eating enthusiasts are likely to have heard of Bisto, the British gravy brand established in 1908, which has remained a popular centre point of family mealtimes ever since.
Interestingly, it’s this very brand marker that the company largely credits with its long-term success. “Bisto has always been about bringing people together around the table, built from the basic human value that the time during the day when a group of people pause, share a meal and catch up with each other is very important,” says Helen Warren-Piper, marketing director of Premier Foods. “That brand proposition of togetherness remains as relevant now as it was 100 years ago.”
Arguably, there’s an element of luck in the fact that what Bisto decided to stand for all those years ago remains true today. But it’s a lesson that all businesses, large or small, can learn from; stay true to your core values.
Another longstanding British brand, Barbour, agrees. According to Steve Buck, managing director of the clothing company, their ethos is just the same as it was when the company launched in 1894. “Staying true to our roots, prioritising quality above all else, surprising without shocking, and delivering understated style – our values are transcendent,” he says.
So, it’s clear that defining values that underpin your brand, and making it part of your business strategy to always maintain them, is important. But how does this translate into day-to-day business?
Communication is key. That could mean ensuring all of the stakeholders involved with your brand understand your values and what’s expected of them in order to maintain these core beliefs. It could be communicating them to consumers in the hope they’ll come to be associated with your brand. Or it could require working them into a mission statement – one that reinforces everything you do and that helps to keep structure and strategy at the forefront of each business decision.
Warren-Piper says if you find something that truly works for your brand, stick to it. “The British public love the taste of Bisto – they can identify it in blind taste tests – so we haven’t worked to modify it.” The same goes for Barbour’s iconic original wax jackets.
Despite this both brands agree that to truly stand the test of time, it’s about embracing change. “Although we haven’t changed the taste of our product, we’ve developed the Bisto range in line with macro trends in the food industry; taste, convenience and health,” explains Warren-Piper. She adds that Bisto knew it had taste tied up, but wondered how to make its product more convenient and healthier. “It’s that question that’s led us to develop new launches, like our easy gravy paste and reduced-salt and low-sugar varieties,” she explains.
For Barbour, it’s been a matter of evolution, rather than revolution. The company has grown its original jacket offering into a complete wardrobe of products including trousers, shirts, socks and knitwear. And one thing they’ve always considered is the element of risk associated with any specific change. “We listened to what our customers wanted, and there was a clear demand for more products,” says Buck, “But we only ever progressed into a new area when we were confident we could still offer the best quality product and when, because we knew there was an element of demand there, the risk was low.” Not compromising their standards while also pushing the business forward has meant Barbour has lost no existing customers, but gained many new ones.
Bisto too give a lot of credence to consumer research to guide what they will, and won’t, change. Their target is modern foodies, who love home cooking but find it too time-consuming. Warren-Piper says: “A few decades ago, the average prep time for a family’s evening meal was an hour – now it’s 32 minutes. So we launched a wet paste packet mix – more real, more foodie and it’s quick and convenient.”
For small businesses who don’t have large budgets for new product development, this focus on using research to guide change is invaluable – knowing that your consumers desire a product or service from you, and delivering it, is a low-risk strategy. And, if you can produce and communicate it in a way that surprises the customer and gives them a sense of value-adding innovation, even better.
But what of external challenges? It goes without saying that the longer a brand is around, the more challenges it will face from competitors and changing markets.
For Barbour, something as simple as a few mild winters can equal low sales – they were one of the reasons behind the brand’s early 90s sales dip. And so the company responded, expanding the design team to cater for more modern, urban tastes, introducing lighter weights and relaunching their motorcycle range, which now accounts for 25% of the firm’s growth. “You have to be open to reinvention,” says Buck.
Bisto, alongside most food companies in the UK, are trying to combat the pressures of price deflation in an increasingly competitive environment. Warren-Piper says: “It would be easy to think the solution is to cut costs, but that’s a very short-term way of thinking. The key issue is to frame how you build value for the customer when there’s such a drive to decrease price. If research shows consumers pay more for a product driven by a technological breakthrough, then you focus on investing in innovation.”
Both companies have had to overhaul their marketing strategies as more competitors appear on the scene. In 2013, Barbour rolled out their first e-commerce site, allowing customers to buy direct from them online. Up until then, the brand had sold products through a third party, but the launch of Barbour.com saw sales rise 42% last year.
Bisto has built on its famous tradition of TV advertising by reaching out to customers both digitally and en masse. Warren-Piper says: “We launched the Bisto Together Platform where we went out to the public, asked them who they’d like to be brought together with around the table and then filmed those meals as an ad campaign to run on YouTube. The pick-up and reaction has been amazing.”
It’s clear that although both brands remain staunch advocates of their core values and the beliefs that were in place when they both existed as small businesses a century ago, it’s a willingness to change and a drive to innovate that has kept them growing year on year.
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