Source from (The Star Online): http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/6/17/business/13243893&sec=business
Published: Jun 17, 2013
Yusra: ‘Branding is not something you can see, touch, or feel, because
it is something you do on a daily basis without being aware of it.’
“Spending large sum on advertisements is marketing strategy and not what branding is all about. Branding is not something you can see, touch, or feel, because it is something you do on a daily basis without being aware of it.
“Branding is about how you talk to the customers, how you personally communicate with them about products, and how the products are positioned to develop emotional attachment for them,” he said.
Yusra spoke on the topic Taking Your Company To The Top Through Branding and Marketing at the The Star Business Awards (SOBA) Learning Series 2013 themed “Winning Strategies for Today's Companies”.
Other speakers included Star Publications senior regional manager David Yeoh, Leaderonomics talent acceleration head Vinesh Naidu, EXIM Bank promotion, marketing and support business division head Visualingam Veeraperumal, and Penang Adventist Hospital chief executive officer Dr Wesley Toh See Wei.
“Apple can succeed so well because the people in the organisation understand very well the ways to interact with the customers effectively, creating emotional attachment in them for Apple products.
“Thus it is important to create emotional attachment in customers for your products in order to conquer new markets,” Yusra said.
Meanwhile, speaking on the topic From Local to Global, Visualingam said a strong single-digit percentage growth in the demand for EXIM Bank's banking facilities and credit in insurance coverage could be expected this year.
“Since early this year, we have seen more queries and demand for these products. Local companies looking to emerging countries for fresh opportunities are taking up our banking facilities to support their overseas business ventures.
“Similarly, to protect against losses arising from political unrest overseas and bankruptcies, local companies are also increasing their take up of credit insurance coverage,” he said.
Visualingam said countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myannmar, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia were attracting a lot of interest and investments from Malaysian companies.
“Usually the overseas investments are in the oil and gas, construction, agriculture and manufacturing sectors,” he added.
Vinesh, in his presentation on Talent and People Management for 21st Century Business, said it was important for companies to decide whether they were recruiting talents to maintain the existing business process or to innovate and grow the company.
“Once they have made the decision, it is easier for them to identify and recruit the right people.
“When recruiting, companies should not just look at skills and capabilities but also the attitude and culture of the talents,” he said.
He said it was also important for companies to continuously assess the talents' performance and their future potential.
“This would enable companies to better differentiate their human resources from the perspective of performance management and recognition, which is important to boost morale and retain talents,” he said.
Yeoh, in his talk on Using the Media To Move Your Company Forward, said companies should establish long-term relationship with the media.
“From such a relationship, they will know that the best time for their stories to appear is during a slow news day. In the news room, stories from all over the country come in daily, and your story has to compete with them for a prominent space.
“Thus during a slow news day, your story will receive more attention,” he said.
Meanwhile, in his SOBA success story talk, Toh said that last year, one third of the 250,000 patients treated annually at Penang Adventist Hospital were from overseas.
“We are known overseas for our holistic approach to care for patients. On top of providing medical treatment, the holistic approach cares for the patient through the immediate family, and also looking after his or her spiritual and psychological needs.
“Our holistic approach are made known overseas via roadshows and health talks.
“In Malaysia, our holistic approach has enabled us to reach out effectively to the local community. That is why the local community refers to Penang Adventist Hospital as Our Hospital',” he said.
Penang Adventist Hospital won the best in CSR platinum award and best in marketing silver award at SOBA 2012.
