In branding, change is a concept we operate with quite often, especially when it comes to rebranding and brand rediscovery processes. What we have noticed, however, is that business change has completely different values for Romanian entrepreneurial businesses. How entrepreneurs see change and, above all, how it can help in business growth are two aspects that concern us on a daily basis.
In his book, Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely talks about a phenomenon that explains very well the relationship of Romanian entrepreneurs with their brands and their difficulty in making a change. Duke UniversityWhere His Story Happens Ariely, is where basketball is almost a religion. The university owns a stadium small enough for spectator demand, so in order to get tickets to a match, students undergo a difficult selection process. As a result of this process, only a limited number of students obtain tickets, the others continue to participate in the next selections, undergoing the same difficult process.
The question Ariely and INSEAD professor Ziv Carmon asked themselves was whether students who won tickets considered them more valuable than students who didn't (though efforts to get them were just as great). Thus, after interviewing students from both camps (those with tickets and those without), the researchers confirmed their hypothesis that ownership of a thing greatly increases its value in the eyes of the owner.
This property right causes us to become emotionally attached to what we own, to focus more on what we lose than on what we gain when a change occurs, and to value our property differently from those around us.
Linking this principle with experience in various rebranding processes with Romanian entrepreneurship, we realized that there are some aspects that make entrepreneurial businesses unique, but which, at the same time, diminish their power to change things when the business model or context requires it.
1. Entrepreneurs are in love with their brands and that blinds them.
Over time, entrepreneurs have developed a very strong attachment to their brands. And it's good for it to happen that way. However, this becomes a disadvantage when it affects business decisions. Often, in rebranding processes, a sense of ownership over a brand acts against the efficiency and evolution of the process. Brand names are retained that greatly complicate the communication process, just because there is an attachment of the organization to it. An old symbol/logo that cannot give rise to a good communication idea becomes untouchable, simply because the organization has become accustomed to it over time. Such situations are increasingly common, therefore, I believe that, in branding processes, entrepreneurial businesses need to think better about the relationship between feelings for a brand and its development possibilities.
2. Entrepreneurs focus on what they lose and less on what they gain.
Aversion to lose is a powerful emotion. In business, however, this can lead to delayed decisions or making wrong decisions. Romanian entrepreneurial businesses were built by instinct, without access to knowledge of business strategies. Today, however, the strategic aspect can no longer be ignored. A name given to a business 20 years ago today can create confusion — more and more developing businesses have names that are no longer relevant to the business idea or customer expectations. These businesses refuse to see what they lose by keeping that name and what they gain by giving it up. Sooner or later they will make the change. One thing is for sure, when it comes to selling, the estimated value of the brand will be lower.
3. Entrepreneurs have a hard time accepting that the brand is seen differently through the eyes of consumers than through their own eyes
Romanian entrepreneurial brands were born and lived for a good time in a market where demand far exceeded supply and buyers were quite generous. This situation has created a kind of myopia in entrepreneurship that has led to the inability of many businesses to adapt to a business environment driven by competitive strategies. Romanian entrepreneurs are still under the calming effect of past successes and still hardly accept that they need specialized help to move to another level of development. From the perspective of branding, entrepreneurs have to go through a stage of cleaning up, choosing the traits that define their business and brand. Whether we call this rebranding process or just call it change, the result should be the same: creating a brand/business relevant to its category.