Kovalenko Yu.O., Ph.D., Docent Goncharenko T.P.

The Ukrainian Academy of Banking of the National Bank of Ukraine

Brand as a part of improving the competitiveness of enterprises

At the present stage of economic development competition forces producers constantly seek new ways to improve their competitiveness. The most important condition for the competitiveness of enterprises is the efficient use of resources, skills and abilities of company staff, the brand, the achievements of modern management, innovation, information and financial capacity, which represents the competitive potential of the company. The most important place here takes the company brand. As it forms a necessary condition for company's stable position on the market and remains a major factor in increasing competitiveness.

One of the main issues that company needs to solve is transformation of a registered trademark in a brand. This will lead to stable and high profits, developing new methods of attraction of potential buyers which based on brand approach and that in turn will help to improve the competitiveness of domestic enterprises and ensure growth of economic efficiency of their operations. In order to create a strong brand the company should initially create a stable values, differentiated trade mark, conditions for trade mark recognition, win consumers' loyalty and ensure brand legal defense.

Brand management at domestic enterprises remains urgent as identification of company’s goods is essential to its competitiveness in the market. A powerful brand helps the consumer to spend less time in choosing products from a large variety. That, in turn, allows the manufacturer to increase profits by expanding the range of goods, providing information about their general and individual quality, analyzing consumers demands, cutting direct spending on advertising, as well as forecasting the enterprise development on the market. And all of these will finally lead company to high competitive position.

The brand value is connected with its mission, which means its ability to create a complex of unique, specific, utilitarian and symbolic values for consumer, designed to meet his functional, social, psychological and economic needs. That’s why there is no doubt that the brand is an instrument of creating a long-term competitive advantage. Also, we should emphasize the advantage which gain consumers from brands existence, by that I mean a sense of confidence, satisfaction from using high quality goods and services on acceptable prices, innovation and communication support, fineness, prestige, global linkages.

The need to create brand can be explained by following facts and figures:

- 72 % of consumers affirm that they are ready to pay a 20 % additional cost for a brand which they like;

- 25 % of consumers assure that price is not important for them if they buy trustworthy brand;

- some consumers rely on the advice of colleagues and other people and that stands for almost 30 % of all purchases that are made nowadays;

- more than 50 % of consumers believe that powerful brand provides a successful launch of a new product on the market, that's why buyers are willing to try a new one [1].

According to this competitive brand can be imagined as “a crossroad”, where “meet” the needs and categories of impairment, valued by customers, and those powerful parties of competing companies, on which they formed their brands. Only that brand and those goods win, which most of all satisfy the needs and expectations of consumers at a reasonable price for them [3].

There is an objective need to use a brand that creates a competitive advantage over the other subjects of market relations, as it provides its recognition worldwide, creates favorable conditions for the promotion of new products, which are positively perceived by consumer even before they get it, because of its prestige [2; p.223].

In practical terms, brand gives the company a list of advantages, the main of which are: obtaining additional income by creating intangible assets; formation of a sustainable competitive advantage through the difference of that product of the enterprise and the counterparts, which are represented on the market; creation added value of goods, that allows to induce consumer’s choice on our side and raise his loyalty [4].

Brands can not just fit into customers’ stereotypes, but also directly shape them. That’s why different tools of strengthening brand become very actually. While creating brand experts usually suggest remembering about positioning of the product and about the strategies, which were developed for this brand. We should pay attention to other brands, presented in the same market segment, when creating successful brand. This allows, firstly, to avoid duplication of already existing brand on the market, secondly, to consider mistakes committed by competitors, and thirdly, it may inspire on an original idea [2].

Thus, in the current economic conditions domestic enterprises faces increasing competition on the domestic market and need to enter the world market. Determination of the main aspects of brand values proves that it provides the opportunity to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the company, to concentrate resources in a certain direction, to achieve better performance. Strong brand with pronounced value positions is a significant asset of the company, a tool of establishing long-term competitive advantages of a company, the creation of extra cost of the capital, promotion of the goods on the domestic and world markets.

Literature:

1. Clency K. Modeling market. How to predict the success of a new product / K. Clancy. - New York: Summit, 2007. - 272.

2. Dolzhansky I. Competitive Enterprise [Text]: Manual / I. Dolzhansky, T. Zagorna. - Kyiv: Center of textbooks, 2006. - 384 p.

3. Ivashov N. Factors of communicating the essence of the brand through communications company [Text] / N. Ivashov, T.P. Goncharenko / / Mechanism of Economic Regulation - 2012 - № 4 - P. 123-130.

4. Satton, D. The new science of marketing. Enterprise marketing management / Per. from English. - St.: Peter, 2004. - 240.

5. Uhachevych Y., Dubodyelova A. Management of competitiveness of products: branding [Electronic resource]. - Mode of access: http://vlp.com.ua/