Brand Management In Muslims' Small And Medium Industries In Malaysia: A Study On Food Sector

Branding is an important process that can determine the marketability of the products or services as well as the profitability of the organizations involved especially when becoming a global Halal hub has been the main agenda of our country. The objectives of the research are to identify the fallacies in the current branding concept adopted by Muslim's SMI based on the fallacies listed by Jack Trout, to measure the effectiveness of the current branding concept, and also to propose a suitable branding concept for Muslims' SMIs in the food sector. A survey was conducted on selected samples from the industries in Johor and Selangor. This was further enhanced through interviews with relevant trade organizations. Descriptive analysis was done through a frequency analysis that highlights level of awareness and perceptions among the respondents. Finally, cross tabulation analysis further investigates the relationship between selected variables such as sales turnover, paid-up capital, marketing expenditure, and capital orientation and level of awareness and perception. One of the significant findings is that it was identified that the fallacies among SMIs in the industry are minimal and it would be an added advantage if the SMIs acknowledge its significance and try to avoid falling into the category. This can be done through continuous improvement in learning and training. Another significant finding is that, based on amount of the paid-up capital and their ability to generate revenue, their current branding concept is sufficient for the time being. If they wanted to become global players and have the ability to generate substantial revenue, changes in branding concept have to be proportionate to changes in those factors. Through the analysis, it is advisable that for the time being due to their limited paid-up capital,the Muslim SMIs should focus on the Multiproduct branding strategy.