Not sure about the meaning of “branding?” No worries! Branding is one of those marketing concepts that are a bit ambiguous and can become confusing, even for those who know marketing. Here, we are going to have a look at what is branding and the importance of branding in business. However, before that, to understand what is branding and what are the different branding strategies, first we must understand what products or services are. Let us start.
Definition of product:
“Generally, a product is anything that can be presented to market to satisfy a need or want, including physical goods, services, events, experiences, places, persons, organizations, properties, ideas, and information.
This means that a product can be anything like a hotel stay, a language course, a flight, clothes, a toothbrush, or food.
To demonstrate the definition of a product and the role it occupies in explaining branding, let us take the example of water:
Water is a free resource that everybody needs to live in. Yet it became a product the day human beings and companies started commercializing it, for instance by selling mineral water in plastic and glass bottles.
But you must be thinking that all water looks the same. It is transparent and in liquid form. Then, how can different companies sell the same water but still convince them to buy their water and not their competitors?
The answer to this question is quite simple: by creating a brand.
Definition of a brand:
“According to the American Marketing Association, a brand is a name, design, term, symbol, or any other feature that explains one seller’s goods or services as unique from those of other companies.
You can consider a brand as an idea or an image individual have in mind while thinking about certain products, services, and activities of a company, both in an emotional and practical way. Therefore, it is not just the physical features that establish a brand, but also the feelings that consumers build towards the organization or its product. This combination of emotional and physical cues is triggered when exposed to the name, logo, visual identity, or even the message conveyed.
A product can be easily copied by other players in the market, but a brand will always be different. For instance, Coca-Cola and Pepsi taste similar, however, for a few reasons, some people feel connected to Coca-Cola, whereas others to Pepsi.
Let us illustrate this again with our water example. The product sold is water, but to persuade people to buy specific water, companies developed various water brands, like Evian, Fiji, Perrier, and Volvic. And each one of these brands offers a different meaning to the same product, water:
- Evian makes you feel young
- Perrier is bubbling sexy, and refreshing
- Fiji water is healthy, natural, and pure
- And so on….
In the end, a brand can be defined as a person’s gut feeling regarding a certain product or company. Every person creates his or her own edition of it, and some brands increase or decrease in popularity because of how customers think about them.
Whom does it affect?
Customers- As discussed above, a brand offers customers a decision-making shortcut when feeling hesitant about a similar product from various companies.
Shareholders/ third parties/ employees- Besides assisting customers to differentiate the same products, successful branding strategies are also adding to the reputation of a company. This asset can affect a wide range of people, from customers to employees, shareholders, investors, distributors, and providers.
As an instance, if you do not like or do not feel connected to a specific brand, you would possibly feel like working for it. However, if you feel like the brand understands you and provides products that
As an example, if you do not like or do not feel connected to a brand, you would probably not want to work for it. However, if you feel like the brand understands you and offers products that inspire you, you will probably love to work for it and be part of its world.
Importance of Branding in a Business
Branding is critical to a business due to the overall impact it makes on your organization. Branding can change how people perceive your brand, it can drive new business and boost brand awareness too.
Branding helps in getting recognition- One of the major importance of branding in a business is the way it helps a company get recognition. Branding helps the company popular among its customers. The logo is the most important element of branding, mainly where this factor is concerned, as it is basically the face of the brand.
This is the reason why a professional logo design must be powerful and easy to remember, leaving an impression on a person at first look. Printed promotional products are a way of getting this thing across.
Branding increases business value- This is yet another importance of branding in business. Branding is important when trying to create future business, and a strongly recognized brand can increase a business’s value by offering the company more leverage in the industry. This makes it a more interesting investment opportunity due to its firmly established place in the market.
Branding generates new clients- A good brand will have no difficulty drumming up referral business. Generally, strong branding means there is a positive impression of the organization amongst customers, and they are likely to do business with you due to the familiarity and assumed reliability of using a name whom they can trust. Once a brand has been well-established, word of mouth will be the brand’s best and most effective advertising method.
Enhances Employee Pride and Joy- When an employee works for a branded company and stands behind the brand, they will be happier with their job and have a high degree of dignity in the work they do. Working for a brand that is reliable and help in high regard amongst the public makes working for that brand more enjoyable and fulfilling. Having a branded office, which can regularly assist employees to feel satisfied and have a sense of belonging to the brand, can be attained through using marketing merchandise for your desktop.
Develops Trust within the marketplace- A professional appearance and well-strategized branding will help the company build trust with customers and potential clients. People are likely to do business with a company that has a polished and skilled portrayal.
Being rightly branded provides the impression of being industry professionals and makes the public feel as though they can rely on your company, the products, or services it provides, and the way it handles its business.
Branding supports advertising- Advertising is another important component of branding, and advertising strategies will clearly reflect the brand and its anticipated portrayal. Advertising methods like the use of promotional goods from trusted companies like Outstanding Branding make it simple to develop a cohesive and attractive advertising strategy that plays well into your branding objectives.
Different Elements of Branding
Branding is not restricted to just logo and name. It is a combination of qualities and properties which influence nearly all our senses to result in an identical experience every time we encounter it.
Branding is made of several elements. Few of them are:
- Name- The name which we use to recognize the product with
- Logo- A symbol or other design approved by the business to recognize its brand
- Color- A color generally used by the business in its marketing messages to define or complement the company
- Message- The value proposition of the product which it conveys through the brand personality to fix the brand positioning
- Vision- The group of objective or goals behind the brand that help guide its activities and future
- Aroma- The unique smell which the user experiences prior to, during, and after he uses the offering
- Shape- Either the unique shape of the offering or the shape of the packaging
- Sound- The sound used in the marketing messages to strengthen the brand identity
- Graphics- The distinct and uniform aesthetics used in the advertising messages
Conclusion
In simple words, a product is what you sell, a brand is the perceived image of a product that you sell, and branding is the strategy to develop that image. So, by keeping the above-mentioned importance of branding in a business, start building a branding strategy for your business.