There's Always a Brand!
Looking at the different brands surrounding us everywhere no matter what industry it is, nowadays no matter what product you use whether it's your computer your shoes even your toothpaste, there is always a brand.
So let's look at why do companies create brands and why do they place such a high importance on it and also why is it so important for these companies to share it with their customers or potential customers?
Well, the answers are as follows :
• A brand distinguishes a company and sets it apart.
• A brand gives the company and staff an identity.
• The brand gives customers a set of values to expect.
• The brand gives staff a set of values to help them identify with both the organization and customers.
• The brand should give consistency of message – no matter where you go or employee you talk to everyone should reflect the brand
• Possibility to charge premium prices.
• Internal company benefits such as attracting and retaining good employees and a cohesive company culture
• A branded product/service gives a perception of higher quality versus a non-branded product/service.
What is The Brand Personality?
The brand personality is what distinguishes you if you brand yourself or distinguishes your company and make it stand out in the crowded marketplace of products we live in right now. Branding also helps customers choose you/your product based on emotional reactions rather than rational common sense for example we do not always buy the cheapest or the lowest quality brands so the emotional part of it plays a big role. So to an extent, brands define you as a person or organization, they speak about your taste, your intellect and your social aspiration and even where you live or go on holiday and even where you go out to eat.
The truth is that brands are vital to the success of any company. The customer has to relate to the brand through their eyes and this is where companies have to focus on getting it right or they will not generate any product sales.
There are 7 Crucial components in building the right brand image:
1. Media Coverage – How a brand is perceived through the media is very important. People are influenced by what they see, read or hear. So it is important to get positive stories out there about your brand.
2. Marketing Communication and Identity – Every single communication with a customer, whether mass market advertising or a product manual, is an opportunity to build the brand image.
3. Customer Service – The way you treat your customers when they interact with your company is very important in forming brand opinion. How long do you have to wait to get an answer, is the process to make exchanges/returns..etc. straightforward?
4. Product Performance – If the product or service does not do what we say it will, or it becomes faulty, or is difficult to install, customers will associate a negative experience associated with your brand
5. Sales Practices – Dubious sales practices can often end up splashed all over the media! specially nowadays if we consider the power social media gives to customers. If you sell a customer something they do not want, will they come back again?
6. Employee Attitude and Behaviour – For a service brand, one of the biggest single influences on customers’ attitudes are employees. How many times have you been put off by a company due to the poor behaviour of an employee? Equally how many times have you been impressed by a company because of one of their individual employees?
7. Partners also have an impact – who your company is associated with can build or damage your brand
Brands create consumer trust and emotional attachments. As a result, they foster relationships between consumers and products that withstand pricing wars, transcend offers from new competitors, and even overcome rare lapses in product or service excellence.
Brands are a big business today because they make selling easier in person and online. People prefer to buy from companies they feel they know and can trust, and brands put forth that assurance. Whether you’re selling products to consumers, investment opportunities to stockholders, job opportunities to applicants, or ideas to constituents, a brand paves the way for success by establishing awareness of your unique and meaningful promise before you ever present your sales proposition.
When people are aware of your brand, they’re aware of the positive characteristics you stand for. Long before they get ready to make a purchase, they feel they know who you are and what unique value they can count on you to deliver. As a result, when the time comes to make the sale, brand owners can concentrate on the wants and needs of the consumer rather than take up valuable
consumer time trying to explain themselves and their unique attributes.
Without a brand, you have to build a case for why you deserve the consumer’s business every single time you get ready to make a sale. While brand owners are closing the deal, those without strong brands are still introducing themselves.
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