Any business, large or small, retail or B2B, one important aspect of it is its branding. In today’s competitive market, an effective branding strategy gives the organization a major edge. It is very important to understand the basics of branding thoroughly and how it can affect the business positively.
Simply put, brand is a cluster of functional and emotional attributes, which enables a promise to be made for a new and welcomed experience, while differentiating the products from the competitor’s offering.
The product offering has to be according to the target market and their demands. One cannot offer high cost – high quality products, simultaneously with low cost – high value products.
The logo is the identity of the brand. The packaging, promotional materials and website has to integrate logo, in order to communicate.
Brand Equity and Strategy
There is a direct relationship between brand equity and strategy. A unique branding strategy will result in strong equity. Developing a strategy involves four processes: planning, monitoring, analyzing and assessing the whole branding process. The message that the offering product wants to deliver, place of advertisements and distribution channels also come in branding strategy.
The quality and emotional attributes about the brand are perceived as its intrinsic value. These contribute to enhance the equity. To attract customers towards the product, emotional attachment and associations are few of the ways. If the strategic direction is consistent then the equity would define the hold of the brand in the market. Now the company can charge higher prices relative to other homogeneous products.
Defining the Brand
The process of defining is a drive of self-discovery. It is very painful, tough and time consuming. The process begins with designing a clear mission. Next is to conduct an extensive research about the customer’s perceptions and demands and designing the offer according to the needs of the customers. To earn a competitive edge the company needs to offer differentiated benefits and features. Finally, gather customer’s feedback about its presence.
Brand Communication
Next is to spread the word out in the market after defining the brand. This can be done by designing a great logo and placing it to the highest level of visibility. Next develop a message which defines the attributes of the product. Now create a catchy tagline which defines the essence. Be consistent while designing color scheme, logo placement, look and feel of the brand. All in all, use a holistic approach when integrating the marketing communication plan. Always aim for under-promising and over-delivery because these leads to referrals.
