 |
|
The source of the best business, financial and legal news |
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
 | |
| |
 |
Business Informations |
|
|
|
Importance of Branding - Whats in a Name?
Branding is perhaps the most important facet of any business--beyond product, distribution, pricing, or location. A company's brand is its definition in the world, the name that identifies it to itself and the marketplace. A model may be beautiful, but without a name, she's just "that girl in that picture." Where would Norma Jean be without Marilyn Monroe, or who would imagine Coca-Cola as just a soft-drink manufacturer? A brand provides a concrete descriptor to customers and competitors alike, a name for a product or service to distinguish it from anything else. Bob may run a hobby shop, but trying to advertise as "The hobby shop a guy named Bob runs down the street a ways" is financial suicide. Each customer will have to describe the shop, who Bob is, and what the shop does every time someone asks about it. This makes the process of recommending a good hobby shop too much work for the average customer, and far too much work for a user looking for hobby shops on the Internet. A customer looking up Bob's hobby shop will have an easier time of it if he or she knows to refer to it as "Bob's House of Hobbies," and the customer can then refer others to Bob's hobby shop by name, increasing the potential advertising exponentially. Developing a brand involves more than just picking a catchy name and placing an ad in the newspaper--a brand is more than a unique string of letters denoting a particular product; a successful brand is a mnemonic trigger that makes a consumer feel a certain way when the brand is thought of. For those who drink cola-flavored soft drinks, which is more appealing on a hot day: a cold cola soda, or an ice-cold Coke? Coca-Cola has spent 100 years developing their particular brand of cola-flavored soda as a refreshing beverage and a seminal representation of a market segment. Coca-Cola has used a combination of direct marketing, give-away techniques, and multi-product cross-branding to achieve maximum brand recognition and visibility in not only its immediately competitive market, but in markets as diverse as Coca-Cola branded race cars and housewares. Brand loyalty is an integral part of building a brand, as consumers usually have a choice of products in the same market segment, and so a successful company will come up with a way to keep consumers re-buying their product or coming back to their location rather than going to a competitor. These brand loyalty-building efforts may come in the form of coupons, incentives such as many grocery chains' technique of "grocery discount cards" or "loss leaders," meant to draw consumers into the store, where they will hopefully buy products along with the discounted fare at a higher profit ratio. In exchange for these discounts and grocery cards, many companies collect information about buying habits and average spending amounts, the better to tailor advertisements and better-focus future promotional efforts. Once a consumer is hooked, brand loyalty tends to result in higher sales volume, as well as loyal customers being less sensitive to price changes of their favorite brands (within reason, of course), as well as less sensitive to competitors' incentives. Studies have shown that it takes 5 times as much money to gain a customer as it does to retain one. That's 5 times as much money as could have been spent on other things. A brand is who your company is, and what it is selling--it is as important as naming a baby, and should require the same amount of effort to develop it, but if done well, can mature into a successful and profitable adult. William King is the director of All Wholesale UK: http://www.uk-wholesaler.co.uk , Wholesale Pages: http://www.wholesalepages.co.uk and Wholesale-Canada: http://www.wholesale-canada.com. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers, entrepreneurs and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.
MORE RESOURCES:
branding - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Your Business Logo and Color Scheme My business logo and color scheme started one lovely spring day in my office, after two years of working with words and images. I purchased some rubber stamps and played with them. Branding Fiasco -- Better Be Who You Say You Are! Our experience as customers offers great instruction into the concept of branding. Come with me on a recent "experience" and you'll see what I mean. Entrepreneur Speaks on Brand Extension in the Franchise Cleaning Business On question I have been asked over and over again from prospective franchisees of our companies has been one in which I am very adamant about it; do we require prior experience? No, like many franchise companies we actually frown upon it and think it is such a detriment that we usually disqualify the franchise candidate if they do have prior experience. And we always ask the prospective franchise buyer what sort of experience they have in our industry. How to Create Your Own Mail Order Products Pick up almost any book or report on Mailorder Selling andinvariably you will find the same advice. When you select amailorder product, select one which: - appeals to a large segment of the population- is not readily available in stores- is easy to ship by mail- is worthwhile- and a product that lends itself to repeat orders Most mail order writers will also tell you to try to acquireexclusive selling rights to your product. How Important it is to have a Professional Logo Design for your Business? There are a lot of things that contribute towards the success of a business. Having a good quality product doesn't necessarily assure the success of a business. Introduction to A Branded World: Adventures in Public Relations and the Creation Of Superbrands You'd have to labor to shield yourself from the power of Branding; it's hard to avoid it in today's business and social climate. Even in the backwoods of very, very small-town America, you couldn't emancipate yourself from the in-your- face concepts of Branding messages from all over the world. Branding Services - Brand Identity Guru Branding Services is a tactic that marketing executives and managers should not only understand, but also employ. Branding services helps your company clearly position your company over your competition by branding your product/service in the minds of your target markets. Brand Your Name! Have you ever thought about branding your name? Does the idea sound too egotistical for you or does it make good business sense? Let's examine personal name branding and how it can help you achieve the recognition you need for your business and put you quickly on the path to success!Promptly upon receiving my layoff notice from my position of nearly eleven years, I decided I needed to venture out on my own. I formed a limited liability company and named the concern after my name. Why Should I do Business With You? It's the question that is on the minds of all our customers regardless of what products or services we are offering. Potential customers want to know what makes you so different and why should they do business with you as opposed to one of your competitor's. Speech on Branding from a Franchisor Founder I was asked today by a group of students; What do you feel is the best way to build brand name and why? And what significance do you feel are relevant to a strong corporate identity?Well obviously this is a group of marketing students. And it almost sounded as if I was being tested on an essay question. The Art of Successful Branding Branding: it's a term that carries great weight in the world of advertising. Successful branding is best illustrated by the world's most prominent corporations, but it's no less important to the small business owner. Quick Tactics To Brand Your Business And Make More Sales This may come as a surprise.. Understand Brand Branding has been defined, explained and examined extensively. There are books, articles, publications, seminars, and groups all dedicated to exploring the meaning and use of brand today. Planning Ahead With Your Designer: Tips For Design Consistency With Your Logo And Brand Elements While we recommend that you contract with the same designer or design team while creating your brand identity materials as possible, we know that this scenario is not always possible.Whenever you work with a designer other than the original who created your logo, stationery and marketing materials, we suggest a few practices that will prove invaluable for ensuring a consistent look and feel across all of your marketing communications. Branding Your Business To Make More Money Branding your comapny should be the first thing a company does. You have to convince potential customers to buy from you. Revealing the Roots: The Process of Building Brand How is branding different than marketing?Branding is not so much different from marketing as it is an element of marketing. We think of marketing as a tree; the brand is the roots, holding the tree in place and providing constant energy. Company Vehicles Have Advertising on Them; Tips on Driving in Parking Lots Try to avoid backing up whenever possible. Occasionally some one in a small car will park directly behind you at a gas station or stop sign. Logo Design - Corporate Identity Branding - Brand Identity Guru Like it or not it's who you are. Your corporate Identity touches all aspects of your business and plays a vital role in your customer's overall feeling with your organization. Donald Trump On Branding - Brand Identity Guru Love him or hate him, one thing is certain: Donald Trump is a successful guy. We don't have to sum up his accomplishments for you, because his name speaks for itself. You Bored Me at Hello - Top Three Strategies for Networking Your Brand "You had me at hello," those famous words from the movie Jerry McGuire let Tom Cruise know that Rene Zellweger's character was hooked from that point and the rest of his talking was unnecessary. When in networking situations, many small business owners leave people with a slightly different feeling.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
