Branding
Yusuf
Dohadwala, Mumbai
yusuf_dohadwala@yahoo.com
Brand is the proprietary visual, emotional, rational,
and cultural image that you associate with a company
or a product. When you think Nike, you might think
of Michael Jordan or "Just Do It." When
you think IBM, you might think "Big Blue."
The fact that you remember the brand name and have
positive associations with that brand makes your product
selection easier and enhances the value and satisfaction
you get from the product.
Before going any further, however, we should set the
record straight on what a brand is, and is not. Only
then can you go about the process of branding your
company and your products. First, your brand is not
just your logo, tagline, packaging or the "look
and feel" of your ads and your website, these
are all graphical parts of your brand identity and
are often narrowly, and incorrectly, referred to as
"branding." Here is a much broader definition
shared by many in the brand management community:
Your brand resides within the hearts (feelings) and
minds (intellect) of your customers and prospects.
It is the sum total of their (product, company and
competitive) experiences and perceptions, some of
which you can influence, and some you cannot.
Successful brand managers recognize that they must
understand the needs and wants of customers and prospects.
They strive to convey that they meet these needs and
wants in a differentiating way that is motivating
to prospects. They accomplish this by initiating integrated
strategies throughout the company at every point of
public contact -- marketing communications, customer
support and sales.
The value of a brand is not something that one can
easily change. Although it is not a part of the marketing
mix, but an effect of it, the subject has nevertheless
been included as branding plays an essential role
in the communication process, denoting the identity
of the product or service.
While
branding can almost make or break a product, it
has to be looked at in proportion to its role. The
customer buys a product, not a brand. The physical
purchasing action is caused by a decision to acquire
a product; the brand is there to serve as a means
of identifying the manufacturer. The values of the
brand will reflect on the product, but one must
not forget that it is the product that is bought.
The
brand imagery can reinforce product values and often
does so quite significantly and turn people into
customers as well as enhance product satisfaction.
The customers' objective, however is to buy a product
and the quality experience of that product is what
will persuade them to make or not make a second
purchase. The product reflects on the brand as much
as the brand reflects on the product.
The
expression that 'the customer buys a brand' is not
only logically wrong, but also conceptually wrong
and can lead marketers to believe that product quality
is less important, assuming that creating the right
kind of imagery will overcome potential deficits
in tangible product values.
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