At the outset this may seem to be a very basic and simple question. When asked we all can name some brands, usually the ones we grew up with come to mind first. Some brands have been around for a long time. For some, their colours and logos never changed. People remember them from one generation to the next.

Occasionally brands have become synonymous with the object – just think of hoover and hoovering – the brand became one with the vacuum cleaner and became part of the colloquial English language.

We are exposed to over 3000 branded messages a day. Apparently we only notice about 80 out of those and then we only react to about 10. Reacting can simply mean to just give it a brief thought or comment, it doesn’t mean acting on it and buying the product.

Big business can afford to spend big on branding – and a lot of  ads and publicity materials are just trying to establish the brand in as many people’s minds as they possibly can. They are not even trying to sell a product.

Let us have a closer look at what a brand is and what it can do:

• A brand is an idea that lives in a customer’s or potential customer’s mind. A brand is much, much more than just the product. I would say it takes on a life of its own, it becomes a separate entity.

• Customers can become very loyal (or attached) to a brand for various (usually emotional) reasons.

• The brand becomes a combination of all experiences the customer had with it and anything the customer associates with it – this can be intended or unintended by the creator of the brand.

• A brand  becomes a huge responsibility because the customer doesn’t sort the good from the bad experiences – given enough time one rotten apple will spoil most or all of the others that are in the same container.

• A brand sets up positive expectations (this new product must be good because XX manufactures it)

• A brand engenders trust – a positive experience from the past will lead to the expectations of more positive experiences.

• A brand influences quite strongly how much people are willing to pay for a product or service.

• A brand is like a representative for the actual product.

Before you get excited about branding and spend large amounts of your advertising budget on it, remember: The space in peoples’ minds is limited. Most people find it quite hard to name a number of brands quickly because there are simply too many.

As a small business you need to spend your marketing dollar wisely and branding may not be the way to go. You might be much better off putting your money into emotional response marketing, getting sales and creating satisfied customers. Once you are profitable you can start thinking about branding your business.

Till Next time,

Connie and Charly

from

http://www.stretchyourmindandbody.com