Branding is a steady process of building a link or an attachment between a corporation and the consumer’s sentiment for making for a personal connection that helps to build trust.

The brand is the positive or negative image of the product in the minds of our consumers. It is an emotion or feelings produced towards the organization or its product, which is offered by the organization. 

For example, the iPhone is the product of the brand Apple.

The product can be copied, but the brand can never be copied. The brand always remains different and offbeat from other brands. 

For example, Pepsi and Coke. 

Local coke is found everywhere, but still, local coke couldn’t copy the branded coke. In this case, Coke’s product is similar, but the brand name, logo, tagline, taste, emotion, etc. are different from one another.

It is the marketing strategy that organizations create to sell their products easily. So, it helps people or consumers to quickly identify the company’s product and give them a cause to select their products over the competition.

The main motto is to create a royal image of the product in people’s minds.

Here you will get this:

What is Branding?

Branding is a marketing practice in which a company creates a name, design, symbol, or image, or any artwork that is readily identifiable to the customers. It helps the product to get easily identified by the consumers.

Branding is powerful because it not only creates the images in customer’s minds but also makes the marketing, sales, or launching of any sub-brand easy. 

It is a way of marking yourself different from the competitors and simplifying your contribution that makes you a better selection. You should build your face value also to get recognized in the global market, something different from the others.

What is the Product?

Product is anything that satisfies the consumer’s needs that includes physical assets, assistance, happenings, experiences, personalities, sites, features, institutions, learning, and plans.

A product can be a service or an asset – whether tangible or intangible, also it can be a virtual product or in a cyber form.

A product can be anything from a stay in a hotel, security, a course, costumes, cuisine, etc.

‘WATER’ can also be a product. Yes, can you believe, water is one of the most important basic need for a human being.
There are companies which just mineralized the water, pack it into bottles and sell it in the market.

Further there is a vast classification of product, but we will not get into a deep discussion regarding that in this blog.

Who will it affect?

Most importantly, customers and then the Founders/share-holders will be most affected from the practice of branding.

Customers:

It is the most obvious answer, the prime motto of branding is customers, but their feelings also matters a lot.

Branding is not just a way of selling our products to customers. But it’s a brand that provides luxury to the customers (iPhone); it’s a brand that gives a next-level way of life to the customers (Mercedes Benz), it’s a brand that makes people be in the company’s ecosystem (Google and Apple).

It provides the consumer with a choice-making way when feeling doubtful about the same goods from different companies.

Employees/Funders/Share-holders: 

Now a days, everyone wants to work with big brands like Google, Amazon, Accenture, Alison, but why?

They give a graduate his identity.

Successful branding procedures and strategies are very helpful in the company’s reputation. This creates market value and brand authority. 

This affects a chain of people and creates a new place for your brand.

From customers to operators, investors, stockholders, providers, and wholesalers, it builds respect. People would like to invest more in reliance then in Chandu sim or Chandu mart, or Chandu Bazar or Chandu clothes.

Innovation

This is not mandatory for branding, but it gives an edge, but how?

For Example, Disney, Square, Google, Apple, OYO, Shopify, etc. got an edge because they did some innovation in the existing product.

To establish a point of difference is the great strategy to establish a brand. The point of differentiation can be anything, your service or your goods, or both.

The assertive, and often the most pleasing, means of differentiation for customers are advantages related to achievement.

Offers such as color, fashion, luxury, insurance, discount prices can also support Branding.

Sometimes variations in the purchasing conditions can open up new possibilities to create a means of differentiation. 

EXAMPLES-

For example, Pepsico penetrated into rising customer interest in natural and organic outcomes to reposition the lemon-lime soft drink as all-natural with only five components: carbonated water, potassium citrate, citric acid, sugar, and natural flavor. 

In the end, the innovation gives an edge as the innovation creates new value in the market and fulfills the new difficulties that no other brands fulfill. 

Organizations can fashion appealing concepts that appeal to customer’s familiar and psychological needs. 

For example, Marlboro’s excellent worldwide business share (about 32 %) is that its “macho cowboy” image has struck a receptive chord with much of the cigarette-smoking public.

Wine and liquor associations also work tough to develop unique images for their brands. 

Even your photo can create your brand image, but for that, your face value should be good in the market. To create face value, YouTube can help you a lot.

Seller’s dynamic space can be a strong image generator. 

Hyatt Regency Hotels produced a distinctive image with its atrium rooms.

For getting recognition of your innovation in the market, YouTube is the best place to sell your product and innovation.

Trust Creation?

The most important thing in Branding is the Level of trust gained. Trust in the market place is very beneficial for you to create your brand and to grow. 

Trust itself says to commit. You should give the commitment to the customers that your brand will not break their trust.

An expert representation and well-strategized branding will help the organization build commitment with customers, potential buyers, and clients. 

Investors are more likely to do funds those businesses which have an excellent and acknowledged imitation.

So you should gain the trust of both the customers and stakeholders.

If you gain the faith of customers, then stakeholders or investors will automatically gain faith in your organization. Customer and content are the kings of your market place.

How can branding be established?

Companies try to use many ways to promote themselves as a brand like from advertisements, or from mouth publicity, etc., but this is just a part of How branding can be established? You have several ways to create a brand:

For example, branding can be created through:

1. Fulfilling the purpose, values, faith of the consumers, this will give you recurring customers.
2. Secondly, Every brand has a short line for its promotion; you have to create that.
3. If you notice in the brand advertisements, they have a jingle in their slogan. That jingle remains in consumer’s minds for a very long time. 
4. Name, tone, visual identity, design, are also very important.
5. Logo plays a very important role in making identity. May it be simple, but you should keep in mind your brand color and then integrate that color into your logo.
6. Advertising in commercials like TV, radio, magazines, websites, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

FEW MORE UNIQUE BRANDING WAYS

7. As I have discussed earlier, the packaging is the best way to influence people. If you have seen the packaging of newly launched Bourbon biscuits, the packaging influence truly depicts from that example.
8. YouTube is now a day, the best place to give sponsorships because they have more conversion rates than TV ads. People trust YouTubers more than TV actors or rather Film actors.
9. After doing all this, you should once check the ground reality also because only board-room meeting does not help to sell your products. 
10. You should check the workspace management and working and selling style of people, along with competitors’ strategy.
11. You should do Reverse engineering by evaluating the competitor’s product, you should keep an eye on the competitor’s product and always keep innovating your own product to remain ahead of your competitor.
12. Most important of all is Customer service; it will decide the Reoccurrence of the customers. All branding and marketing will be of no use if you fail to provide the best customer service.
13. If your brand is new, then keep the pricing of your product/service a bit lower than your competitors. And then just keep innovating your product till it becomes far better than your competitor’s product. And then you can slightly hike your product’s price. 

Advantages or Importance of Branding

At various different points in this blog, we have already discussed the importance of Branding, but let me collectively recall all the points again.

1. Branding helps you stand out from the game.
2. It gives you and your company a different identity that your consumer can recall.
3. It creates a uniform brand exposure for your consumers.
4. Most importantly, it creates a connection with your viewers and turns those viewers into loyal customers. 

Conclusion

I have discussed all the aspects of branding and its strategies. What is the product? Customers segments, Do innovation help in the game, Trust, How branding can be established? Its Advantages or Importance.

I hope you will apply the things that I have discussed, remember one thing, only teaching can’t help, practically you will understand when you apply it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)