Why Branding Holds Key Importance for Businesses

“Brand” actually comes from the word “brandr” which means “to burn”. This practice was prevalent among producers in olden days when they used to burn their mark on their products. The term “brand” is used to signify names, designs, terms, symbols or other features that helps to distinguish products from different sellers. Branding can be defined in many ways but, it can best be described as the emotional relationship that exists between a business and a customer. It is the whole mental image that customers have towards a company, service or product irrespective of whether that image is good or bad. A brand can be thought of as a promise. If you are still unsure of what that means simply think about some of the best brands and you’ll get to know their promise: Budweiser, Pepsi, Mercedes Benz and Apple. You are always quite sure of what you’ll get when it comes to a well-branded service or product. However, a brand can also be defined in another way which includes a particular combination of words, logo, design, typography, personality, colors, service, price, etc. Brand can even be referred to a combination of attributes. For example, think of Ferrari, and your initial thoughts would surely be something like “fast speed”, “great design and looks” and also “expensive”.

The personality, looks, promise and attributes eventually lead to what can be described as “appeal”. Majority of top brands of the world like Apple, Volvo, GE, etc. have that appeal. As a result of that, the sub-brands also tend to acquire some of the aura of patent brand that ultimately leads to their huge popularity and recognition.

The Concept of Branding

Branding when carried out in an effective way can not only increase the sale of a particular product but other products as well that are associated with the brand. Brand gives personality to a company, service or product that ultimately helps it to differentiate from others.

Branding Elements

Some of the key elements of branding are:

• Name
• Logo
• Catchphrase or tagline
• Graphics
• Colors
• Shapes
• Sounds
• Taste
• Scents
• Movements

The main objective of a good brand is:

• Clear delivery of message
• Confirming credibility
• Motivating the buyer
• Building an emotional target with the prospect
• Building user loyalty

Essentiality of Branding

Building a brand isn’t that easy. It takes hard work, lots of time and even money to create a brand which can speak volumes in just a few words. A strategic and well-thought out plan is necessary to implement so as to delight customers in every possible way. With the competitiveness in the market growing at a rapid rate, it is your brand that can help you stay ahead in the competition. A good brand is all about connecting with your customers emotionally and it gives them a sense of satisfaction and pleasure when they purchase their favorite brand.

The importance of establishing a strong brand identity can be guessed from the fact that, brands can easily outlive products. Your products come with specific life cycles but, the essence of your brand can stay in the minds of the customers for years to come. Brands help to convey credibility, uniform quality and experience. For example, if you think of Kraft buying Cadbury for a staggering $19.5 billion dollars, it may strike you as to what did Kraft actually buy? Is it the recipes, the factories or the chocolate? No. Kraft bought the Cadbury brand.

Branding can be considered as the basic and fundamental thing for corporations and companies that help them to establish incredible value. With the emergence of new markets and the world going online, the demand for effective branding has risen significantly over the past few years. However, apart from a strong branding strategy, cultural movement strategy holds great importance that can achieve great success for your brand. Customers show their loyalty towards brands and its products. Brands have the capability to inspire, motivate and encourage people towards bigger causes which are certainly not possible with products.

In the present day market scenario, branding has become an integral part of every business strategy. Smart branding is necessary to encourage trust and confidence in products/services offered by businesses that aids with further growth and recognition of a brand.