The development of a brand andits support by an organization, according to Thomas Gad, a guru of world management, costs companies a huge fortune, and mostly without any clear goals and opportunities to assess the result.In our country, branding experience is not very large yet, but we can already identify six stages on the way to a recognizable brand.
Everyone is a consumer of one or another product or service. But everywhere we are surrounded by a huge number of identical goods from different manufacturers. Many of them are brought from different countries, in different packages, with unusual names. But, in fact, the difference between these goods is small. So which one to choose?
Basically, those who have bought a product before, or at least heard something about it, are more likely to buy something that is already familiar. This is exactly what most buyers do. Bottom line – some products sell well and others don’t. This means that in certain cases the bond between the product and the buyer has been stronger and more durable than in others. From this follows the definition: brand is the intellectual component of the product, which is expressed in its name and design, which are peculiar only to this product, and have a strong and strong communication with the buyer. In other words, the emergence of an unambiguous connection between a particular product and its trademark in a certain consumer can be considered the birth of a New Brand. On this basis, the most important task of the manufacturer is to create conditions for the formation and fixation of such a connection, if the buyer reacts positively. If the buyer reacts negatively, it can create an anti-brand.
Building a brand is the goal and dream of every manufacturer. If you take a step-by-step approach to solving the problems that arise along the way, the path to your dreams will become shorter. There may be a little more of them, a little less of them.
1. Brand development. Why is it necessary?
Brand development is a very demanding endeavor, so any company that wants to have a successful brand must be capable of the following:
- vouch for the quality of the goods and their assortment;
- Have a clear and logical pricing policy;
- use the same packaging that will be recognizable;
- guarantee a constant supply in the main sales channels;
- to realize full marketing support of the brand at all stages of its development.
2. defining the objectives of brand creation
The global practice of creating a brand usually sets fairly clear goals, such as 15% market share. It is necessary to define your main goals precisely: sales volumes, study of competitors, determine what part of the market you own and what you are striving for.A common question is: why does the brand contribute to the achievement of the goal? Yes, because consumer commitment to the brand entails an advantage over competitors and reduces advertising costs.
3. Creating a brand, where to start?
At the very beginning of the direct promotion of the brand you need to create a survey of potential customers to find out their attitude to your brand. Do not forget that the Internet is also able to facilitate such surveys. Correlate the results that you received with your goals, and you will be able to predict the size of future material, physical and moral costs to achieve them.
Set yourself the task of making your own brand no less recognizable (and even with a plus sign) than your main competitive product or brand. It is necessary to constantly monitor your target audience and establish feedback with consumers of your products (take into account their complaints and suggestions). This will allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of your actions, and, if necessary, adjust them. This will allow you not only to avoid the accumulation of mistakes, which are almost inevitable, but also to save effort and money for choosing the most optimal solutions.
Branding is a competition, and the winner is the one who consistently performs well! Don’t forget that once you win, you are making a commitment to your customers and to yourself. And as long as your brand exists, it will need constant care and attention from you. After all, what took a long time to build and cost a lot of money can be lost quickly and for nothing. Therefore, it is necessary to set new tasks all the time and try to find ways to solve them.
Absolutely all brands are trademarks, but not every trademark is a brand! A trademark acquires brand status when the product-buyer relationship of a particular product becomes much stronger and more confident than that of unbranded competitive goods. At the same time, it is difficult to draw a clear boundary between a brand and a trademark. Usually, if at least half of the target audience has a positive attitude towards a particular product, it can be called a brand.
4. Brand components
Most of the customers think that branding is about creating a logo. But in order for consumers to have a good opinion of a product, the branding process should consist of the following components:
- visual image (packaging design, logo and slogan);
- audio design (music and voice);
- tactile sensations (the product or its packaging should be pleasant to the touch), and, if possible, it is possible to influence the
- The sense of smell (e.g., the pleasant smell of packaging).
All of these components influence the subconscious mind. And it is necessary that the consumer recognizes your business everywhere: on posters, in stores, on radio and television, and on the Internet. That combination of colors, sounds or graphic symbols that you have chosen, the consumer should associate only with your product!
5. Internet marketing, or the Internet’s help
Inform your consumer that you have a company website. It is mandatory to write your website and e-mail address on the product packaging! Nowadays, the Internet is an integral part of human life. In addition, on the network you get the necessary information about consumers and competitors.
You can create a variety of channels for communicating with consumers (in social networks, in blogs and on the website).You can also create an online store and use the Internet as an additional or main sales channel.On the Internet you can conduct branding campaigns (with a total impact through all possible advertising media).Many manufacturers of goods and services have long realized that the audience on the Internet is people who are willing to pay. In addition, only on the Internet it is possible to accurately select the target audience and, as a result, to calculate the effectiveness of such a campaign, and, if necessary, to easily correct mistakes.
Creating a corporate website can raise your prestige, give you a lot of new tools at your disposal. You will be able to announce your products or services, the managers and employees of your company, and much easier communication with the media. On the site you can publish all the necessary information and news in any volume.
6. Brand promotion and its peculiarities
The buyer is gullible, but does not have to “fall for” the nonsense that has been done! There are at least four factors that influence his buying decision:
- country of manufacture;
- packaging design (must be attractive);
- brand name (the presence of certainty; a product “from nobody” does not arouse not only trust but also admiration);
- And, undoubtedly, the adequate price of the product.
The success of brand building depends on utilizing the strengths of the product in advertising. Creating a brand requires taking into account the characteristics of the consumer, which in the end will give faster success. Therefore, most domestic brands are characterized by “soulfulness” and naturalness;) In addition, if, for example, international brands emphasize the convenience of use of goods, for our consumers it goes to the second plan. Our consumers, unlike Western consumers, are not yet under the influence of constant assortment pressure (although the prerequisites for a more demanding request are already clearly visible).
Therefore, initially, it is necessary to define theproblems and tasks, and then offer options for their solution – through a clear choice of product category for branding and promotion.A properly developed brand should meet the expectations and capabilities of the main consumer.
Brand building can also be an end in itself, having very useful properties:
- A brand helps to sell the product in higher volumes at a higher price;
- Market leaders are predominantly those companies that make significant branding investments.
Developing a brand that will be able to sell itself is a rather labor-intensive process and should be handled by specialists. KOLORO branding agency is ready to help you with brand creation.
