The importance of branding

Fraser Brydon, who is carrying out a work placement with us this week, has written about ‘The Importance of Branding’:

• Branding establishes a relationship between the company and the customer through the product. Successful branding of a well-perceived product creates loyalty to the company. This means that the customer is more likely to pursue another product offered by the company as either a replacement or a complement to a previously owned product. A strong brand for a new company is essential as it gives a clear identity to the customer and helps to keep future products relevant. If products are seen as individuals rather than as part of a brand, it is less likely for customers to return for the follow up products as the company did not make a clear impression in their head.

• Single and Family Branding can capitalise on this loyalty; by branding products together as groups, the company is likely to sell more products of each as the existing reputation will help springboard them into other markets and make positioning much easier. A perfect example of this is Apple who used the popularity and totally dominant market share still held by the iPod to evolve the iPhone which subsequently dominated its own market share at its peak and gave birth to the iPad which continued this trend whilst also pioneering a new type of product to the consumer. Despite being easily outpriced by the majority of the competition, the reputation of the iProducts and Apple as a brand allowed them to obtain a large market share in pretty much every market they are positioned in. For a new company, this is important as it paves a clear way to success if executed correctly and helps them to grow while in the shadow of larger and already established competitors.

• Branding creates a familiarity and usually uses Unique Selling Points to do so. The products of most brands have at least two: a visual USP and a functional USP. Visually, things like typography, logo, colour and design featured on products can all be unique and distinctive. This is important for new brands as it makes them more recognisable to the customer, it means that a returning customer is more likely to recognise the product on the shelf of a shop reducing the need for advertising and also can make the product and the company behind it more memorable to the consumer. Things like name and advertising can help with this also by creating a powerful impression in the customer’s head. Functionally, things like features, quality and enjoyment distinguish successful products from another. Two well-built products can be differentiated by the enjoyment and unique features offered by them. It is important for new companies to create good quality products to build a good reputation. They must also have unique features and be enjoyed by the user to help out-compete more established products that are similarly positioned to them. This will help create loyalty to the brand if the customer has had a reliable previous experience with them.

• Branding is of invaluable importance to a company to maintain reliable customers and also to gain new ones. It is a method of showing the customer that they can understand and be the ultimate solution to the problem. Strong and consistent branding plays a large part in the success of a company.