A product, no matter how innovative, ends up being useless if it does not reach the intended audience with the right messaging and evoke the right emotions. For any product to sell and be profitable, it needs to be marketed with deliberation.
Actionable Insights
As the old proverb goes “the customer is always right.” To act on it and determine what the customer wants requires a business to gather data from them by various means including but not limited to: various types of survey forms and feedbacks. The data can then be organized in a way that gives the business options for actions that they can take to reflect that data with the ultimate goal of improving their sales.
Definition of a Brand
A brand is the image of a product or service which distinguishes it from other such products and services in the market.
Brand Marketing
Brand marketing encompasses the formulation of company objectives, connecting them with underlying values of the business and then making a strategy to fulfill company goals in a way that highlights the company’s overall brand.
The Need for Brand Marketing
A company’s brand image is one of its most useful assets and the establishment of which is only possible through extensive brand marketing. Once a certain degree of brand image is established, the customer becomes loyal enough to overlook minor discrepancies.
The Objectives of Brand Marketing
The ultimate goal and purpose of brand marketing are to increase sales but how it manages to do that is outlined by its objectives described below:
- Brand Awareness: It is the extent to which the brand is recognized in the market by consumers.
- Brand Loyalty: The feeling of attachment that customers feel towards a brand reaches its pinnacle when they purchase products of the same brand regardless of changes in the environment or the competitors. This level if the affiliation is Brand Loyalty.
- Brand Advocate: When a customer becomes so inclined towards a product that they start passing positive feedback to other potential customers, they become a brand advocate.
- Brand Equity: Brand Equity is defined simply as the worth associated with a product not because of its usefulness or ingenuity but simply due to the brand name associated with it.
- Brand Engagement: It is the emotional attachment of customers to the brand. In a way, it encompasses brand awareness as well as brand advocacy.
- Brand Identity and Brand Image: Contrary to popular belief, brand image and identity are not the same things. Brand identity is the visual presentation of the brand which includes the color theme, the logo and the overall design that distinguishes it at one sight from its competitors.
Brand identity is the overall perception of the brand in the eyes of the customers. A good brand image instills trust and dependability in potential customers.
Different Types of Branding
Branding is categorized in different types with regard to the “thing” that is being branded. Some of them are:
- Product Branding: It revolves around creating a unique image of a product through distinctive characteristics like the logo and the color scheme.
- Personal Branding: It is the ongoing process of creating a brand out of the personal achievements and milestones of an individual.
- Corporate Branding: As opposed to product branding, Corporate Branding is a lot more vast as it does not look at individual products and services but the conglomerate as a whole.
- Geographical Branding: It is a much more specific type of branding that brands and markets regions and highlights their specialties. This type of branding is most useful for the tourism industry.
- Retail Branding: Retail refers to vendors who purchase products with the aim of selling to consumers instead of reselling them. The branding of such vendors comes under the umbrella of retail branding.
- Co-Branding: It is a relatively new concept that works on the principle that more can be accomplished by working together instead of being tied up in mindless competition. When 2 or more companies make a strategic alliance through the amalgamation of their individual brands to create a stronger brand.
Building a Brand Marketing Strategy
Building a brand marketing strategy is a process that requires patience, virtue, and self-reflection. It has certain steps some of which are:
- Defining one’s purpose is the first and foremost step in formulating any marketing strategy. Only those who are aware of their purpose, goals, and ambitions can form effective marketing strategies.
- Being consistent is paramount among the plethora of factors that determine the effectiveness of a brand marketing strategy.
- Appealing to the emotional side of your customer goes a long way in establishing brand loyalty.
- In the quest for an effective brand marketing strategy, the key is to always remain flexible and not to cling to things that aren’t working out. Don’t be shy about exploring uncharted territory!
- Rewarding loyal customers is highly efficient in establishing a good brand image. Things like exclusive discounts for regular customers go a long way!
- Researching one’s competitors is eliminates the element of surprise and keeps you one step ahead of the game!
- Identifying the right strategic audience before formulating a brand marketing strategy is essential as a strategy aimed at the general populace is bound to be less effective as compared to one aimed at the right group of people who are more inclined to buy your product.
- Another thing to keep an eye out for is making sure your brand marketing strategy is feasible and practical and that it does is not only good on paper but on the ground as well.
Brand Positioning
Brand positioning refers to the position of the brand in comparison to market trends and in the eyes of customers. Improving brand positioning is important in increasing sales and requires certain measures to be undertaken.
- As a first step, one must evaluate the current standing of the brand and make further strategies accordingly.
- Next up is the evaluation of the direct competition and their respective brand positioning which creates a metric to measure one’s own success.
- The one thing that is unique to your product or service is your ultimate weapon. It is what sets you apart from your competitors and makes people choose your product over others. Finding this uniqueness is highly important in improving brand positioning.
- Once discovered, a business model focusing on the unique ability must be made and implemented that cashes in on the uniqueness.
- Making effective brand messaging is essential in improving brand positioning. It consists of all the literature that surrounds your brand image from your pitch and tag lines to your mission statement.
- Come up with reasons for choosing your product over others and implement them for your potential customers.
Bython Media: The Best and Most Efficient Solution to All Your Marketing Needs
With the above information in mind, you are well equipped to formulating a killer Brand Marketing Strategy. What’s better though is that you can leave it to the professionals and let them handle all intricacies while you focus on improving the quality of your products and services. That’s right, Bython is here to meet all your brand marketing ends and give you the peace of mind you deserve!
Through the latest technologies and dedicated teams, Bython can take your business to unprecedented heights without you having to worry about it!
Conclusion
Establishing a business is commonplace but nourishing it into a brand is extraordinary, to say the least. Once a business acquires the status of an established brand, it grows exponentially and is awarded a lot more margin for error as well as more room for experimentation and potential growth! Employing a well thought out brand marketing strategy is vital in determining whether a business will reach these heights or not.
