Why branding matters

Branding is crucial for businesses of any size because a product or company whose name is ingrained in the public consciousness has dramatically increased chances of success.

Yet despite its importance, branding can sometimes be overlooked by businesses that are confident about the quality of their product but do not invest the necessary money in developing it in the public eye.

The reasons vary; they may see it as an expensive luxury, particularly in tough economic times, or they may simply not see the point because they assume that their product will speak for itself.

They may well be right about the quality of their product but good branding does not happen by accident.

So what are the key issues in establishing a good brand? Well, for a start there is the name of the product. Is it one that can be instantly remembered or is it too wordy, too obscure? If you examine some of the great brands, they are usually short and snappy. One word usually, two at most.

One of the key messages for those that advise on branding is that everyone associated with the company in question should understand the thinking behind it so that they can convey the right image to the public.

Nothing destroys all that work more effectively than promotional materials going out with mixed messages. This is about a uniform approach to placing an image of the product in the consumer’s mind. Vary it and the consumer becomes confused.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, there may still be those who wonder why all this preparation matters.

Take the humble baked bean as an example. Heinz leads the market and, yes, there are other similar products, yes they may be just as good, but where does the shopper’s hand go first? The one with the strongly defined branding. The one with the positive connections, the instantly recognisable colour scheme that has not changed on its labels in years and the name everyone remembers because it’s short.

That kind of thinking can translate into income for a company; it is estimated that good brand name recognition can increase profits by between 10 to 20 per cent.

 

* For more information on a Primespot franchise, contact 08432 894794 Fax: 01325 287000, e-mail 

 

info@www.primespot.co.uk or go to http://www.primespot.co.uk/franchises.html