What is Branding and How Important is it to Your Marketing Strategy?
1 Comment Published by nuyulz June 5th, 2008 in internship.By Laura Lake
About.com
The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.
Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.
The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:
- Delivers the message clearly
- Confirms your credibility
- Connects your target prospects emotionally
- Motivates the buyer
- Concretes User Loyalty
To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact.
Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.
A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies day by day. It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It’s a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.
i’m fascinated by the challenge of defining what a brand ISN’T. it’s all-encompassing and involving everything, everywhere.
i don’t think there’s any good measure for brand value…at least none upon which forward-looking decisions might be based, let alone commitment of stock or investment money (it’s usually a vague catch-all for aspects of balance sheet results that defy other/better explanations).
i’ve come up with a novel proposition to solve the matter. brand strategy magazine has just posted it on its blog, and the essay is in an essay entitled “mad metrics.”
i’d be interested to hear your thoughts:
http://brandstrategy.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/mad-metrics/