| Brandingis perhaps the most important facet of any | | | | directmarketing, give-away techniques, and |
| business--beyond product,distribution, pricing, or | | | | multi-product cross-branding to achievemaximum |
| location. Acompany's brand is its definition in the | | | | brand recognition and visibility in not only its |
| world, the name that identifies it toitself and the | | | | immediately competitivemarket, but in markets as |
| marketplace. A model maybe beautiful, but without a | | | | diverse as Coca-Cola branded race cars and |
| name, she's just "that girl in thatpicture." Where | | | | housewares. |
| would Norma Jean bewithout Marilyn Monroe, or who | | | | Brandloyalty is an integral part of building a brand, as |
| would imagine Coca-Cola as just a | | | | consumers usually have achoice of products in the |
| soft-drinkmanufacturer? A brand provides aconcrete | | | | same market segment, and so a successful company |
| descriptor to customers and competitors alike, a | | | | willcome up with a way to keep consumers re-buying |
| name for a product orservice to distinguish it from | | | | their product or coming back totheir location rather |
| anything else. | | | | than going to a competitor. These brand |
| Bob may run a hobby shop, but trying to advertise | | | | loyalty-building efforts may comein the form of |
| as "The hobbyshop a guy named Bob runs down the | | | | coupons, incentives such as many grocery chains' |
| street a ways" is financial suicide. Each customer will | | | | technique of |
| have to describe the shop,who Bob is, and what the | | | | "grocery discount cards" or "loss leaders," meant to |
| shop does every time someone asks about it. This | | | | drawconsumers into the store, where they will |
| makes the process of recommending a goodhobby | | | | hopefully buy products along with thediscounted fare |
| shop too much work for the average customer, and | | | | at a higher profit ratio. |
| far too much work for auser looking for hobby | | | | In exchange for these discounts and grocery cards, |
| shops on the Internet. | | | | many companiescollect information about buying |
| A customer looking up Bob's hobby shop will have an | | | | habits and average spending amounts, thebetter to |
| easier time of it ifhe or she knows to refer to it as | | | | tailor advertisements and better-focus future |
| "Bob's House of Hobbies," and thecustomer can then | | | | promotionalefforts. Once a consumer is hooked,brand |
| refer others to Bob's hobby shop by name, increasing | | | | loyalty tends to result in higher sales volume, as well |
| thepotential advertising exponentially. | | | | as loyalcustomers being less sensitive to price |
| Developinga brand involves more than just picking a | | | | changes of their favorite brands |
| catchy name and placing an ad in thenewspaper--a | | | | (within reason, of course), as well as less sensitive to |
| brand is more than a unique string of letters denoting | | | | competitors'incentives. Studies have shown that |
| aparticular product; a successful brand is a mnemonic | | | | ittakes 5 times as much money to gain a customer |
| trigger that makes aconsumer feel a certain way | | | | as it does to retain one. That's 5 times as much |
| when the brand is thought of. For those who drink | | | | money as could havebeen spent on other things. |
| cola-flavored softdrinks, which is more appealing on a | | | | Abrand is who your company is, and what it is |
| hot day: a cold cola soda, or an ice-cold | | | | selling--it is as important asnaming a baby, and should |
| Coke? Coca-Cola has spent 100 yearsdeveloping their | | | | require the same amount of effort to develop it, |
| particular brand of cola-flavored soda as a refreshing | | | | butif done well, can mature into a successful and |
| beverageand a seminal representation of a market | | | | profitable adult. |
| segment. Coca-Cola has used a combination of | | | | © 2005, Wholesale Pages UK. All rightsreserved. |