What is the Definition of Branding and its Characteristics?

Unsure about what is the definition of branding? Don’t worry! Even for those who have studied marketing, the idea of branding is one of those vague and easily misunderstood concepts. This article will help you comprehend branding and its characteristics quickly.

What is a brand?

A brand is a perception about an organisation created in the customers’ minds. Branding helps customers clearly distinguish the products and services of one organisation from its competitors.

This perception is created through effective communication and marketing.

The brands are both strategic as well as financial assets. A good brand develops consumer loyalty, which raises the value of your business if you continue to invest in the brand.

Brands have numerous great benefits, including the ability to charge more for your goods and services. Even when two products are identical, consumers will pay extra for branded goods because they believe these are of more excellent quality. Why? Because the brand has won their trust and loyalty.

What is the definition of branding?

Branding is an act of creating an identity. Branding is nothing but building a recognisable identity for your organisation that will help boost the sales of its products and services.

We, too, have a branding by way of a forename/ middle name/ or surname; so, in our forename, middle name, and surname, we have an identity that clearly demarcates us from our next-door neighbours and our relatives.

These connections help your customers understand your brand, why it might be relevant to them, how it differs from or is similar to other items made by your company, and how it differs from or is similar to those of your competitors. That’s what branding can do for you.

What is not branding?

Also, let’s understand what is not branding. A brand is a claim of a distinct set of core values that communicates what your business is all about and what sets your business apart, but what branding is not is it’s not just a logo, a slogan, or a colour scheme.

They are just incidental; they’re vehicles that carry your brand, but they’re not branding in the true sense.

Such branding elements are part of the brand’s tactics and don’t state what is unique about your organisation. So, we must understand that branding is not just about a logo, slogan, or colour scheme; there is much more to it.

What’s good branding?

How does an ordinary person, an average customer, distinguish between a branded and a non-branded product? A blind test was done on Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. In the blind test, 51% of respondents preferred Pepsi, 47% preferred Coke, and 2% showed no preference.

Please note that this was a blind test. Later, when they did an identified test, it was found that only 23% preferred Pepsi, 65% preferred Coke, and 12% had no preferences. So, this paradigm shift of preference from Pepsi to Coke, only after an identified test was conducted, exhibited the power of branding.

Brand characteristics:

There are five key characteristics of a successful brand:

Know your audience:

A brand can’t appeal to everyone. Trying to win over everyone might harm and weaken an organisation’s brand-building efforts. Being focused and targeted enables you to stand out and be the greatest in your niche. The best brands have a solid awareness of their target market’s demographics, likes, desires, and challenges. Brands must constantly reflect and relate to their target consumers. 

Be different

Something exceptional is needed to create a brand identity. Great brands set themselves apart from competitors in a way that is noticeable to customers and is simple to explain. For instance, Apple has a reputation for producing simple yet innovative products. Because their products offer advantages competitors can’t duplicate, companies like Apple have a unique position in the market.

Create a brand experience

At every point of contact, a pleasant brand experience reinforces the brand promise and message. A great brand experience begins with the initial impression and lasts until and after the buying experience. Excellent customer service and a commitment to a brand’s core values will forever cement a brand’s relationship with its target market!

Be competent.

The brand must always be reflected in the appearance, tone, language, colour, font, service, and experience. Consistency strengthens the brand by fostering trust. Repeat customers typically want to receive the same quality standard as they did the first time they purchased from a brand.

Be honest

Businesses are forced to change how to communicate with their customers since old marketing strategies no longer produce the same results in a connected world of information, wordof-mouth, and choice. Honesty and authenticity have lately emerged as the characteristics that matter most as customer trust has plunged across all industries.

Keep your promises.

Customers can learn about a business and what it stands for by looking at its tagline and marketing and advertising efforts. Successful businesses know that they should always keep their promises, so they carefully choose their message and language.

A brand’s relationship with its customers breaks whenever a promise made by the former to the latter is not kept or due to dishonesty. It takes time and money to rebuild the organisation’s image. Consistently stick to your message and keep your promises. The commitment drives a brand’s development and maintains its reputation.

Conclusion

So, would you want to go for a great product or a service backed by a good brand, or would you want to go for a good product or a service backed by a great brand?

To build a long-term relationship with your customer and leave a long-lasting impression, you might want to think of a great product or a service, which can then lead to repeat purchases by customers over a long period.

If you have a great product or a service, you deliver real, core and augmented value to the customer. Once you start delivering this, it’s a matter of time before you build your brand equity.

Over time, this good brand will become a great one.

Still, for a start, you are probably better off looking at a great product or a service where this will last a lifetime, and if this lasts a lifetime, your good brand will also become a great brand over a lifetime.