Hello and welcome again to Aitess Networks. Today we are back again with a new blog on an in-depth deliberative analysis on a topic of crucial importance to your company – Branding.

The success of any company depends on how it is perceived by the masses and their target profile as a brand in itself. Now let’s get one thing crystal clear – Your Brand and your Business are definitely related but they are two individual aspects altogether. Let’s start with what a Brand is.

There are hundreds of companies out there that sell and provide products and services of the same nature. Such similarities dim the boundaries when it comes to retailing and sales. What sets every company apart from each other is their presence and recognition in the market as an individual. This individual presence and identity of a business is nothing but a Brand. For example – Nike and Adidas are both companies providing products of the same nature and yet we recognize and identify them both as different from each other, even prefer one over the other, all because they are brands. While a company might be engaged in the production of a multiple product lines, a brand is usually focused on a single product line.

Now how to create a ‘Brand’?

Commence by creating a Brand Identity. A Brand Identity consists of your Logo, Tagline, the colour of your logo, everything that sets you apart from the other brands out there and helps your patrons and prospects to identify you easily. Let’s take Bata for an example. People recognize and even search for that brand with its logo and the bright red colour that they have used for the same.

However, this is the tricky part. Brand Identity might as well be an external factor, but the image of your brand i.e., Brand Image, that the masses will perceive depends entirely on how your Brand Identity is. For the sole reason, Brand Identity is considered as a completely different, living and thriving individual with a personality.

Your Brand Identity must be curated based on a number of aspects that you target through your products. Ask yourself a set of questions by being in place of your company to clear things out. Questions like

  • What is my Product Offering?
  • Who is my target profile – the lead generation that you are intending to achieve.
  • What kind of a product am I?
  • What is my personality as a brand? Say, if your brand was a person, what would be his nature? Like Dove is mild and Godrej is strong.
  • Why should a person opt for my brand? Because you are natural or because you are 100% authentic etcetera.
  • What kind of emotions do you want to evoke in your prospects?
  • What image do you wish for your prospects to develop about you?

All these questions help you in developing your Brand Identity. Once the brand identity is created, your focus should be on your

Brand Image.

What is a Brand Image?

It is nothing but the way your prospects, clients and audience perceives you as a brand. You brand image is the psychological, visual and even emotional perception of your brand that affects your target audience immensely in either stereotyping your brand or distinguishing it from others. Dove is not just a harsh soap but a mild moisturising bar. Lux isn’t just a bathing soap but a fragrant cleansing bar. All these are the images perceived by the masses about the brands, or rather, the way the brands have portrayed themselves to the masses over the passing years.

As such, your brand image affects your sales immensely. Your brand needs to work on forging a distinctive, product related defining image perception in the minds of the masses. For that your branding needs to have a special appeal to it.

Your branding strategies need to portray your brand as an individual, they must highlight your USP (unique selling point), your distinctive features and why people should choose you. Simultaneously, your brand image needs to connect with your target audience and appear appealing to the masses in order to enthral them and turn them into your customers. Try reaching out to the innate desires of your target profile through your branding strategies, appear more than a product or a service offering. Don’t try to sell a product, sell a lifestyle. Don’t sell a service, sell an experience.

This is where you make the difference. Try to make a brand image that is more than simply appealing, it ought to convey a meaningful message to the masses. Your brand image needs to reach out to the minds of people and make a bold, unwavering impression which constantly remains in the subconscious of your audience.

Your advertising strategies and media vehicles play an important role in imposing that desired impression on the masses. Choose your mediums for promotion very carefully and make sure your advertisements are something above the ordinary.

For more details and marketing services, contact Aitess Networks and discuss more about your branding and marketing strategies.