Almost everything these days is available in a branded version. There are cola brands, electronics brands, clothing brands, car brands – in fact schools and educational institutions are branding themselves and so are people. You will find that independent consultants in any field need to make a brand name out of themselves to succeed. An interesting example is a famous dog behavior psychologist who works for celebrities and is known only by his first name now in Hollywood, on Oprah, throughout the USA. Brands set them up to rival other brands in their segment and in a sense ‘take them on’ by retaliating to their every move. This happens in telecom, colas, cars and many other sectors.
But what they are all fighting for is something called ‘mind share’. It is a similar concept to market share except that it is used to name a brand that becomes almost synonymous with the product or service sold. It is the highest possible recall value in a customer’s mind, which means that he or she will buy only your product or service. Let’s see what effect a good brand name will have on a customer’s behavior.
Inspires confidence –
A brand name tends to inspire trust in the product or service because the customer feels that ‘it sounds familiar’. It makes the customer think that this is an established product and this carries connotations of higher quality. Further, it makes people assume that a number of others have trusted and used the company’s products.
Sets a standard of expectations –
The customer will buy the product with a higher set of expectations from it. He or she will assume that due to its good brand name, the quality of the product is better and set a higher bar for its performance standard. The customer is more likely to be disappointed and put off the brand for good if the product develops problems early in its life. In addition to this, the customer also knows what to expect since a certain brand will have a particular connotation of high or lower quality attached with it. For instance, a traveler on a budget airline such as South West will know to expect a no-frills service offering.
Spend more –
Branding can often convince a customer to spend more. Clothing brands often operate on this principle. A teenager will spend over $50 on a pair of pajamas from Abercrombie and Fitch due to the association of the brand with a certain image and lifestyle that the teenager admires and wishes to emulate. An expensive car such as a Rolls Royce has a premium value due in part to special technology and machinery added to it and in part to its status as a lifestyle product. This type of brand name creation allows the company to sell products at a premium price and cater to a high end clientele.
Recognition –
The recognition of a brand name is half the battle for a business. But this can have both positive and negative effects. If a customer has ever had a bad experience, he or she will avoid your brand product or service and convince others to do the same. With a generic product offering, you do not face this recognition problem. On the other hand, in case your business wants to co-brand or sponsor an event, having a recognizable brand name will re-enforce the recall value.
Loyalty –
An established brand name inspires loyalty. A customer will tend to pick your brand if he or she recognizes the name and will probably stick with it if he or she experiences no problems.
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