You're having
gang over on Sunday to watch football game on TV. Which pizza parlor do you call? Your child needs braces. Which orthodontist does everyone in town go to?
You want to sell your house. Which Realtor do you call?
The answer is same in each case: one that has best brand. Branding is important because it makes sales easier!
Realtors, dentists and restaurants all have brands. So does every small business in world. Sure, we think that only Fortune 500 companies, like Coca Cola and Procter and Gamble have brands. But that's not true. Every company has a brand image. Whether brand image is good or bad, or if it is well known or invisible is up to you.
If you're involved in marketing in any way, shape of form, you've heard term "branding" but you probably couldn't define it. And if Regis asked you "Is that your final answer?" you'd probably take your money and run rather than risk losing your cash.
That's because if you asked 50 marketers to define "branding," you'd get 50 different answers. Very few people agree on what branding is, but they do agree that is important in building sales and profits.
So what are brands and why are they important to you?
Brands make selling easier!
Plain and simple.
To understand branding, we need to understand what branding isn't.
>From my studies and research that includes hundreds of interviews with top marketing managers at large and small companies, I've come away with several conclusions:
1. A brand is not a logo, slogan, catchy saying, mission statement or publicity campaign.
2. A brand is about trust. You select a company because you trust them and companies have credibility. These are two issues that are important to every company of every size.
When you travel along highway and need a quick meal, do you stop at local diner for a meal featuring local cuisine- or do you pull in to McDonald's because you know fries are always going to be same?
People trust McDonalds. They will give up chance for an innovative meal in favor of trusted resource every time!
That's because people buy on emotion and justify with logic.
"Gee local diner might be good, but it might take a long time and we're in a rush."
Is it any wonder why McDonald's is a multibillion-dollar enterprise?
Look at best brands on Internet: Yahoo, eBay and Amazon. What do they all have in common? People trust them!
In my seminars at Stanford and Berkeley, I always ask if people have bought books from Amazon. Most people raise their hands. I then ask if anyone has ever had a problem with Amazon. In one out of three seminars, one person out of hundreds will raise a hand. But they quickly say that Amazon resolved problem in their favor, quickly and courteously.
