When you think of a brand the first thing that probably comes to mind are big companies that have made a name for themselves through the years.
Branding of a product should be viewed as the same thing. When you have a successful brand, it sets your product apart from your competition. You want your brand to be able to expand your customer base and increase your market share. The larger your customer base and market share the more powerful your brand will become.
There are many factors that go into making a brand successful and there are even more that go into keeping your brand successful. By learning the basic steps, you will be able to put your brand on the best possible path to success. You will find that marketing and branding go hand in hand. A good brand will help your marketing and strong marketing will help build a strong brand. It is up to you to do your homework to ensure that you make the right decisions to help your company build a strong brand.
Your goal is to build a brand that is the recognized leader in a given category. This makes the consumer want to be aligned with your brand and will seek it out at the store. It will give them the satification that they have made the correct decision for themselves and or their family when they purchase your brand.
Your Brand's Colors Matter
Along with having a logo that is easy to read and attractive to consumers, another decision that you will have to make is what color to make the packaging. This is another way for your brand to stand out against the competition, so choose wisely. Just as fonts can portray different meanings for your brand, color can do the same thing.
Red is a striking color that comes across as bold and fierce. Blue can be interpreted as serene and soothing; yellow is considered a neutral color with the other primary colors orange and green falling in between red and blue.
One of the most common practices that companies do when choosing a color for their packaging is to choose the direct opposite color from their closest competitor. Just look at Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Coca Cola is red Pepsi is blue, the direct opposite of each other. Some companies are so identified with a color you know what the product is just by seeing it.
Ask anyone what the little blue box signifies and they will automatically tell you Tiffany’s. If you show a picture of yellow arches to consumers, they will instantly know that it is McDonald’s even without seeing the rest of the sign. Another example of a company that has made its brand synonymous with a color is UPS. They have even incorporated it into their advertising
When you decide on the color that you want to use for your brand, make sure you use a color that is complementary to the product. If you are trying to sell a new brand of razor blades, you will probably want to stay away from the color red. To a consumer looking to buy razor blades the color red will conjure up thoughts of cutting themselves and bleeding, not what you want.
You would be better off choosing a color that will put the consumer at ease like blue. When consumers shave, they use water, which also goes with blue. This way you have connected the brand and the product with what you want the consumer to feel when buying the product, at ease, and when they use the product, water.
Advertising Your Business The Easy Way
Once you have launched your brand through publicity, the next step is to keep the brand name in the minds of consumers, which is done through advertising. Advertising can be an expensive proposition, so it has to be approached carefully and with a well-thought-out plan.
The message that you put forth through advertising is important. You will have to figure out the image you want to portray for your company and brand. However, if you have successfully positioned your brand through publicity and have become a leader in your industry the best way to advertise is to advertise why your brand is the best.
This can be done in a number of ways.
You can build an advertising campaign around your brand being the best in your market. Additionally, you could build an advertising campaign about how your brand is the leader in quality when it comes to products in your market. Consumers want to be associated with the best and when you advertise about how your brand is an industry leader, you will find that consumers will be attracted to your brand.
In order to make your advertising campaign a success, it is best to do some research before you get started. Hold some surveys and focus groups to get consumer feedback on your product so you know how it is perceived before you get started. By doing this you will be better prepared to construct a message that will resonate with consumers and entice them to try your brand for the first time or keep consumers coming back as repeat customers.
When you have a successful brand one of the things that you can strive for is when consumers hear the name of your brand, it puts an image or word into their minds. For example, if you have a brand that caters to high-end clientele when consumers hear the name of the brand you want the first thing that comes to their minds is quality or perhaps exclusivity.
Once your brand has achieved this status, the sky is the limit. Your brand will become the unmitigated leader in the marketplace and will drive out the competition because it will cost them too much to break into the market. One important thing to remember is that once you have achieved becoming a word or image in the minds of consumers do not get cocky and try to expand. This will undo all the work that you have put in to become a successful brand.
Think about successful brands in the marketplace right now. When consumers go out to a restaurant and ask for a soda to drink what do they say? They say I will have a Coke. They do not say I want a Pepsi, or a RC. This shows the dominance that Coca-Cola has in its market.
The same can be said for copiers. When someone says they are going to the copier machine, they say they are getting some Xerox copies. Nobody says that they are going to get some Kyocera copies. No matter what the machine is that they are using, Xerox is the dominant brand because when consumers hear the word copy, Xerox comes to mind.
Finally, think about when you have a cold and need to blow your nose. What do you ask for? Kleenex right? No matter the brand of tissues that you have in your home when it comes time to wipe your nose you will ask for a Kleenex. This is one more example of a brand being so dominant that its brand name becomes the generic word for all items that are in competition with it.
There are numerous ways to market yourself and your business. However, knowing the right colors for your brand that indentifies it and focusing on the easier methods to advertise yourself and your business should set you up on a great path to successs.