More and more new terms are created to designate what marketing has been working on and showing us for some time. Some are less well known than others, but no less important. Have you heard or know what Branding is? And what does your company have to do with it? The answer is: everything! Of course, if your company is concerned with adding more and more value to your brand.
You may have already noticed the difference in market positioning of certain brands such as Apple vs Samsung, Coca-Cola vs regular soft drinks, Starbucks vs corner coffee shop. Okay, the Starbucks comparison might sound hilarious, but have you ever wondered why a simple coffee can be charged up to 3 or 4 times more? Isn't it just coffee? The answer is no, it's not coffee and yes, branding! What Starbucks sells, before selling coffee and its products, is branding!
Branding = Brand Management
To better exemplify, Brand Management is nothing more than a set of actions and plans that aim to determine how it will be seen in the market, by its customers, by the competition and by the general public. Branding can be that differential that will allow the price of your product or service to be seen not as an obstacle in the purchase decision, but as something that is worth the investment because it has all the added value that your brand and quality linked to it, represents. It's what makes the investment in your products and services worthwhile.
And let's be honest: when we talk about investment, we talk about everything. It's no use for your company to have an interesting logo, a flashy slogan, a beautiful and super current store, with a whole vision and marketing planning, quality products, if, for example, your after-sales doesn't follow. If your customer doesn't feel satisfied, comfortable and secure after the purchase, or still doesn't find the product he's looking for, all his investment will go down the drain and will have little or no value.
Everything related to your company and especially its image is Branding; it's marketing. Now how this works is Brand Management, and this will be the key point that will make your customer feel that the price he is paying, however high it may seem, is a fair price. And let's face it, these are the details that will involve and develop your positioning in the market.
Despite all this, there is no magic formula for an efficient Brand Management. What can and should exist is focus, an open mind, resilience and always being ready to reposition yourself in the market. Another very important feature in your Brand Management is the ability to perceive and recognize your flaws, and always looking to improve your Branding through hard work, time and investment. Trying to keep your brand image modernized, with a light and humanized form of communication, is something very important to stay in the market. After all, as we said, everything is Branding. Everything is Marketing. From the first contact with your commercial sector to your virtual image – whether on social networks or on a well-designed website and blog – to the disposition and smile of your employees, to the organization, to your form of communication and even to the way you position yourself in front of crises, everything is Branding. If something is not fitting within the parameters of what your brand is and what it aims to convey, then it's time to rethink, analyze and review how to improve.