Branding and its Influence on the Consumers - Coursework Example

Branding and its Influence on the Consumers Introduction: In these days there is an environment of intense competition between the companies. The popularity of the product is dependent on the marketing of the brand. There we can say that the marketing channels and the marketing strategies are very much important. Usually the marketing managers of any organization aim to inspire the consumers with their effective product image. This product image can be enhanced with an effective branding. Therefore we can say that a strong marketing of a brand may influence the consumers and also the society. There can many reasons e.g. the usefulness of the product, the celebrity endorsement for the marketing of the product or the importance of the product in the daily routine life. This research paper will elaborate that how an effective and strong branding may influence consumers’ lives. Branding: Now the competition among rival products has been so fierce that the managers have to take care that the product not only satisfies the customer but also force them to re-purchase it. This will make them a loyal customer towards the company thus having a strong customer base. But all this is only possible when the company has defined its product as a strong ‘brand’. The word brand has many definitions. Many authors have defined it as their own point of view but a general description says that a brand is a distinct set of name, logo, mark and any other symbol which can be differentiated from other products offered in the market. A brand should be a set of expectations or the perceptions of the customer. Therefore the product or brand should be positioned so well that each and every customer can easily recognize it and also use it. Branding just not means to sell your product but a strong and powerful brand always aims to give solution to the problems of the customer. Branding is always a way to build an important company asset, which is good reputation. Branding can build an expectation about the products and services offered by the company, and can encourage the company to maintain that expectation or also can exceed them by bringing better products and services to the market place. Customer Loyalty: Another important concept is of brand loyalty. Most of the customers want to use any brand regularly. The only initiative is make them aware about the brand. When they think that this brand is the only solution to their problems then they want to use it on regular basis. This customer loyalty is also very important for the companies to gain because more loyal customers will definitely spread a good word of mouth about the brand and thus it may also act as advertising for the company. Celebrity Endorsement: Advertising is the easiest tool to affect the consumer buying behavior. For this reason the marketing managers try to make these advertising or we can say promotional campaigns unique and inspiring so that customers can recognize the brand among the rival products. Celebrity endorsement in these advertisements is a way to make a brand more popular. The marketing managers perceive that the people who are fan of these celebrities may also want to use the brands which their ideal personalities also use. This will increase the sales and also the list of potential customer. Usually these celebrities are sportsmen or media stars because they have huge fan following in the general public. And the marketing managers of these companies wisely use this popularity of the celebrities in order to market their brands. Brand Image: The perceived brand image also plays a very important role for the companies. Usually these advertisements or the promotions of the brands create an imagination in the customer’s minds. It is very necessary that this imagination is positive and also in a constructive way other it will ruin the brand image according to the customer’s perception. Therefore it is important consideration for the marketing mangers of these companies to create a powerful brand image so that customers may take it in a positive way. Sometimes a word ‘brand personality’ is also used for the description of the brands. The details which are specified in order to distinguish the brand are the attributes of the brand personality. From customer’s point of view the brand personality is very important. This brand personality is also very significant for edifying a competitive edge and also the brand loyalty (Kim, Han & Park, 2001). Brand Equity: Brand equity is actually the value which is added along with the name of the brand of a company. In quantifying terms it is difficult to measure the brand equity. It can only be measured in qualitative terms. Brand equity may involve its advertising, packaging, additional attributes, additional services etc. in other words we can say that brand equity may refers towards a complete package offered with a brand. The consumers’ knowledge about any brand tells us about the successful advertising of the brand. In most cases the consumer prefers to know about the brand equity before the purchasing decision (Migual, 2004). Brand Effect: The brands have strong and influencing impact on the customers. Usually this effect is created with the help of additional features which are associated with the brand. For example the message which is given in the advertisement of the brand, the way of presentation of the brand, the personality of the celebrities who are promoting the brand. All of these mutually create a brand effect on the customers and also the society. Sometimes the brands are promoted in a way that they seem to be beneficial not only for the customer but also for the whole society. Now the people are more conscious to choose the product which is socially good (Sherazi et al., 2012). In this way the companies may also try to fulfill their social responsibilities and also create a good brand effect. Usually the customers have association with the specific brands according to their own requirements (Schmitt, 2011). Brand Extension: In order to increase the market share the companies try to add value to their product portfolio. This additional value can be created either by launching a new product or by diversifying the old existing ones. There is always a risk associated with the launch of any new product that it may not fail and may not be accepted by the market and the customers. Thus usually the companies adopt the policy of adding value to the existing one thus renew it and resent it in the market for the customers. The potential customers who are loyal to that particular brand may also want to try the new version of same brand. This is called as the brand extension. Brand extension is always a better option in order to avoid new brand failures (Sohail et al., 2011). Brand extension actually means to use the name of an old brand by the marketing mangers to introduce a new brand in the market. Because it is said those consumers’ choices are usually dependent on the brand recognitions (Williams & Thoma, 2013). This strategy is usually adopted by the company because in most cases people are usually not ready to accept any new product or brand rather they would like to stick their old choices. This may also be termed as the brand loyalty towards the old brands. The marketing managers actually use that brand loyalty in the benefit of the newly launched brands. Branding for Competitive advantage: Powerful branding of any product is also an important tool to gain competitive advantage in the market or industry as compare to rival firms. Brand based differentiation helps to make a higher place for the product among other products (Aggarwal, 2004). The research studies show that usually people make relations with the brands as they usually do in case of their fellows. So that’s the reason that people are brand conscious and also brand loyal too. This brand loyalty is actually the competitive advantage for the brand over others. But the responsibility of the company also increases because the potential customers expect more from the brand and they may also break their relationship if they get dis-satisfied with anything. The relationship between the brand and the customer is highly dependent on the satisfaction level of the customers or we can say the tolerance level of the consumers. In other words we can say that the customer loyalty is the source competitive advantage but also there is an additional responsibility on the managers to take extra care of demands of those customers. Effect of advertising the brands: Advertising is the most effective tool to familiarize the customers with the particular brand. One of the most important goals of advertising is to create awareness about the product or the brand among customers. The advantage of advertising is that people can recognize any specific brand. Recognition is the process of perceiving a brand as previously encountered. Therefore marketing managers try to focus on the strategy which not only creates awareness among the customers but they can also recognize the brand (Hoyer & Brown, 1990). Huge billboards, posters, fliers, banners, print and electronic media are all the advertising tools which can be used by the company to promote their brands in the markets so that the people may also get awareness about the brands and also their associated special features or attributes. These promotional materials are used to tell customers about the existence of a brand. The strong promotions or advertisements may also help to create a good image in the customers’ minds. The customers think that this brand is the only solution to their problems and also meet their expectations. Now it all depends on the company and the brand mangers to meet those expectation levels and keep the high standard of the brand. Everything is not always good as it seems to be. In some cases the advertising may also be a source of creating bad image of the brand in the customers’ minds. For example if the celebrity who is promoting the brand is not a well reputed person then it will be a negative point to the brand image. If any aspect of the advertisement is against the social and moral values of the community then it will also create bad brand image. In other words we can also say that if the brand is useful but it is not marketed in a good way then there will be no use of the brands’ good quality. So we can say that the advertising should be considered very important because all the image of the brand is dependent on the extent of the advertising. The marketing managers should focus on the unique and creative and also socially acceptable ideas for the promotion of the brands. In this way the marketing campaigns will add value to the brand effect. Conclusion: Brand is a specified name for any product. A powerful branding means that the product is truly ruling over the customer’s minds. All the research studies show that the brand awareness exerts its strong influence on the consumer buying behavior and this awareness is only possible if the brand is properly marketed in the industry. A well managed marketing campaign definitely adds value to the brand because customer gets familiar to it. There can be different ways to advertise the product so that it may influence the consumer buying behavior. Many companies hire famous celebrities to promote their brands so that the people who are fans of those celebrities may also want to try these brands in their routine. This celebrity endorsement is also very much effective for making a brand more powerful. The loyal and the potential customer may also spread a good word of mouth about the brand in their family and friends thus increasing the customers for the company. In short words we can say that brands are very much influencing in the daily lives of the people and thus affecting the society as a whole but the only factor behind the success of any brand is the impressive advertising, which can change the customer buying behavior. Reference List: Brown, S. P., Hoyer, W. D. (1990). Effects of Brand Awareness on Choice for common, Repeat purchase product. Journal of Consumer Research. Vol. 17, pg 141-148. Kim, C. K., Han, D. & Park, S. (2001). The effect of brand personality on brand identification and brand loyalty: Applying the theory of social identification. Japanese Psychological Research. Vol. 43, No. 4. Pg 195-206. Aggarwal, P. (2004). The Effects of Brand relationship Norms on consumer attitudes and behaviors. Journal Consumer Research. Vol. 31, pg 87-101. Sohail, F. B., Akram, S. N., Gulzar, A. & Anwar, A. (2011). Impact of Brand Image, Trust and Affect on Consumer Brand Extension attitude: The Mediating Role of Brand Loyalty. International Journal of Economics and Management Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 5, pg 73-79. Schmitt, B. (2011). The Consumer Psychology of Brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 22, pg 7-17. Williams, A., Thoma, V. (2013). The Devil you know: The effect of Brand recognition and product ratings on consumer choices. Judgment and Decision Making, Vol. 8, No. 1, pg 34-44. Migual, J. (2004). Consumer Learning, Brand Loyalty and Competition. Marketing Science, Vol. 23, No. 1, pg 134-145. Hussain, S. S., Aziz, J., Jaffri, A., Waris, S. & Ejaz, W. (2012). The Effect of Brands on Consumer Purchasing Intentions. Asian Journal of Business Management 4(2). Pg 105-110. Read More