There are many elements/characteristics associated with a brand, which need to be understood to facilitate brand creation and brand management. These include brand identity, image, positioning, personality, culture and architecture, as well as brand components such as the text, visual images, and sounds. The brand identity is the way in which a brand/product is portrayed by the firm, with the aim of differentiating the brand from competitors while concurrently creating familiarity between the target market and the brand. This is achieved using a range of tools, which will include the brand image, positioning, personality, culture and architecture. The brand image uses these tools in a combined manner to create or embody a unique set of representative associations which helps to establish a relationship between the customer and the brand/product. The brand identity should create immediate recognition not only for the underlying product/service, but the values, positioning, and general benefits associated Continue reading
Marketing Management Basics
Positioning and Differentiation of Services
Services firms are not identifying their key market segments and then determining how they wish consumers to perceive both their company and its products and services. Positioning is of particular significant in the services sector as it places an intangible service within a more tangible frame of reference. Thus the concept of positioning stems from a consideration of how an organization wishes its target customer to view its products and services in relationship to those of its competitors and their actual, or perceived, needs. “Positioning is concerned with the identification, development and communication of a differentiated advantage which makes the organization’s products and services perceived as superior and distinctive to those of its competitors in the mind of its target customers.” Positioning offers the opportunity to differentiate any service. Each service firm and its goods and services has a position or image in the consumer’s mind and this influences purchase Continue reading
Marketing Research – Definition, Importance and Process
Definition of Marketing Research Marketing research is a key to the evolution of successful marketing strategies and programmes. It is an important tool to study buyer behavior, changes in consumer lifestyles and consumption patterns, brand loyalty and forecast market changes. Research is also used to study competition and analyze the competitor product’s positioning and how to gain competitive advantage. Recently, marketing research is being used to help create and enhance brand equity. According to Philip Kotler, Marketing research is systematic problem analysis, model building and fact finding for the purposes of important decision making and control in the marketing of goods and services. The important decision making related to market strategy and other tasks related to marketing depends on findings or marketing research. Marketing research process reduces the chances of errors, miss conceptions and uncertainty from decision making process. It is therefore very important to conduct marketing research to identify Continue reading
The Importance of Brand Perception
The perception of Branding holds great significance since many years; it is the explanation to distinguish the goods and services from one to another. Customer’s simple understanding of brand is to relate and consider with simple information processing about products purchasing and being positive about the brand to construct their trust with time. Branding is a method that is utilized by the enterprises to utilize trading schemes to enhance their merchandise or service likeness in order that it is more gladly recollected by the customer. Branding assists the goods or service to make a favorable influence on the goal customers while the branding notions assist in explaining the guidelines that should be pursued throughout the branding process. Brand equity is primarily constructed by laying a base of brand perception – finally forming affirmative brand images – and is finally maximized by high grades of brand commitment. The significance of brand equity comprises Continue reading
Introduction to Branding Concepts- Brand Advertising and Brand Promotion
A brand is a term used to identify its products; while branding is the practice of identifying a product or line of products by a special name or symbol. Its use goes back to the middle ages for promoting sales. It is said that Egyptians were using some or other identification to market their pottery. The continued use of brands to the present times in business has been largely due to: Growth in competition. Growth of national and local advertising. Growth of packaging and The development of consumer brand consciousness. Such sales promotion devices are intended: To gain recognition for their products. To bring about a certain amount of consumers preference and To so firmly fix the product in the mind of the buyer that he will believe that it is the only one which will satisfy his wants and as a result will refuse to accept a substitute. Definition Continue reading
The Transition From the Transactional Marketing to Relationship Marketing
The approach to marketing between the 1950s and 1980s changed drastically through various theories and practices, which changed the way organisations viewed marketing as a whole. The 1950s saw the influence of the marketing mix, including the 4Ps model of marketing. This model consists of; product, price, place and promotion. The idea is to help organisations understand how to satisfy their target market. A product can be seen as tangible or intangible, as it can be in the form of services or goods. For a product to create revenue there has to be a need and demand for it. Therefore, organisations must carry out research into the market, so that they have a true understanding of the product life cycle they could potentially go through. It is vital that organisations reinvent their product or service, if or when it reaches a point in time where the sales have started to Continue reading