Branding Basics

Have you ever considered why people pay their hard-earned money for Dasani, Evian, or Aquafina water when tap water has the same ingredients? The answer isn’t “quality” or “taste” – the answer is marketing! Consumers pay big for name-brand water because it has been promoted as better to possess and better to drink. Water is water unless of course that H2O happens to have a well-known label thanks to branding.

One could argue the price of water is inflated because of the different alkalinity levels, the product may be from a spring, or reverse osmosis has done it’s magic but none of that matters if the beverage hasn’t first been appropriately marketed. You could have the best tasting drink in human history but if no one knows about it then, well, no one knows about it!  Branding works to create a positive “gut feeling” about a person or business and it defines what that organization wants to be known for. An easy definition of branding is simply “being remembered.”

It takes time to build a brand, which is often frustrating for small business owners who want a direct response to their advertising.  There are types of “buy now” marketing hacks that do appeal to penny-pinching clients.  If you attract a customer with a discount, then the client may always expect a discount. You won’t find the best clients in the cheapest mediums. Direct response offers a deal to “act now.”  Branding leads to purchases in the present and in the future by creating raving fans who are loyal to your business. 

Branding works just like drinking water – behind the scenes when you don’t realize it! And it can’t be tracked with a return on investment. Just like Deer Park doesn’t know how many bottles of water are sold from its inflated balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, you can’t trace the results of branding. It brings results automatically over time so your company is thought of well and thought of often. 

Familiarity entices behavior when people are in “purchase decision mode.” Recent consumer tests have proven that well-known products are chosen over similar unknown items more than 90% of the time. Buyers prefer recognizable brands and the only way to be remembered is through repetition.

Imagine that you have three choices for a drink – option one is a light brown bottle simply labeled “water.” Option two says “Mom’s Kitchen Water” on it’s container. Option three is well-known “Fiji” rain forest water that is sourced from an ancient artesian aquifer surrounded by dormant volcanoes, its purity is simply due to the fact that it’s naturally filtered by volcanic rock. Which of these three would you want? The story-brand, design, logo, familiarity, and marketing of Fiji would probably influence your choice.

Branding impacts buying decisions by stacking on top of the other marketing you are doing. We are all more likely to buy a product or pay for a service from a business that we are familiar with – from something as simple as bottled water to significant purchases. Business success isn’t about just having the best beverage, service, or product – it’s about being KNOWN to folks who need or want you offer. That’s the basics of branding.    

by Daniel Rendelman