"Mass advertising can help build brands, but authenticity is what makes them last. If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand."-Howard Schultz
In the early periods (before modern marketing), there was nothing like brand marketing strategy. During those days, products were sold without branding. Consumers did not bother identifying the products by name or symbol. They were mostly identified by their purpose or physical description.
However, the present markets are full of smart marketers who love to tell compelling stories about their products. They have passion for marketing and marketers are not liars but they'll love telling persuasive stories how their products are useful.
These marketers know that no repeated sales are realized without names and symbols that identify their products and businesses. The name and symbol create loyalty in consumers towards the product.
So, what is a branding? It is a name, a term, a symbol or a design that identifies your product(s). Branding differentiates your product from other similar products in the market.
Fourteen Qualities of a Good Brand
1.) The name or the symbol should suggest something about the product or service.
2.) The name should be simple, short, easy to pronounce.
3.) It should be easy to use in advertising.
4.) It should be of a permanent nature.
5.) It should be clear and attractive.
6.) It should be capable of being registered and protected legally.
7.) It should be distinctive.
8.) It should have a pleasing sound to the ear when pronounced.
9.) It should be economical to create.
10.) It must be an original one.
11.) It should not be the one that is pronounced in several ways.
12.) It should not be an offensive one.
13.) It should create a good image.
14.) It should not be outdated.
Five Different Types of Brands
1.) Individual: It is a brand that a business adopts distinctively for different products that it is selling.
2.) Family: It is where a family name is limited to one line of products. The business adopts one name to use in its variety of products.
3.) Company: It is where the company uses its name to name its variety of products.
4.) Combination Device: It is where products have individual names and company's symbol.
5.) Private or Middlemen: They're the ones that are owned and controlled by middlemen rather than the manufacturers. The manufacturer introduces his products through distributor's name.
Four Kinds of Brand Names
A.) Descriptive names: Includes all the words that describe the products that are being sold.
B.) Suggestive Name: Suggests something about the function of the products that is being sold in the market.
C.) Arbitrary Name: These are the names that neither relates to the products nor to the producers producing them.
D.) Coined Name: It gives importance regarding the identity of the producer.
Now that you have known the qualities of a good brand, five different types of brands and four kinds of brand names then go ahead and brand your business its product(s).
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