For any business to become truly successful, it needs
to create positive brand recognition for its product.
This is especially true in small businesses, where there
may be thousands of similar companies vying for the customer's
attention. The easiest and most fruitful way to think of a
brand is as an IMAGE that the audience remembers.
This means that successful branding of a service or product
is a matter of creating an image that is Positive, Relevant,
and Memorable.
First and foremost, you want to create an image of your product
or service (or company, for that matter) that is positive.
You want to create an emotional association (such as happiness
or fun) with the product. According to researchers, there are
two basic ways that you can create these associations.
The first way is through direct experience. In this approach,
a customer's experience with the product or service impacts on
the way that they see it i.e. a positive experience means a
positive association. This can be very important if you are
trying to reach repeat customers.
It is usually hard to use direct experience to brand a product
or service using just a web site. However, remember that a person
will often judge your company based on their experiences with
your web site. Therefore, it is very important that you make
their experience a favorable one one where they can get their
information quickly and easily.
A second approach to branding that can be used more easily in a
web environment is to create indirect associations. This can be
done in a number of ways. The words you choose to describe your
products, the name you give them, and the graphics/pictures that
you use on your web site can help to create an
emotional association.
The first step is to determine what qualities you wish to
project do you want to focus on the reliability of the
product, or the speed, or the money possibilities?
Once you have made this basic, vital decision, then you need
to look for words, descriptions, and graphics that will project
these same qualities. If you look at the naming of car models,
you can see some good examples of this A Dakota, for
instance, creates an association of wild ruggedness, while
a Mustang projects the image of spirit and speed.
Remember that there are also many other factors that will also
indirectly affect how your company and product are branded.
The way that you interact with your customers is one of the
most important of these. Make sure that your company reflects
the same qualities that you want to have associated with your
product or service.
Otherwise, you may be sending your customers conflicting
messages. For instance, the name of your product might be
CHEETAH, but if it takes three weeks for you to respond to
emails, your brand will probably NOT be associated with speed!
Branding your product or service can be a difficult process.
Often, it will take many repetitions of a message before a brand
becomes recognized. It is therefore very important that you put
thought into the process before you start selling your image.
About the Author
Steven Presar provides news and articles regarding
starting or maintaining a small business at
http://www.Agora-Business-Center.com And works with
individuals and small business owners who would like to
grow their business on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.Alliance-Internet-Marketing.com