Branding really is everywhere. From the food we eat to the clothes we wear, and the products we buy and use.

In the current economic climate, many organisations, especially SMEs, are looking at ways to reduce costs without any accompanying loss of sales or revenue. We understand that it could be tempting for a business to look at its marketing and advertising costs, and consider if there is scope to scale back costs there. However, one important area that should never be scaled back is branding.

Why, I hear you say?

Well, branding really is your most cost-effective form of advertising. Product branding reinforces your brand's identity and tells its story.

A lot of work and research goes into the process of forming a brand’s identity. You would be crazy to then not consistently try to leverage your brand identity. It's also vital for your brand to stay consistent—from your logo to your website, right through to social media channels, so people know exactly what to expect when they see or hear about your brand.

Branding really is everywhere. From the food we eat to the clothes we wear, and the products we buy and use. As we are constantly surrounded by branding in our daily lives, branding plays an extremely important role in business and in the choices that consumers make.

1. Branding gives your products an identity

By branding your products you are giving them an identity and with a well-designed brand, your product can be instantly recognisable. Branding helps consumers to identify who you are and what your products are, simply by seeing or hearing about your brand. Strong brand identity will help you to engage with your target customers and will help create a loyal customer following without having to spend a cent on other more expensive forms of advertising!

Example

An example of a highly recognisable brand with a strong brand identity is the fast food chain, KFC. The physical attributes of the brand make it instantly recognisable to consumers (the red and white colours, the use of the colonel imagery, the types of boxes and buckets consistently used). KFC has then built a personality into that brand with its clever use of humour, which carries across all forms of advertising.

If KFC were to suddenly start providing their food without branding, they would instantly start to lose their brand identity and the customer engagement and loyalty that goes along with it. If times were tough, I am sure that would be likely one of the very last things that KFC would consider changing.

2. Branding helps your product stand out against competitors

Having a strong and recognisable brand that is consistently visible on your products helps to differentiate you and your products from your competitors. This can be hugely helpful to help you to gain, maintain and increase your market share, especially in a market where there are multiple competing brands and options (which, let’s face it, is almost every market today – it’s virtually impossible to create something entirely new)!

In a booming market, branding is what can help your products stand out in a crowd. And if you help to create a story about your brand on your website and on social channels, then that brand can share its story with consumers.

3. Your brand tells a story

There is much more to a brand than its physical attributes, such as logo, colours and emblems. Consumers are more savvy and like to buy into a brand’s lifestyle – they often don’t buy products based solely on the product itself. How you make a customer feel, and the story you tell behind your brand can have a huge impact on your brand’s reputation and ability to generate loyal customers who want to continue purchasing from you – or who want to tell their friends about your product.

4. Branding builds trust

Consumers want products that they can rely on. With so many knock-offs and cheap imports, many consumers have become wary and more sceptical about where their products are coming from.

Your brand helps to create trust, which is hugely valued in marketing. Consumers seek out brands that they know are aligned with quality products.

5. Branding helps your business to grow

Finally, quite simply, branding helps your business to grow. Having a visible brand on your products helps to tell its story, build trust, grow brand recognition and encourage your consumers to want to buy your products time and time again. Not only that, but a strong brand encourages people to share stories about their products and recommend your products to their friends. It is this word of mouth over the life of your product that helps to increase your market share. And in the case of a product with a long life span, that can mean a huge number of recommendations and referrals over that period of time!

Example

Let’s say you are an outdoor umbrella manufacturer. You make high-quality, outdoor umbrellas with an expected lifespan of 10 years+. In the manufacturing process, you make allowance for a small domed badge or nameplate to be neatly placed into the pole of the umbrella which is visible to the consumer each time they put up the umbrella but does not detract from the umbrella’s aesthetics.

That summer, during a family barbecue, a family member admires the umbrella and asks where they got it, or what brand it is. They can’t remember, but they do recall seeing the logo on the pole when they put it up – so they go and check, and share the details with their family member.

Then a few weeks later in a local Facebook buy/swap/sell group, someone asks for a recommendation of where to get an outdoor umbrella. They remember the name from sharing it with their family member, and so they comment recommending your umbrella brand.

This then snowballs – they tell two people, they then tell two people each, and so on! Before you know it, your brand has reached a large number of people.

Word of mouth is king

Word of mouth advertising has been identified as the most valuable form of marketing - the method that consumers trust above all others and the one that is most likely to drive sales for your company. Without branding, you can’t possibly leverage word of mouth!

So the bottom line is – for a comparatively small cost, a badge or nameplate can help advertise your products for you via word of mouth, for the lifetime of your product. Driving sales to your business and building trust and recognition for your brand. And that is why, quite simply, if you don’t visibly brand your products you are missing a huge opportunity.

LNI can help you with all your product branding needs

LNI has been in business for more than 50 years and is Australia’s largest provider of industrial product branding solutions.

Talk to us today to discuss branding solutions for your products to help continue your word-of-mouth advertising, which is critical to growing your business in this current environment.