Over the past few years and post-Covid, the business dimensions and many methods of doing business have changed. The biggest change is making payments digitally, getting your goods at home and shopping from where the customer is and when they want. A big change is that consumers buy brands and not products or services. Despite being aware of this, many traders do not pay attention to this direction and see it as an unnecessary expense. The need to create a brand is still not relevant to many businesses today. They will realize this mistake not today but in the near future. It felt necessary to talk about this topic today because this week I happened to meet two businessmen (note that “businessmen” and not the brand owners) one of whom has been in his business for 3 generations, making food products of daily needs, doing B2C business; while the other has been around for three decades and is into B2B business.
Both have products that people know, have heard of, have established a position in their category over the years and are profitable, but they are not brands. It may seem strange to read why there is not such a successful business as a brand. Both had the same complaint and fear that they were doing successful business but could not build a brand. It is a household name in the food business, they have a logo and packaging, but they said it is not a brand. Both said that they were feeling high that even without the brand, the sale was going on because the product had strength and the distribution was strong. These two things must be the foundation and if these are not present then even the brand that has been built may fail. You can practically put them in the brand category but let’s find out the reasons why they feel they are not a brand and why they feel this is an urgent need today.
First of all, today’s consumer is not the same as the old customer. S/He understands and wants the brand, not the product.
Second, they don’t know what they are known for i.e., they have never defined for themselves what they stand for, and because of this the new brand takes their market share.
Thirdly, the dimensions of business today have changed, and the way business has been done so far will not work in the future.
Fourth, there is increasing competition with small players competing with bigger players. Importantly, the new entrant sells its goods with the help of a brand and hence consumers prefer it. Legacy does not matter today. Meaning, if legacy is bult with a brand, it will definitely get preference.
The fifth and most important reason, till now I was giving people what I was making, whereas today in the age of brands, you must give what the consumer wants, which is what the new players are doing. This includes innovation in products, practices that consumers want such as; online shopping, digital payment, home delivery etc.
Thus, the business done in my way and being stubborn will not last long. Both of these businessmen are careful and brave enough to admit this openly, they realized the mistake of not building a brand and showing readiness to correct it now. Another big thing is that they studied the competition and learned that today foreign or domestic big companies acquire brands and not the businesses.
The new products that they bring to the market themselves take time to establish, which is not the case with brands. If a brand is established, other products under it are easily sold. When coming up with a brand you keep in mind the consumer and market trends and hence your brand extension will be accordingly and not unplanned.
Even in B2B your customer who is also a trader himself will consider selling a branded product as it requires less effort. The B2B trader mentioned above had his distributors who have been doing business with him for years draw his attention to this direction and said that if you don’t build a brand, it will be difficult to do business in the long run and they won’t sell the goods. It will be difficult to sell their goods just because of long term relationship. Meaning not the relationship but the brand will trade henceforth.
Branding is important not only because it leaves a memorable impression on customers but because it tells your customers what to expect from your company. It’s a way to differentiate yourself from competitors and clarify what you have to offer. Your brand describes who you are as a business and how you want people to perceive you. It gives you the opportunity to create your perception before people create your perception.
Branding is important when trying to generate future business, and a strongly established brand can increase the value of a business by giving the company more leverage in the industry. This value can mean influence, charging a premium or mind-share. A good brand will have no trouble getting referral business. Strong branding generally means that customers have a positive impression of the company, are likely to trust the brand and do business with that brand. Once the brand is well established, word of mouth will be the company’s best and most effective advertising technique.
When an employee works for a strong branded company and truly stands behind the brand, they will be more satisfied with their job and take pride in the work they do. People will prefer to work for a company that has a reputation for a brand. A brand’s reputation ultimately depends on the trust customers have in it.
Remember one thing, that brand is not for today but for the future. If you want to play a long-term game, then you can play only with the help of the brand. Thus, consumers need brands today more than ever. S/He will not go with any brand but only the brand which is made keeping her/him in mind and talks about what s/he feels, and at such time s/he will add the new brand in her/his life. In addition, a brand is a business asset beyond the product and service that has financial value in itself, must have its own place on the balance sheet of a business as it adds to the overall value of the company.