In the world of business, the importance of name and image cannot be over emphasised. As far as building a business is concerned and sustaining that business, creating an image for your product or service in the mind of the customer, will definitely guarantee the success of such business.
The process therefore, of creating a distinctive name and image for a product or service in the consumer's mind is known as branding.This is mainly accomplished through advertising and campaigns using a consistent theme.
The essence of branding a product/service is to attract loyal customers, by capturing their minds with your product/service, thereby establishing a significant and distinctive presence in the market.
Branding is what makes your product/service stand out, especially in a competitive market. It is what the customers recognise about your product. It is what retains his/her loyalty. Your brand is your reputation, it is your product's mark of quality.
Every established business, be it a product or service, either small or big, should have a brand. You can see it among the big names in business and even the not so big names, from MacDonald to Shell, MTN, to Google, to Adidas, Apple, Coca cola, Glo and so on, it's your product's voice in the market.
Little wonder the richest man in Africa, Alh. Aliko Dangote, in revealing the secret of his business success said, "To succeed in business, you must build a brand and never destroy it. One competitive advantage I had when I ventured into manufacturing was my brand "Dangote," which I diligently built in the course of my trading commodities."
A brand could be a name, colour, logo, slogan, company letter head, marketing materials, signage, websites, promotional items like pens, key holders, diaries and so on.
Branding is important because it not only separates competition, it helps consumer remember your product; It makes your product/services more visible,attractive and desired by the customer, It promotes sales; It keeps you in the market.
Though, branding can lead to the success of a product, it could also lead to the failure of any product, no mater how good the quality is.
If you expect your product/service to penetrate the international market, it is important to consider the cultural adaptation of those countries before branding. For instance, if your favourite colour is yellow and you decide to package your product with all round yellow, not blended with any other colour and the destination of the product happens to be China, please know that what you are telling the consumers is that your product is all about pornography! Worse, if the product happens to be a book!
Colour white is acceptable for branding in most Western countries and African countries, it stands for purity, peace or cleanliness.
However, in countries like Korea, some Asian countries and China it stands for death, funeral or mourning. Water is also represented with colour black and not blue in China.
Ordinarily, a green colour is readily acceptable for branding in the Chinese market, except when it is used for hats. A green hat signifies infidelity.
If you expect your product/service to penetrate the international market, it is important to consider the cultural adaptation of those countries before branding. For instance, if your favourite colour is yellow and you decide to package your product with all round yellow, not blended with any other colour and the destination of the product happens to be China, please know that what you are telling the consumers is that your product is all about pornography! Worse, if the product happens to be a book!
Colour white is acceptable for branding in most Western countries and African countries, it stands for purity, peace or cleanliness.
However, in countries like Korea, some Asian countries and China it stands for death, funeral or mourning. Water is also represented with colour black and not blue in China.
Ordinarily, a green colour is readily acceptable for branding in the Chinese market, except when it is used for hats. A green hat signifies infidelity.
Colours, such as red, gold or purple are more acceptable in the Chinese market.
In Nigeria, a product branded in yellow doesn't have any meaning except that some people may consider it too flashy. However, it is generally acceptable while in Germany, Yellow could mean envy.
A brand failure could even come from a very simple thing as the number of flowers on the product. In a country like Russia, giving an even number of flower is considered to mean death! You don't brand your product/ service using even numbers of flowers, say 4, 6, 8,10,12 flowers as the brand image and expect acceptance in the Russian market.However in some other countries it has no significant meaning.
So, also is the "OK sign", you may think you have a great product and brand it with the "OK" sign, that could be bad for the product/service if you intend selling it in Brazil for instance.
So also is the "Thumps up" sign, in a country like United State, Nigeria and for some other countries, the "Thumps up" sign simply means approval but in some countries in the Middle East, it is seen as offensive.
In branding your product for the international market, it is imperative to understand the cultural adaptation of the target market. So that, rather than promote your business with your brand you don't end up killing the business, because you failed to understand the market.
If the right branding is done, surely your product/service will readily penetrate any market in the world.
In Nigeria, a product branded in yellow doesn't have any meaning except that some people may consider it too flashy. However, it is generally acceptable while in Germany, Yellow could mean envy.
A brand failure could even come from a very simple thing as the number of flowers on the product. In a country like Russia, giving an even number of flower is considered to mean death! You don't brand your product/ service using even numbers of flowers, say 4, 6, 8,10,12 flowers as the brand image and expect acceptance in the Russian market.However in some other countries it has no significant meaning.
So, also is the "OK sign", you may think you have a great product and brand it with the "OK" sign, that could be bad for the product/service if you intend selling it in Brazil for instance.
So also is the "Thumps up" sign, in a country like United State, Nigeria and for some other countries, the "Thumps up" sign simply means approval but in some countries in the Middle East, it is seen as offensive.
In branding your product for the international market, it is imperative to understand the cultural adaptation of the target market. So that, rather than promote your business with your brand you don't end up killing the business, because you failed to understand the market.
If the right branding is done, surely your product/service will readily penetrate any market in the world.
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