1. What is the essence of a brand and what are its benefits?
2. Do I need brand?
3. Does branding influence the decision of my customers?
4. How a brand can help me to hit the ground running even with a limited budget?
5. Is a LOGO mandatory to build a brand?
6. Is it better to register my brand name as a trademark and how much does it cost?
7. Would having an established brand ever counteract against me?
8. Can brand extensions work for me?
9. How much does a brand value?
10. What generates revenues and builds the trust for my brand in the first place?
11. How do I transform my vision into an ideal brand?

1. What is the essence of a brand and what are its benefits?

Wondering about a Brand? A brand is what your customers perceive about you. The better way you present your products, services or business in the market; the more the customers would come to know about your brand.

Brand Benefits a Lot!

It’s the brand that UNLOCKS THE DOOR OF OPPORTUNITIES for you. For example; you can look forward to extend product branding if you already have a well-established brand.

The BETTER IMAGE of your brand aids your smaller business to be recognized amongst your competitors.

GOODWILL about your brand in the minds of customers increases the market performance of your business.

2. Do I need brand?

Yes! Every business whether it’s SMALL or BIG needs a brand. The brand is an ambassador of your business and conveys to the customers what your business promises them. It’s not the promotional advertisements that attract the customers, in fact it’s the brand loyalty that your customers have about your brand that gives value to your business.

3. Does branding influence the decision of my customers?

The means to make your customers think about you! Your brand is the perception about your business in the minds of customers. You have to find the ways to make your customers talk about your brand positively. This WORD OF MOUTH ADVERTISEMENT would surely save you extra money and promote your business too. It may take years to establish the positive attitude for your brand among customers but patience would PAY YOU if your branding strategy is the perfect one. Here are a few of the many ways through which you can make the customers to think optimistically about your brand:

Your BRAND PROMISE should deliver to the customers what they desire from you.

You should acquire a LOGO for your business so that the customers can identify your brand.

You have to win-over the customers perception logically and utilized your financial resources efficiently in order to build up the positive thinking about your brand in the minds of your customers.

4. How a brand can help me to hit the ground running even with a limited budget?

Branding does not require a lump sum of money. Cost is not what makes you extraordinary, it’s the values that your business provides to the customer which makes you special. Your brand can be a success even if you have a small budget. You just have to be sure that you are investing your budget in the right place. Here are the some areas where you should invest:

1- At first, you need to negotiate with the designers or consultants and let them know about the elements that you need for your brand so that they can help you build your brand image.

2- Fragmentation of the media has been the blessing for a small business; you can advertise about your business through the cost-effective media channels.

The notion “BRANDING IS EXPENSIVE” is just a myth. Only the proper branding strategy can lead your small business to rule over the BIG ones.

5. Is a LOGO mandatory to build a brand?

Absolutely! The logo serves as the brand identity of a business. It is the logo which justifies the ins and outs of a business. You can ask yourself: Why do the top 100 brands have a logo? Coca Cola, IBM, Microsoft, General Electric, Nokia are the best global brands of the year 2009 and each of these brands has a logo. A logo is the brand ambassador for a business; therefore, a logo is mandatory.

6. Is it better to register my brand name as a trademark and how much does it cost?

Getting your brand trademarked is mandatory. Registering your brand name as a trademark aids you a lot in the long-term; it saves you from future conflicts. But in order to register your brand name, your ‘mark’ should be unique and distinct. You have to ensure that no one else has before you registered for the trademark that you are registering for right now.

Registration for your brand name as a trademark costs $375 in the US, but you would also have to pay additional costs for trademark services or protocols. Prices for all these are listed on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website. You might want to handover this work to a trademark agent, who may also be a patent agent. You can find out a suitable and the qualified one from the US Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED).

7. Would having an established brand ever counteract against me?

Rarely! An established brand may work against you if your existing brand has been marked by some disgrace or it has become obsolete and unreliable. Under these situations, the established brand would work against you.

8. Can brand extensions work for me?

Only if your brand values apply to the extension! You should go for extended product branding only if your new products and services provide the same standards that your parent brand has provided to the customers before.

An example of brand extension is Ralph Lauren’s Polo that successfully extended from clothing to home furnishings such as bedding and towels.

9. How much does a brand value?

Don’t know how much a brand is worth? Conventionally, a company is valued purely on the basis of its tangible assets. Ever since managers have come to recognize marketing, they have realized that the company’s major assets are the customers. It’s the strong relationships with the customers that make them brand loyal. Moreover, a strong brand attracts new customers and retains your existing ones.

Investing in your brand yields better results for your company rather than spending on other expenses. Nowadays, brand valuation has become more important for organizations; therefore, organizations are investing more and more on their brands.

10. What generates revenue and builds the trust for my brand in the first place?

Brand experience! It’s the customers’ brand experience that decides whether your brand is going to generate revenues or you have to incur losses. If the customers experience what they desire from your brand promise; then your brand loyalty won’t be at stake and your turnover will be high.

11. How do I transform my vision into an ideal brand?

Want the dream about your brand to come true? You need to understand your target audience and evaluate what would they perceive about your brand today. The vision of your brand should resonate with the minds of your audience. Your brand vision has to be synchronous with the company goals and objectives that you have planned for your future.