Why Brand?

What's A Brand For Anyway?

I’m often asked what a brand is, but first, I think it’s more important to find out what a brand does.

The most important thing a brand does is make you the natural choice of your customer. But there are other benefits too.
 
A strong brand:

• Stands out – and gives you a real point-of-difference.
• Makes connections – bringing you close to your customers.
• Levels the playing field – enabling you to compete with rivals who have bigger fists or deeper pockets.
• Plays to your strengths - rather than those of your competitors.
• Inspires confidence – offering your customers reassurance that you’re the right choice.
• Inspires loyalty – giving your customers every reason to buy from you again.
• Inspires you – helping you speak eloquently and stand tall in your market.

As for what a brand is, there are as many definitions as there are branding specialists. One thing we’re all agreed on is that branding is about people. At Islandbridge, when we listen to family and friends enthusing about a brand they love or griping about one they hate, it strikes us that people talk about brands in much the same way as they talk about the important people in their lives.

That suggests to us that the most useful definition is one where the brand stands for the relationship between buyer and seller or the exchange between the business and its customer. One good thing about this way of looking at brand is that it means everyone can join the conversation (because everyone’s an expert on everyone else’s relationships, right?). The language of relationships isn’t specialist, it’s social.

So set about building the relationship between your business and your customers and use your brand to frame what you say to them and do for them.

Because that’s what a brand’s for.

So How Does A Brand Work?

When we say that the brand represents the relationship between a business and its customer, does the word ‘relationship’ imply something too deep and meaningful? Not necessarily.
 
In fact, the buyer-seller relationship can be fleeting or long lasting, constant or occasional, shallow or profound.
 
We’re likely to enjoy a very different type of connection with our toothpaste than we do with our solicitor, or with our hotel than we do with our power-tool. We choose brands for all sorts of purposes and it’s key that our brand reflects the type of relationship that matches the needs of our customer at a particular place and time.
 
In terms of valuing the business relationship, it can be useful to look at how brands can move the relationship from the cosmetic to a more deep-seated place and enable the business-owner to enjoy greater returns on the exchange:

• Brand As Uniform: (“That looks right – I recognise it and can count on it”) This takes the short but important step from simply identifying the maker and speaks about a certain organisation and standard of production (including ingredient and method) that leads to a predictable outcome for the customer. Think of how shop-owners often dress their business in the uniform of their trade: the butcher with striped apron and awning, the chemist with green cross, pestle & mortar and white laboratory coat, and the barber with red, white & blue-striped pole and head and shoulder photographs.
• Brand As Label: (“I’d rather have that – it has a certain style that I admire”) Here the producer makes claims regarding the nature of what’s produced, and attempts to move beyond familiarity to personal preference. Consider the retail outlets of the major mobile operators, each of which promises a very different kind of experience (whilst the functional offer remains largely the same) as examples of this kind of branding.
• Brand As Reputation: (“I’ve heard good things about it – lots of others can’t be wrong”) The marks the point at which the business begins to stand for something said by the buyer rather than simply claimed by the seller. Businesses that traditionally rely on testimonial and word-of-mouth, such as restaurants, solicitors and accountants are brands that work in this way.
• Brand As Goodwill: (“I like it and I want it to do well”) This moves beyond reputation and sees the buyer wish the seller well and offer something back to the seller (e.g. the promise of future purchase or referrals) that goes beyond the terms of the buyer-seller contract. Think of the type of businesses that you want to see prosper and will happily pay a premium to use or go out of your way to help or recommend. Those who sell their produce at farmer’s markets or are seen to represent a community in some way often enjoy this type of goodwill.
• Brand As Badge: (“It’s to be admired and being seen with it makes me admirable too”) This sees the buyer declaring their choice of product to the world in the belief that this says something about their own personal judgement, loyalties or beliefs. Depending on what you want to portray, your choice of baby food, holiday destination or even professional adviser can be seen to reflect well or badly on you.
• Brand As Tribe: (“I like to be with other people who feel the same way I do about the brand”) Here the buyer unites with others who share their choice of brand and, they believe, their taste, loyalty and beliefs. Just watch any close-knit group of friends or colleagues to see which brands draw them together: sometimes it’s the cars they drive, the push-chair they transport baby in or the coffee-shop they visit.
• Brand As Religion: (“I’m inspired by and try to live up to the values of my brand”) For some, the worldview of the brand represents a philosophy or set of values by which they might lead their lives. Few brands make it this far, but leading players in online search, music-players and adventure clothing inspire their customers to a distinctive attitude and way of life.

As we trace the progress of brand from uniform to religion, see how the significance of the brand is first asserted by the seller, then by the buyer, then by the tribe and finally by the society.
 
Using this ranking as a reference, ask yourself: What level of relationship am I looking to establish with my customer?