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Product branding: key strategy steps
Product branding helps differentiate a product from similar offerings in the marketplace. It creates a unique identity and attracts consumers’ attention. It also allows you to establish a strong emotional connection with your customers, which in turn influences the purchase decision process.
Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman notes that 95% of purchase decisions are made at a subconscious level. Experts consider emotions to be a key value driver. A product branding strategy focuses on tapping into consumers’ emotions. It involves a number of elements, including:
- Brand name and logo.
- Product packaging design.
- Messaging and positioning.
Branding starts with a visually appealing and memorable logo. At the same time, it should reflect the essence of the product and be associated with it. Packaging design depends on the creativity of specialists. It aims to attract attention and inform the consumer about the product. Packaging can be both original and functional. A good example is the Pringles can, which prevents the chips from deforming.
In addition, successful branding should answer key questions that consumers care about. The first step is to show how the product can solve the buyer’s problem. It is important to demonstrate the benefits of the product and highlight its strengths. This is facilitated by a well-constructed positioning, which helps to convey the unique features of the product to the buyer. A well-thought-out brand story is highly effective in this case.
Strategy benefits for business development
Success-oriented companies pay particular attention to branding. Although the strategy requires a large investment, it pays off. Benefits of the approach:
- promotes company awareness;
- helps to create a product that consumers quickly identify among similar products on the market;
- allows you to focus promotion on a particular category of consumers;
- increases the level of trust and loyalty of the target audience.
Through product branding, a company can increase its credibility. This, in turn, makes it easier to enter new markets. A well-thought-out strategy also helps to manage product price increases flexibly. It also creates a solid foundation for premium product value.
To build an effective product brand, the company must start with a comprehensive analysis of the target audience and market. This includes identifying consumer characteristics, needs, and pain points. The product must solve customers’ problems, or it will not generate interest. There are several methods of target audience research. One of the most popular is data collection using AI. Other techniques, such as market research, interviews, and social media analysis, have proven effective.
Once a portrait of the ideal buyer is established, the next step is to identify the product’s unique characteristics. These characteristics will then be used to develop marketing messages.