Last night I found myself discussing a few well known companies and more specifically, what they do that makes them so recognisable with a good friend of mine. Now your mind might immediately think of products and sales numbers but actually it is the company branding that had me more interested.
Branding is fundamental and essential, but it goes deeper than what you see on on the surface. A nice shiny logo might make a company recognisable when listed against 10 others in the 'logo round' of your local pub quiz but a company's brand encompasses everything that they do, or at least it should do, from the content in brochures down to the way that employees speak to customers (and potential customers).
What sets 2 Circles out against other companies in our industry? We offer a great range of products from mobiles to 10Gb capacity leased line connections but that's not where we add value; we add value through our brand and our customer service, we pride ourselves on the way we speak to customers and the support that we provide.
Products get cycled in and out as markets develop but it is a company's brand that keeps customers loyal, it is the company's brand that keeps customers returning over and over again. A brand will last forever, be it a good or bad thing...
Looking out into the world today, it's easy to see why brands are more important now than at any time in the past 100 years. Brands are psychology and science brought together as a promise mark as opposed to a trademark. Products have life cycles. Brands outlive products. Brands convey a uniform quality, credibility and experience. Brands are valuable. Many companies put the value of their brand on their balance sheet.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/05/27/why-brand-building-is-important/#620ae57b1e72
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