Branding Really Sells

Fact

The creation of a brand for your product can dramatically increase your market share over your competition, increase your revenue stream, and add a high degree of value to your bottom line. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

The Good Old Days

Do you remember when you were young and your Mother took you on grocery shopping excursions? She looked for and chose those products with which she was familiar and purchased those she felt offered the taste and nutrition she was looking for. Products such as Kraft macaroni and cheese, Maxwell House Coffee, Heinz Ketchup, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, and Jell-o gelatin were staples on her shopping list. Today this is still partly true but to a lesser extent because times have changed and competition is much stronger and more sophisticated.

Impacting Factors

Some contributing factors that have impacted brands today are:

private labeling
offering store brands at a discounted price
creating a difference from its competitors only to see these competitors develop similar claims until any differentiation has all but disappeared
outlets commanding optimum positions for their own products such as placing them at eye level and using end aisle displays
companies competing with themselves, producing the same product under different names and labels
the producing company’s philosophy and attitude, e.g., going “green”
a company supporting worthy causes on a regular basis.

Unique uses of Branding

One unique use of branding is the use of the brand on a product offered by a brand name store, for example, Paloma Picasso and Else Peretti jewelry designs and collections, many of which are sold through Tiffany & Company. In this case, each brand achieves a high degree of visibility and the product and the store work off each other.

Two popular promotional programs are:

offering cross products such as two items that complement each other, either from the same company or from competing companies, e.g. peanut butter and jelly (Skippy and Smucker’s) help increase the sales for both items.
the use of self-liquidating premiums. This is a product or premium that the buyer can obtain for a small fee that covers the cost of the premium. Many companies offer their items for premium use under certain terms. It is best to check with the individual manufacturer.