Branding # Marketing

Definition

A means of distinguishing one firm's products or services from another's and of creating and maintaining an image that encourages confidence in the quality and performance of that firm's products or services.

A bit wordy, but it really gets to the point and accurately describes the overall effect, goals and purpose of branding.

Branding is the art of becoming knowable, likeable and trustable.

So how are branding and marketing related?

Ah, the great marketing/branding debate. When fused together branding and marketing would successfully create and promote value, trust and confidence in a company’s image, products and services.

Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.

So think of branding as the creation/re-creation of tools and media used for marketing purposes and marketing as the planned execution of those tools and media.

Marketing is getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you.

Confusion in the word "brand"

We are surprised by how many customers think a brand is just a logo or name and branding as something used to raise awareness by Fortune 500 companies. A Brand is everything that creates an impression about your company and/or your products and services. It's the whole enchilada. This impression is what we call the "Brand Image"

Brand Image: A customer's perception of what a brand stands for.

Perception is everything in the business world. Advertising professionals call it “outside perception” when it’s in the eyes of the customer. Everything that comes in contact with customers — brochures, direct mail, Web sites, advertisements, presentations, e-mails, signs, exhibits, salespeople, etc. — helps them form an opinion, good or bad, of your company.

A successful branding program is multidimensional, emphasizing the total customer experience. Companies often focus on a specific marketing project and forget the total package. Your brand must convince your prospects that you are the clear-cut choice to fulfill their expectations . This leads to credibility and anticipation, which will give you a huge advantage when it comes to converting sales.

What is the meaning of Globalization?

Name for the process of increasing the connectivity and interdependence of the world's markets and businesses. This process has speeded up dramatically in the last two decades as technological advances make it easier for people to travel, communicate, and do business internationally. Two major recent driving forces are advances in telecommunications infrastructure and the rise of the internet. In general, as economies become more connected to other economies, they have increased opportunity but also increased competition. Thus, as globalization becomes a more and more common feature of world economics, powerful pro-globalization and anti-globalization lobbies have a risen.

The pro-globalization lobby argues that globalization brings about much increased opportunities for almost everyone, and increased competition is a good thing since it makes agents of production more efficient. The two most prominent pro-globalization organizations are the World Trade Organization and the World Economic Forum. The World Trade Organization is a pan-governmental entity (which currently has 144 members) that was set up to formulate a set of rules to govern global trade and capital flows through the process of member consensus, and to supervise their member countries to ensure that the rules are being followed. The World Economic Forum, a private foundation, does not have decision-making power but enjoys a great deal of importance since it has been effective as a powerful net working forum for many of the world's business, government and not-profit leaders.

The anti-globalization group argues that certain groups of people who are deprived in terms of resources are not currently capable of functioning within the increased competitive pressure that will be brought about by allowing their economies to be more connected to the rest of the world. Important anti-globalization organizations include environmental groups like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.

http://www.investorwords.com/2182/globalization.html