To me--- nothing says comfort on a winter day than looking at a the red and white of Campbell's Tomato Soup and knowing all I need is a good grilled cheese sandwich. Years of experience with the product, memories associated with those experiences, the occasional TV commercial that gives me the warm fuzzies and the consistent goodness of Campbell's tomato soup have all come together to create an a feeling of contentment and home by just seeing the can.
Branding is a process by which we try to use a variety of tactics to elicit a positive emotional response from customers and potential customers. It is much more than selecting a logo, colors and packaging.
Branding involves communication, imagery, and reputation building.
In order to brand effectively, one needs to:
- examine the strengths and weaknesses of the competition,
- examine your own strengths and opportunities for improvement
- communicate and listen to staff regarding perceived internal strengths and goals
- listen to customers desires, needs and wants.
From there, we can begin to understand the possibilities for changing customer perceptions in order to improve customer loyalty and probability that a customer will come back-- again and again.
While the informal and personal tone of the blogosphere and social media, to date, has been identified as a risk of starting a blog, there is the very real possibility that these very traits could play well into marketing and branding endeavors. Afterall, what better way to build an emotional response to what you do than to start a relationship with your customer? What's the harm in letting people know a little bit more about you as long as it is presented professionally?
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