Branding

Competition is desired economically so as to benefit the consumer. As more players join a particular industry they keep being innovative on how to enhance the product as well as how to produce the goods and services cheaper than their competitors. Those who are able to make the most savings are better able to pass those savings to their customers by offering credible products at the best market rate. Looking at Monrovia, there are so many vendors offering similar services and products that it is hard to distinguish one from the other. In the financial services sector, banks have opened branches very close to each other that it is easy to confuse them as one entity were it not for the different color paintings.

Thus in today’s competitive world, there is a need for every organization and product to differentiate itself from the rest in order to gain a competitive edge. One of the best ways for companies to differentiate itself and its products is by enhancing the brand image. The brand is what your company is known by i.e. the name that you go by. If you are in the motor vehicle industry your brand should constantly ring a bell to any aspiring motor vehicle buyer or owner, should they want to purchase anything related to motor vehicle. The consumers have to know what your organization does and relate it to your products. Microsoft is a company that the market relates with computers, its brand is globally renown and easily recognized as it has developed its competitive edge through the brand image.

Just like Microsoft, your company can enhance its brand image by use of branded merchandise which will serve to create constant market presence and top of mind awareness within the target market. Everyone who is recognized by the market as a potential customer today or tomorrow, should be able to know the name of your company as well as what products you offer. To gain and keep this presence, it is advisable for companies no matter how small they are, to use branded giveaways like pens, writing pads, complimentary slips, sweets, packing bags and others depending on your industry. To standout in a crowd, brand the front of your office with your corporate color and logos. Additionally you should customize your interior design as the desks and office door, reception area with company label tags, rollup banners, and desktop labels. This will not only give you a professional image but make your firm easy to identify to the eyes of consumers. This can be done even for your small shop by ensuring that the counter is well labeled with your business name screaming so that, its image sticks to the mind of the consumer.

Larger companies can go an extra step by, branding the staff using uniforms such as branded shirts, polo shirts, t-shirts, caps, lapel pins, ties, scarf’s, or suits. They can even have their vehicles branded with their corporate colors, logos or products so as to create market presence and gives your company the desired image. While branding is a good idea, it is advisable to conduct market research on the best way to go depending on the environment, as some work better than the others. For example in Liberia where all the taxis are colored yellow, it would be a tough task trying to use yellow as a branding color for your vehicles as it would seem to be part of the taxis creating a market confusion. However, creating a different shade of yellow may stand to benefit your organization.