Trends Shaping the U.S. Functional Beverage Market

Brands can effectively differentiate and "decommoditize" undifferentiated product categories. Examples include Intel, IBM, and General Electric are pretty much the only ones who have survived. A strong brand makes it much simpler to weather any type of crisis, and it is also appealing to the financial and investment markets. Build brand loyalty. Brands help businesses migrate from a transactional to a relationship-based sales approach. The customer always comes first. Brand loyalty is generated when a company regularly delivers on its brand promises. According to Interbrand, HSBC's campaign, "The Worlds Local Bank," is one of the top winners. As one of the companies with the greatest rise in brand value in the 2005 rankings, they benefit from increased brand loyalty. Differentiate Marketing Efforts: Strong brands can improve communication effectiveness. Marketing efforts will be more widely accepted than those for complete no-name items and services. Create Preferences - Strong brand preferences lead to rejection of competitors. Though this may sound too B2C, it does occur in B2B marketplaces. A strong brand will prevent people from switching to competitors' products. Shimano, the world's biggest Japanese bike component maker, has managed to instill strong preferences for their hub gears in motorcyclists. 

Building Trust, Confidence, and Comfort through Branding.

As trust grows, the connection between the customer and supplier evolves into a partnership that acknowledges that both organizations' goals may be best achieved by working together. In many industrial sectors, buyers are flooded with providers attempting to get a foot in the door. It is not unusual for a buyer of bearings to receive five calls every week from vendors promising better service, lower pricing, and a wider selection of items. Each potential supplier is making its best case in an attempt to gain a customer, but the buyer is aware that most of what he hears cannot be genuine. The chances are that the company isn't any better than the vendors he now uses; after all, the competitive forces of the market cause his existing suppliers to stay competitive. A new supplier may make an extra effort at first, possibly with a price concession or a special effort in terms of service, but will they maintain it? Five more persons will knock on his door next week, claiming that they can do better, but he does not have the time or motivation to regularly examine his suppliers. A great brand gives organizations significantly more credibility than those that are unknown. In a major investment decision, businesses are more likely to choose a well-known brand. Brands serve as a shortcut between attributes, benefits, beliefs, and values. They encompass virtually everything a firm and its products or services stand for. The branding triangle visualizes the marketing ties between a company, its collaborators, and its customers. Employees are not the only collaborators; wholesalers, dealers, ad agencies, and so on are also included. (Collaborators) It seeks to serve as a guiding concept for overlapping market participants. It is critical to present a consistent image of the organization and its brands across all media channels and to all stakeholders. 

The Branding Triangle.

The corporation represents everything, real and intangible, whether it is a service or a product; it combines both history and the future. External marketing communications typically shape a company's image from its inception to the present day. Few customers or other stakeholders actively seek to learn everything there is to know about a company. They typically only know what the firm "tells them". Of course, employee performance is not less vital. Other connected co-operators. What image are they creating in the customers' minds? If they assimilated the message of the brand they represent, guided by excellent internal marketing communication, they will ensure the required consistency. As you can see, the brand is the one element that unites everything across all touchpoints. Brands are both opalescent and delicate. It is far easier to dilute or even destroy a brand than to create one. However, many business decisions made on a daily basis are based on opinions that do not accurately reflect the brand's current reality. In today's fast changing marketplaces, it is critical to base every major choice on accurate, current, relevant, and impartial information in order to safeguard the brand. To ensure continuous performance, a brand checklist can be extremely useful. If you are going to make major decisions with the life of a brand at stake, you should strictly adhere to that criteria. Only then will it be feasible to direct their perception through the vast amount of information. Nowadays, brand management, particularly in B2B, encompasses the entire firm rather than just one product, service, or market offering. As a result, it is critical to appreciate the value that a complete brand portfolio combined with a corporate brand may bring. 

Branding Commodities.

What are businesses about Making money except, of course, for non-profit organizations. Not surprisingly, many people associate price and monetary terms with value. If you believe you are selling commodities, you are probably also assuming that your clients perceive value as the lowest price. Such a marketing position, however, is typically the most hardest to maintain. And they are correct: the sole distinct point of diversity between commodities is pricing. The solution to this difficulty is to cease viewing your products and services as commodities! A strong brand that customers recognize and trust can rise above price and feature competition. If a brand fails to successfully evolve its products, services, and marketing communications, it risks becoming a commodity. Put it another way: commodities can be successfully branded; just don't tell anyone you're selling them Acme Brick of Fort Worth, Texas, is an excellent example of how to brand a commodity. What else might be considered more of a commodity than a simple brick? Nonetheless, Acme has successfully branded its bricks, addressing both homeowners and architects. Through their brand, they can charge a 10% premium and have the biggest market share in several of their primary markets. Not only can industrial firms benefit greatly from developing powerful brands, but those who do not face severe penalties.  The alternative is to rely on price cuts, discounts, and cost-cutting initiatives. In this regard, it is critical to strike the correct balance between presenting your firm in a way that appeals to the appropriate target groups and stakeholders while maintaining the essential consistency both outside and inside the organization.