At the present stage of market development, successful promotion of a product is impossible without creating its positive image in the perception of the consumer. Therefore, the brand image is the subject of constant attention of a marketer or brand manager. Its creation and maintenance requires knowledge of special technologies, which are called branding. Let's talk about the basic principles of brand image formation, what are its features and why it is needed at all.
The concept and structure of the image
It has long been known that a person is often judged by his image, which is formed under the influence of actions, speech, appearance. With the advent of marketing, this knowledge turns into the concept of image. This concept means an image that is purposefully or spontaneously formed by consumers about a person, product, company. In marketing, the image is a tool of psychological influence ontarget audiences. Formation of a favorable image of an object - a product, a political figure, an organization - becomes a way to attract buyers. Therefore, the brand image is a means of influencing the mass consciousness.
Image structure
The product image includes a set of ideas, stereotypes, archetypes about the object. In the case when the consumer can easily answer the question: what kind of product is this, we can talk about the formed image. Also, the complex of image characteristics includes visual and verbal components, as well as a set of consumer properties and physical parameters. The concept of brand image includes a complex of emotions that the product evokes in the consumer.
Image functions
The image of a product, person or organization is necessary for representatives of target audiences to easily recognize it. Therefore, the first most important function of the image of a brand or organization is to identify the object. Every day, a consumer encounters a variety of products, and in order to make a purchase, he needs to understand what are the features of this product or manufacturer. The image helps the consumer to remember the product by some individual features, for example, by name, logo, color, with which he has certain associations.
The second function is differentiation. The consumer must distinguish between products in the same product category. For example, what is the difference between juices in the same price category? First of all, it is the image. The third function is idealization. Competentlythe formed image helps to endow with special characteristics for which a person is ready to overpay. If he is sure that the juice of a certain brand is natural and tasty, then he will not look for a replacement for it and will buy a product, even if it costs a little more than analogues. Thus, the main function of the image is to help in obtaining additional profit, it becomes a sales tool.
Brand concept
Any product tends to gain a foothold in the memory of the consumer. To do this, he needs a recognizable and meaningful image, called the brand. By this concept, experts mean a complex of ideas, opinions, associations, emotions in the perception of the consumer associated with a particular object. The term "brand" comes from a Scandinavian word meaning "burnt mark, brand". At the present stage, there is a convergence of the concepts of brand and trademark, which is wrong from the point of view of marketing. Since brand building is one of the stages of product promotion, not every trademark is a brand. In this perspective, a brand is understood as a mental formation formed by the consumer, it is an image of a product, a set of ideas about it. The physical carrier of the brand is the product and its corporate identity. In theory, brands can develop spontaneously, but today it is usually the result of a lot of work on its formation and promotion. Brand image is essential to the existence of a product or service.
Brand Features
Marketing is aimed at promoting goods from the manufacturer toto the consumer, and branding is an important tool for this activity. A positive brand and image of the company provide high and stable sales of goods, loyal attitude of consumers. The main function of a brand is the recognition of a product or organization. The consumer, by some elements of corporate identity or by some attributes, must remember what the specifics of the product are, his image should come up in his memory. This greatly simplifies the process of making a purchase. For example, if a consumer enters a store where there is not a single familiar brand, then he does not know how to choose the right product. And the presence of a formed brand helps him remember the product, perceive it as familiar, and therefore more credible. In this regard, we can talk about the second function of the brand - this is the formation of consumer loy alty. Also, a brand helps a product or organization stand out from the competition, this function is called differentiation. The consumer understands well how, for example, cars of different brands differ from each other, and the established brands of these brands are responsible for this.
Branding
The work of developing, maintaining and promoting a brand is called branding or brand management. This is the activity of creating a long-term preference for a product by consumers, based on various tools that form its image. Brand image is the result of a variety of efforts on the part of the brand manager. Branding can be seen as a highly effective technology for influencing the consumer throughpackaging, corporate identity, advertising messages and other communications in order to win and retain the consumer. The high demand for branding is due to the constant growth of various commercial messages aimed at the consumer, the abundance of brands in all product categories, and the blurring of differences between products.
Principles of image formation
Branding involves systematic and purposeful work to create an image of the product in the perception of the consumer. The basic principles of brand image formation are as follows:
- Purposefulness. The formation of the image should be consistent with the goal that the manufacturer of the goods sets for himself.
- Sequence. There is a technology of image formation and brand building that should not be violated.
- Product quality guaranteed. To create a positive brand image, it is necessary to provide a high-quality set of consumer characteristics of the product.
- Realistic. The image must have a factual basis, it must reflect the real qualities of the product.
Creation steps
Brand formation begins with an assessment of the market situation, analysis of competitors, product range, consumer characteristics. Next, the ideology of the image is developed, which is concentrated in the positioning of the brand, the essence of the brand is determined and a strategy for its development is developed. The next step is to define the values and attributes of the brand. The next steps in creating a brand image are related to the creationvisual and verbal characteristics of the brand: packaging, corporate identity, slogan, advertising message. Next, a brand development strategy and a program for managing its image are developed. Then, work is carried out on an ongoing basis to monitor the state of the image and measures are taken to support and correct it, if necessary.
Image platform
Positioning and segmentation are the two pillars on which a successful brand rests. To form an image, it is necessary to briefly formulate the essence and concept of the brand. Positioning will become the ideological basis for all brand communications, for creating its verbal and visual components. Positioning can be related to the benefit that the product brings to the consumer, on its price, on its origin, on the method of delivery to consumers. This should be an essential feature of the product that is easily understood by the consumer. Segmentation is the division of consumers into groups according to socio-demographic and psychographic parameters. It is necessary in order to clearly identify the audience in which the image of the brand will be formed. The mission and values of the brand also form the platform of the image. They become a condition for the formation of brand identity and recognition by its consumers.
Visual concept
At the next stage, the visual characteristics of the brand image are developed: corporate identity, color, font and logo. They should correspond to the brand positioning, reflect its mission and values. The consumer remembers bestnamely visual components, so they should be simple, semantically filled and understandable to the consumer. The target audience should easily recognize the values and positioning of the brand in the corporate style. Corporate identity should provide for the growth of the brand, that is, it should always be forward-looking, since with these visual elements the brand must go through a large stage of its life. The carriers of corporate identity are promotional products, company documents, packaging, souvenirs, staff uniforms, business cards, etc.
Image management program
To form the image of the product, all marketing tools are used. The creation of a brand image begins with advertising and PR communications. These are the most common tools that help to attract the attention of consumers to the product, to inform the target audience about the benefits and features of the brand. Also, the image is influenced by all brand communications. Image management begins with debugging the process of selling and servicing goods. At this stage, points of sale are drawn up, merchandising technologies are applied. The perception of a brand by the consumer is influenced by its reputation. Therefore, in the image management program, public relations technologies are necessarily used: social and charitable actions, publications of journalists, special events, exhibition activities. All this helps to maintain and strengthen the image of the product.
Factors affecting image
The image of a product is made up of many elements. For brand imageaffects the competence and professionalism of the staff. All well-established brand communications can be destroyed in an instant by a rude or illiterate seller of goods. Also, the image is affected by the involvement of staff. Employees of the company are carriers of the corporate image. They must be convinced of the quality of the product being sold, the reputation of the company and the prestige of their work. Then they will be able to broadcast these feelings to the external environment. The image of the product is influenced by the situation and atmosphere in the office, shop, point of sale or service. To the greatest extent, the image of the product is formed during its use. Therefore, the product must comply with the declared parameters. In addition, the brand image is influenced by the information field that surrounds it. It is formed by advertising messages, information in the media, opinions of authoritative people and reference groups for target audiences.
Image and consumer behavior management
The brand is needed in order to influence the choice of the buyer. The basic principle of marketing is to recognize the consumer as independent in his choice of product and purchase decision. However, the possibility of influencing its decision is recognized. This is precisely the purpose of building a brand image. A good image helps the consumer make a decision in favor of buying this product. It is always more pleasant for the buyer to buy a well-known product, which in public opinion is recognized as prestigious and worthy. The buyer is willing to pay extra money for the image. For example, juice in a simple package with an unknown name is almost impossible to sell for the same price.price, as a well-established, well-known juice. A favorable image allows you to keep customers even in times of crisis. People are reluctant to give up brands they consider worthy of their standard of living. Therefore, a positive brand image is the most important means of forming a pool of loyal consumers. A company that seeks to build long-term relationships with its customers must spend resources on building a brand image. The process of creating an image of a company and its product in the perception of the consumer is today almost a prerequisite for the successful existence of a brand on the market.
