Branding in Business

Branding in Business

Father George Rutler, a contributor to the Catholic Herald in the UK, has spoken about branding. Father Rutler said that “all of them are called to be brands.” Father Rutler asserts that this is because they have an opportunity to show them worth through their work and interactions with others. The Father states, “Brand managers are so important today because they have the vision to see what people should want before it happens.”

Enhances product value

Father Rutler also states within his article that “Brands improve over time. They become more valuable when people recognize their added value”. He goes on to state that “the brand gives us something beyond what they would get if it didn’t exist. Brands make us want to choose a product over another.”

The thing is that branding can often diminish the value of products, particularly if it is done in a particular way. A good example of this is Apple, which markets its products as being “cool” and therefore desirable from a social perspective. This means that people are encouraged to buy things simply because they will be seen as socially acceptable rather than because they will actually work well and serve a practical purpose.

Makes companies more accountable:

Another benefit of brands mentioned by Father Rutler is that it makes companies more accountable for what they do or produce. He states this by saying, “Brands allow consumers to reward those producers who behave responsibly and punish those who don’t.”

Improves communication

According to Father Rutler, brands help us communicate with one another. He states, “Brands allow us to make simple statements about our preferences without much explanation.” The reason why he believes this is because he states, “when I’m asked what kind of car I drive, I can say ‘I drive a Ford’ rather than explaining that it’s a Ford Fusion and that I chose it because it has an excellent warranty and got good gas mileage.”

The point of what Father Rutler is saying here is that brands allow us to communicate quickly with one another without having to spend too much time or effort explaining anything. However, the downside of this is that they become reliant on branding, so if certain companies stop producing goods in a particular way, others will simply fill the void.

Creates consumer dependency

Father Rutler states within his article that “brands can create a kind of psychological addiction.” He does this by comparing branding to drugs, saying that if they have an addiction to one thing, it’s very hard to stop using it even when their health is at risk.

Creates loyalty

Father George Rutler claims that brands are something that encourages loyalty in both customers and organizations. He bases this by saying, “By establishing trust through consistent messages, brands allow for greater levels of cooperation between consumers and businesses.” This means that by creating consistent messages with their products or services, companies are able to create more positive relationships with their customers, who will then be more loyal to them.

Makes things unique

Father Rutler states within his article that brands allow “for products or services to have a certain cachet or prestige.” He does this by using Italian fashion as an example, saying how people who buy French products like wine will often claim they do so because of the quality even though, in reality, it simply comes down to the label. However, he also points out that “The same thing is true for ordinary market commodities.”