Why Do Businesses Need to Build a Brand?

            In today's market, competition is increasing due to a growing number of competitors, products and services becoming less differentiated, and consumers showing less brand loyalty. Therefore, businesses adopt branding strategies and focus on maintaining the strength of their product or service brands.

            Branding means creating a relationship between the product brand and the target consumers using marketing tools, which include brand identity, product quality, and various marketing communication tools, both online and offline, to make consumers aware of the brand and develop positive feelings towards it.

1. Branding

            Branding involves creating awareness and positive meaning associated with a business's products or services. A positive brand meaning is when consumers can articulate how the brand of a product or service is better or different from competitors' offerings. For example, Toyota (consumers immediately recognize it as a quality car from Japan), Colgate (a toothpaste known for strengthening teeth), MK Restaurant (a restaurant known for its delicious sukiyaki), or Land and Houses (a reputable real estate development company).

2. A Brand Recognized by Consumers

            A brand that is of high quality, desirable, and appealing will help drive sales for the product owner and is directly related to the sales of that product or service. Brands that are widely accepted by consumers tend to be successful in the market, such as Mama, which is recognized as a quality instant noodle brand, or Mercedes-Benz, a luxury car brand from Europe that signifies taste and status for its drivers.

3. Good Branding Leads to Long-Term Business Success

            For instance, KFC is a fried chicken restaurant business founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, who created a unique fried chicken recipe and established KFC on September 9, 1930, in Henryville, Indiana, USA. KFC has continued to thrive to this day.

4. Successful Brands Can Help Expand Products and Services

            For example, Sony has expanded beyond just manufacturing televisions to include radios (Walkman), video cameras, mobile phones, computers, and even film production under Sony Pictures. Similarly, the Thai brand Mae Pranom has expanded from selling Mae Pranom chili paste to producing dipping sauces, ready-made curry pastes, and various seasonings under the Mae Pranom brand.

5. A Well-Known Brand Has Financial Value

            A well-known brand can sell its brand name rights to interested parties, such as through franchising or licensing Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Snow White, or Cinderella, allowing other manufacturers to produce clothing, dolls, stationery, etc.

            Therefore, branding has become a crucial reason for businesses to recognize the importance of building a brand and maintaining its acceptance among consumers in the long term. Brand creators need to invest time and money continuously to uphold the brand's reputation, akin to nurturing a plant that requires care, watering, and fertilizing to grow from a small seedling into a large tree that bears fruit.