What is brand image building and rights building through branding?

I am selling a very good product at my company, but sales are not increasing. I don’t want to lower the price because it is a new product, but I wonder how we can increase sales.
I guess we should promote the quality of our products, but we are not well known in the industry yet, so where should we start?

Then why not work on branding first?
If your branding efforts succeed in improving the value of your products and the image of your brand itself, you will be able to differentiate your products from those of your competitors, and you will definitely be able to increase your long-term profits without getting caught up in a price war!

I see! If we work hard on branding and give customers a good brand image, we can deliver this great product to more people! Let’s give it a try.

　What is brand image building and rights building through branding?

Your new product is so good that you want more people to use it, but your sales are not growing, perhaps because it is not well known. However, if you immediately discount new products, they will be perceived as inexpensive products and you will be caught in a price war.

How can we solve these problems?

This article will briefly explain branding and brand image, how these can contribute to improved sales, and what measures can be taken to prevent other companies from usurping your brand image.

Difference between branding and brand image

If we understand branding and brand image, and branding is done correctly, we will be able to gain the users’ (consumers’) sympathy and support for our brand.

This sympathy and support can be expanded by improving the brand image. This will increase the value of the product and lead to long-term benefits, such as the creation of fans for the company and the product itself.

Trademark registration is also essential to prevent the brand image from being intercepted or damaged.

First, let’s review the difference between branding and brand image.

What is Brand Image?

Many consumers and companies have some image of the products and services offered by brands and companies.
For example, Prada and Chanel are luxury goods and made in France. UNIQLO is generally thought of as cost-effective and a Japanese company.

These images are formed through the accumulation of impressions that consumers feel when they come into contact with a product or service, or when they come into contact with information presented in the media or commercials.

Brand images are formed for almost all products and brands, with varying degrees of recognition

What is Branding?

A brand image is an image that is formed in the minds of consumers through the accumulation of impressions felt by them, and branding is a series of activities on the corporate side to create, improve, and disseminate this image.

By engaging in branding, companies create a common perception among consumers of their brands, products, and services as “luxury,” “sustainable,” and “comfortable.

Difference between Branding and Marketing

Branding and marketing may seem similar in that they involve analyzing and exploiting consumer psychology,

but Marketing is “the activities of a company to accurately identify customer needs, develop product plans, select the most advantageous sales channels, and increase demand and develop new markets through sales promotion efforts. ” This is different from branding.

In a broad sense, branding can be considered a marketing technique.

For more information on branding, please see the Trademark Guide content below.

Importance of improving brand image

Why is it important to improve brand image?
There are many benefits when a company engages in branding and improves its brand image.

Consumers are more likely to purchase products from familiar brands or brands with a good brand image than from brands they have never heard of at all.

Specifically, when a product is new to the market, the brand is not well known, and customers who are interested in the product itself are likely to try it out and buy it. At this point, customers are likely to flow to familiar products from competitors.
Therefore, extensive advertising, spreading word of mouth, and other efforts to improve sales are necessary.

However, if branding efforts succeed in enhancing the brand image, the brand will gain popularity and customers will purchase the product based on the brand image alone, even without spending much money on advertising.

If a brand image is built and that image is a good one, it will be possible to differentiate the product in the market, and furthermore, by gaining fans, stable sales can be expected in the long term. This would allow the company to sell more products with less advertising costs, which would lead to higher profit margins.

Building a brand image

So how is a brand image constructed?
Consumers perceive some kind of image at every point of contact with a product, service, or brand.
The key to building a brand image is to convey the message you want to convey consistently, accurately, and attractively, repeatedly, at every point of contact.

Points of contact between the consumer and the brand include
Brand name, logo design, and mark
Store exterior and interior design
Staff uniforms
Product packaging and design
Catch copy
Advertisements, SNS, websites, etc.

How exactly can we build a better brand image?

First, it is necessary to determine the direction of the brand, to clarify what products and services are offered to what target audience, and how they are best perceived by that target audience

And you need to set up a brand identity.
Brand identity is the personality and appeal of a brand. It clearly differentiates the brand from other brands and is a concept established and held by the brand owner.

In addition, it will be essential for the organization to ensure that its employees, as well as its customers, are aware of the brand identity and that there is no blurring of direction as the branding process moves forward.

Protecting the brand image

Even if a brand image has been created through branding, its value will be diluted if other companies sell similar products or use confusing brand names.

In order to protect your important brand image, it is necessary to obtain protection through intellectual property rights such as trademark and design rights. Among these, it is essential to register brand names and other trademarks.

Once a trademark right is obtained, it can be exclusively used not only for brand names that represent the brand image, but also for product shapes, packaging, and even the appearance of stores if certain requirements are met.

By registering a brand name, logo, etc. as a trademark and using it exclusively and continuously over a long period of time, customers have the advantage of being able to choose products and services of that brand with peace of mind.

Furthermore, with the addition of sound and color trademarks to the newly protected trademarks, it is also possible to protect sounds and colors that represent a brand image.
For example, music used in commercials can be registered as a sound trademark. Corporate colors and brand colors* can also be registered as color trademark.

*For color trademarks, the requirement is that the trademark has acquired the power to distinguish itself and other products at the time of examination. Therefore, it is often difficult to register a trademark based on color alone, unless the corporate or brand color that has been used for many years is well known among consumers, and consumers are able to recognize the brand’s color by looking at the color.

Creating a brand image is important for people to understand the value of a product, isn’t it?
It is important to communicate well what kind of thoughts I had when I created the new product and what kind of experience I want my customers to have with this product.

That is correct. And to prevent others from imitating your brand image, you need to consider registering a trademark at the same time.
Once you have decided what you want to trademark, we recommend that you first search Amazing DX to see if there is a possibility of registration.

First, let’s do a trademark search with Amazing DX!

Amazing DX makes it easy to conduct a complete prior trademark search and application process online.
Registration and trademark search are free of charge.
If you are not sure how to register your trademark, you can consult with our patent attorneys via chat.