A product and a brand…is there any difference? What do you think? And is there any importance to be aware of their difference? Yeah…there is no need to think twice about it. Without knowing its basic difference how can we name a brand or a product and how can market them? Are you able to distinguish an ordinary product with a branded one?
Well….It is not a difficult task to identify what is a product and what is a brand and distinguishing them. On the surface it seems like there is no variation but moving towards the bulk there is a huge difference which we should know. Before moving on the difference first, we should know actually, what do the words product and brand stand for.
If we search the definition of a product on Google we will get like this
“an article or substance that is manufactured or refined for sale or a thing or person that is the result of an action or process”.
A good, idea, method, information, object or service created as a result of a process and serves a need or satisfies a want is what we called as a product.
But a brand is a product, service, or concept that is publicly distinguished from other products, services, or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and usually marketed. The creation and dissemination of the brand name are branding. Brands are often expressed in terms of logos and through other graphic representations.
WHAT IS A PRODUCT?
It is nothing but which is ready for sale in the market and these are created by the producers making use of the customer’s tastes. A product performs a function for the users. It can either be a service or a thing and is made at a cost and also sold at a cost which depends upon the market, quality of the product and the cost that incurred during manufacturing.
One product is distinct from others in the field of its use, shape, size, color, quality and so on. It has some features also like life span. The life of a product is judged by the customers. Because products are all about what they do for people.
BRAND STANDS FOR?
Promise wants and emotions….These three are the functional blocks of a brand. It may be a name, logo, icon, mark, sign, product or something which helps to identify and distinguish a product as well as the company behind it from a bunch of products from several companies in the market. It is something which requires years and years to acquire customer’s faith and is conceptional to the emotions of them.
Simply it’s a technique to make the people feel….Make the people fall in love with the products…actually, we fall in love with the brands and that’s why we buy the products. It creates an expectation in the minds of customers and promises that are made by the company and these are then fulfilled through their products.
You might also like reading : The importance of branding for your business
THEN WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
A product is what which is for sale in the market and brand is nothing which helps to distinguish the product in the market. What you people need is Product and what you actually want is a Brand.
Products are made by the companies while Brands are made by the consumers. That is the products made by the companies are exchanged with money to the consumers while brands are built up through the consumer’s perceptions, emotions, and expectations.
A product can be copied but a brand cannot either be copied nor be replaced which means that brands are unique. When the product performs the general functions the brand creates values which are meaningful over time.
ARE YOU CONFUSED?
Even now are you confused? If yes, let’s go through a simple example. The simplest example is Google, the world’s number one search engine. Once it was a simple product, a search engine. And now? Is there anything in the world that we can’t know through it? There are another search engines also like Firefox, internet explorer etc which can replace Google. Even though we use Google products like Gmail, google+, drive etc… Do you know why? It’s because we trust the brand Google.
Even though the two (Product & Brand) seems same there is the difference if we start searching for it and products are come under a brand… With the same brand, a number of products can grow up. So Brand is a big umbrella and products are the small breeds in it.
So next time, not get confused with a Product and a Brand!
Branding is more important, it gives you the cutting edge… Go ahead, get branded!
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About the author
Aswathy Nair
