Role of branding in attracting and influencing consumer purchasing decisions

David Ogilvy, an advertising baron stated that," products, like people, have personalities, and they can make them or break them in the marketplace".

Brands these days is a way of exaggerating one's status symbols. It's not always necessary that the consumer is attracted towards the quality of the product but its brand name. Globalisation and privatisation have not only improved the position of Indian economy globally but also affected the demographic trends, lifestyle and culture of the people by various brands. Some researchers have pointed out that a brand not only delivers its product attributes but also carries various non-product related traits such as personality and emotional benefits. Fundamentally consumers buy the brands they like due to the personality of a brand. With the increase in globalisation the company's focus to serve the local markets has found themselves at a disadvantage and losing competitive edge that they so much strived to achieve. Marketers use brands to get the competitive advantage over other competitors playing an imperative role in the success of companies. The category of age is a demographic factor which impacts consumer purchase decisions in choosing a certain brand. Older people consider diversified options through the experience they have developed. While younger ones with less experience rely on brand and price.

Branding and Consumer behavior

"Brand is something what remains us when the factory is burned", to quote the words of the advertising tycoon David Ogilvy. Products are what companies make, but the customers are more interested in the brand. Along with, it carries an inherent assurance to the customers that the quality of a purchase will be similar to earlier purchase of the same brand. There are " Six Dimensions Of The Brand" according to Kotler(1999). They are :

• Attributes

• Benefits

• Values

• Culture

• Personality

• User

A consumer's behaviour may be either positive or negative, depending on the outcome of their learning and evaluating process. Brands need to understand their audience and try and trigger associations because it is believed that customers do ascribe to personality characteristics. There are various factors that influence the branded items. They include :

Price

The price of the products and services often influence whether consumers will purchase them, and what competition offering should be selected. However there is a certain group of today's value-conscious consumers, who may buy products merely based on price rather than other characteristics.

Promotion

Advertising plays a very important part in building or breaking a brand. It can influence what consumers think about products, what emotions they experience in purchasing and using them, and their behaviours in buying specific brands.

Place

Purchase of products can be affected in many ways. When consumers are seeking low involvement products, they are unlikely to engage in extensive search. Offering products by non store methods such as on the internet or in catalogues, can create consumer views that the products are innovative, exclusive, or tailored for a specific target market.

Social factors

Role is activities people are expected to perform according to the persons around them and Status reflects the esteem given to role by society. People are often inclined to buy certain brands in order to showcase their status in society.

According to a research conducted by a few researchers, it is found that people belonging to the age group of 11-25 are the most brand conscious group and prefer following their desired brands on social media. The degree brand of consciousness goes on decreasing in higher age groups.

Studies reveal that price and brand were the major attributes that customers gave most importance to while purchasing ready-made products followed by other features. No industry has escaped the impact of globalisation. An ongoing reorienting was put in motion as a result of the globalisation of markets. Downsizing, consolidation and reconfiguration are common terms used to describe the current state of affairs in all industries.

A strong brand is now seen as a key to commercial success by providing business. It is not just enough to attach a name and logo to a product and with products, unless they are developed and adopted, brands tend to decline over time. They must be nourished and carefully managed or they become unfit over time. A consumer who prefers a particular brand basically agrees to select that brand over others based primarily on his or her perception of the brand and her value. Clearly it is crucial that potential customers should be aware of a product, it is their journey to buying it.

Conclusion

The conditions of the market are constantly changing. People are now switching from the local markets to the branded products. Since brands have become a status symbol now, in the era of social media people like to flaunt their wealth and lifestyle. Not only this, but brands also act as guarantee in terms of standard of quality. Branding is a very effective marketing strategy device that has given quite a success in the past as well as in the present. However, one must have a very clear idea about branding management, if not used properly the results can be devastating. Consumer behaviours are influenced by a variety of factors that interact to give an overall insight, as to why and how he or she might choose a brand. Hence it's absolutely necessary that the value one promises to deliver of the offered brands meet the consumers' values and desires.