Brands & Branding By Rita Clifton - BOOK REVIEW

Rating: 3.5 / 5

For the most part I found this book a little disappointing because it was overly focused on big businesses (fortune 500) as well as what I would call traditional models of creating a brand. 

The book was a compilation of thoughts from a range of authors. My notes included: 



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​Reasons People Buy Products:

1.  Top of mind purchase – because they have heard of the brand and when they think of buying product x, brand y immediately pops into their mind.
   
   
2.  Preference – because they have used the product before and prefer it over other brands that they have tried regardless of price.
   
   
3.  Aided by research on the net – because they have googled the product, read up on it and like what they have found.
   
   
4.  Aesthetics – because they like the way the product looks and/or feels.
   
   
5.  Peace of mind – because they are comfortable that if something goes wrong a bigger or better known brand will compensate them to protect their reputation.

If you don’t have a brand you have no way to create mass consumer loyalty. 

There are low levels of trust in large companies but high levels of trust in specific brands.

Customer spend, customer retention and customer willingness to recommend a product are correlated with the strength of the relationship between the customer and the brand. 

Relationship Strength with a customer grows if you:

• Deliver your promise
• Respect them
• Are open and honest
• The customer has a long-term emotional attachment
• Have aligned values with the customer and mutual respect

Ultimately, consistency leads to trust.

I did finish the book so it was worth finishing but to be honest I didn’t learn as much from it as I had hoped.

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