Critically Analyzing Branding for Sustainable Competitive Advantage

This report provides a critical analysis of the concept of branding and its application in creating a sustainable competitive advantage for organizations. It highlights the importance of branding elements such as name, logo, and design in differentiating a seller's products and services from competitors. The report explores how branding helps build customer relationships, foster brand loyalty, and enhance company value. It also discusses the role of innovation, scaling, and digital marketing strategies, including social media, in achieving competitive advantages. Furthermore, the report emphasizes the significance of customer relationships and satisfaction in driving business growth and expanding market share, concluding that strong branding is essential for organizations to thrive in competitive markets.

MARKETING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Critically analysis the concept of branding and it used to create sustainable competitive
advantage.....................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is an activity that company manage to boost the selling and buying of goods
(products) or services. It includes selling, and promoting products, delivering goods to end user
or other organization (Swanson, and et.al., 2020). It deals in exchange for products and services
by money (medium of exchange), and also solution of high scale production, increase
employment, social welfare and help in economy growth. Marketing plays a major role, it helps
business in selling of products and services or in other words marketing improve sales and
expand business. In today time without marketing, a business can not survive in the market.
Marketing begins with the identifying customers needs and wants and then providing
them what they want through are products and services. Marketing help in identifying business
target customers so increase profitability of business. This report highlight the concept of
branding, and how branding is created a sustainable competitive advantage for organization.
MAIN BODY
Critically analysis the concept of branding and it used to create sustainable competitive
advantage
A brand can be named, symbol, team, design, or some other feature that find one seller's
product and services as different from other sellers. It is a process which communicate a unique
selling point/proposition, or differential that a company product and services from the other
business (Imran, and et.al., 2020). Branding is a prime thing that customers experience and well
allow them to create a opinion on what a business is all about, it makes a visual view of products
and services on customers mind. It is done for attract customers, brands help in business,
advertising and marketing. For example Sainsbury, their brand motto is “Helping Everyone Eat
Better” so it helps Sainsbury to attract consumers, Sainsbury had a good brand. But if a company
fails to create good brand motto or tag-line even a logo, then it gives negative impact like if
companies tag line is highlight some thought which is related to any of a cultural than other
people can easily make the objections and it will definitely gives negative impact on company
brand.
Branding help in to create relationship with targeted customers, which help organization
to build them into loyal audience ((Khamitov, et.al., 2019). Like Tesco apply experiential
positioning to target their customers for beauty and health scale of product. They have good

control on quality product at very reasonable price. Tesco is a biggest retailer in UK and with the
good amount of employees. But if company have not trained employees than it give negative
impact, they can improve their employees by train them accordingly. Tesco use social media
(Pinterest, Facebook, google and twitter) for branding, to know about what customers actually
wants, and then make offers accordingly. Branding can be done by focus on a core product and
services its help in grab more customers. If any organization fail to do these then they face
consequences of loss customers (like company provide long list of offer product and services
than customer confuse and not buy any think from the company but if they focus on a core
product then it helps customers to try something new).
Branding help in improve company value, consistency, attracts customers, build
customers loyalty, build trust, reputation etc. it has mainly four features such as awareness,
target-ability, consistency and loyalty (Kuchinka, and et.al.,). So every organization must focus
on these feature to make a strong branding, if branding is stronger than it help organization to
expand their business. For branding firstly company focus on creating awareness about what they
sell, then identifying their loyal or target customers what is customers want and then provide
that, and last one is consistence it is a key of success, it is needed for branding. But for making
brand there involving huge development cost, which is not affordable by small business,
changing of insight for company's brand is too hard. So branding is important for every
organization to grow and expand business, and survive in the competitive market. It also
increases chance of living in customers mind and increase costumes loyalty.
Successful brand image helps to create good relationship with their customers, and builds
long time sustainable competitive advantages and save business from the market changing
environments and uncertainties (Panda, and et.al., 2019). To create a competitive advantage than
an organization should focus on single products (that is core products) or strategy (Hanlon.,
2021). Branding also contain an emotional connection with customers. Competitive advantages
means factors that permit an organization to produce products and services in better quality or
facility with the cheaper price than their rivals. In simple words how an organization is stand out
from the competitors is competitive advantages.
Brand value make indirectly build up brand competence along with market orientation. It
makes market efficient and effective in the perception that sellers and buyers are lead together at
low cost, which is not possible without brand. There are many ways for small business to

compete with the strong brand such as price competitively, partner up, capture contact
information, know customers personal, specialize (core product or services) etc. brand also give
economy value in terms of money, development of the product to solve problems and their basic
satisfaction. Unique product, low price, customers experience, low cost, brand reputation, a good
cash flow these are the factors which have a great impact on competitive advantages. If a
company have a strong branding than it is easy to sustainable in competitive advantages (Miotto,
and et.al., 2020). A good competitive advantages is beneficial for company in growth, improve
customers long time value and brand can make better market share.
A company with good branding have competence advantages. The power of brand is
direct to brand loyalty. Brand loyal includes customers value, customers satisfaction, repeat
buying behaviours, commitments, and brand trust. Customers become more loyal towards a
particular products and brand than they purchase for them only and on regular basis. Like an
organization make good quality product so that why customers are attracted towards that
organization only. So brand play an importance role in competence advantages, if company
create good relationship with audience than it help company to retain their customers and
maintain trust with them. Innovation is essential to give competition, because a product have a
life cycle that is introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage and decline stage. So its very
important to innovate a product. By innovation organization create values and retain customers.
Band can be used to scale higher than the competitors, if a company high there scale of products
and volume than its easy to produce in low cost and then sell in lower the price than the
competitors (Gil-Gomez, and et.al., 2020). So branding use for cost differentiation, from the
competitors. If organization products in large scale than it increase customers. If organization
product scale increase than the net worth also increase so it helps organization in survive in
competitive market and expand their business.
Branding give higher value to the organization to complete with the others' organization,
if they have a good market share than they will enhance there working culture and technology
and design many training and development programmes so, it helps organization, employees and
also improve brand image. Brand experience is also used to create sustainable competitive
advantages. Improve ambassador marketing, leverage the drive of celebrity, build a good brand
strategy help in this. By social media, and digital marketing organization can build good
branding and easy to attract customers (Bilgin., 2018). For example if a company hire youth

influences to promoting and managing social media accounts and increase followers it improves
branding and competitive advantage. If a organization have alignment with good marketing
touchpoints like website, social media accounts, etc. so it grabs the customers attention and
improve public relations, and build trust with brand. If organization with strong branding offer
public free trails in small bag/pouch than it help organization to attract to new customers and if
they happy with are product than they purchase as well as they may suggest their family
members and friends to try once. Organization can give good offers on customer birthday,
anniversary and on other occasions, it will helps in creating the good branding and good
relationship with customer which is use as a competitive advantage.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that branding usually used to create sustainable
competitive advantages, and also understand the concept of branding and marketing. brand
elements such as name, logo, team, design etc. This report includes how branding is important
for organization with some examples and what happen when branding is not good. This report is
illustrated brand loyalty, innovation, scale and digital marketing like social media platforms use
as a competitive advantage. A good customer’s relationship also help in this. If customers are
satisfied than they tell their friends and family members to buy a particular product from an
organization so it gives advantage to the business. If there is a strong branding than it easy to
grow and expand business.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bilgin, Y., 2018. The effect of social media marketing activities on brand awareness, brand
image and brand loyalty. Business & management studies: an international journal.6(1).
pp.128-148.
Gil-Gomez, and et.al., 2020. Customer relationship management: digital transformation and
sustainable business model innovation. Economic research-Ekonomska
istraživanja. 33(1). pp.2733-2750.
Hanlon, A., 2021. Digital marketing: strategic planning & integration. Sage.
Imran, and et.al., 2020. Concept of branding in general: an analysis of customers’
perspective. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research
(IJEMR). 10(4). pp.60-67.
Khamitov, et.al., 2019. How well do consumer-brand relationships drive customer brand loyalty?
Generalizations from a meta-analysis of brand relationship elasticities. Journal of
Consumer Research. 46(3). pp.435-459.
Kuchinka, and et.al., 2018. Consumer attitudes toward sustainable development and risk to brand
loyalty. Sustainability. 10(4). p.997.
Miotto, and et.al., 2020. Reputation and legitimacy: Key factors for Higher Education
Institutions’ sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Business Research. 112.
pp.342-353.
Panda, and et.al., 2019. University brand image as competitive advantage: a two-country
study. International Journal of Educational Management.
Swanson, and et.al., 2020. GEN Z's Conception of Marketing. Journal for Advancement of
Marketing Education. 28(1). pp.26-35.