I was asked an interesting question this week.

“Interesting” because it came from someone who works in the marketing field, and I was surprised by the lack of understanding it suggested. The question was, “What is the benefit of branding anyway?”

Well, wasn't she in luck! Right there, a nice big juicy softball of a question that would allow me to prattle on about one of my favorite topics--branding--possibly for quite a long time. But in the end, her question was mostly rhetorical. So I've saved most of my wisdom for this article.

So here goes. The main benefit of a properly devised and implemented branding effort is that it creates and cements customer loyalty and retention.

These days, customer satisfaction is simply not enough. To quote W. Edwards Deming, “...it will not suffice to have customers that are merely satisfied. Satisfied customers switch, for no good reason, just to try something else. Profit and growth come from customers that can boast about your product or service--the loyal customer. He requires no advertising or other persuasion, and he brings a friend along with him.”

Or, to quote me, branding + loyalty = profits.

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