What is a Brand Image?
Brand image is a general opinion and perception of a potential customer about the brand. Multiple factors influence brand image, including price, quality, satisfaction, personality, association, and awareness.
Brand image is built using a multidisciplinary approach, including owned and earned media with integrated marketing strategies. The first and foremost step is to identify the target audience.
Then you have to create brand awareness by implementing different direct advertising campaigns, promoting specific products, building connections, and providing expected quality and value to the target audience.
Brand image is crucial because it increases customer base, satisfaction, and loyalty and creates positive brand recognition. Building a solid brand image is essential because it helps you achieve company motives and expected results. A positive brand image has the following benefits.
- It increases your profitability and attracts new customers to the brand.
- It helps boost existing product sales and establish new product launches.
- It boosts the consumer base, the existing customers’ confidence, and brand loyalty.
- It also helps you build long-term business relationships with customers.
What is Brand Reputation?
Brand reputation is the public perception of the company, organization, or brand, including customers, employees, and other brands. In other words, the credibility of the company or a brand that the company builds in society. A positive brand reputation is essential because a more substantial reputation means more trust and advocacy by people for the brand.
The direct or indirect experiences of customers influence the perception of a brand. Company strategies and policies can impact brand reputation. It is variable and changes over time at the individual or social levels. Hence, companies must monitor and maintain a positive brand reputation, building long-term credibility in society and among potential customers.
A positive brand reputation is based upon better customer support services, good quality, brand awareness, customer satisfaction, brand personality, and price. Better and honest communication, trustworthiness, and good services and value help maintain a positive brand reputation and long-term business relationships.
A good brand reputation makes you trustworthy, credible, and desirable. It is a good asset for the critical success of a brand and brand values.
Difference Between Brand Image and Brand Brand Reputation
Brand image and reputation are two different terms. Businesses that need help understanding these terms properly are in danger of getting trapped in overconfidence or misguided perceptions and cannot establish their brand correctly.
- Brand image is consumers’ perception of the brand, while brand reputation is how a company builds a positive and right image in customers’ minds about their brand.
- Brand image is how consumers perceive the brand and the product’s credibility, while brand identity or reputation is about a company’s credibility in society.
Comparison Between Brand Image and Brand Brand Reputation
| Comparison | Brand Image | Brand Reputation |
| Definition | Brand image is a general opinion and perception of a potential customer about the brand. | Brand reputation is the public perception of the company, organization, or brand, including customers, employees, and other brands. |
| Nature | Brand image is how consumers perceive a brand. | Brand reputation is the credibility of an organization it builds in society. |
| Control | Brand image depends on customer satisfaction, feedback, and advocacy about the brand. | Brand reputation is controlled by the company and its strategies by the implementation. |
| Elements | Non Visual components build brand image like quality, taste, rhythms, sense, etc. | Brand reputation has visible components like logos, colors, typography, etc. |
| Management | It is managed by quality, satisfaction, brand awareness, etc. | The strategic implementation drives brand reputation in the long run. |
References
- De Chernatony, L., 1999. Brand management through narrowing the gap between brand identity and brand reputation. Journal of marketing management, 15(1-3), pp.157-179.
- Wijaya, B.S., 2013. Dimensions of brand image: A conceptual review from the perspective of brand communication. European Journal of Business and Management, 5(31), pp.55-65.