Brand Building - Using The Web For Brand Building

Brands originally came into existence to identify the creator of a product or service and create some type of competitive advantage. The Internet has the potential of helping companies use their brands to create new sources of competitive advantage through content richness, interactivity, and targeting. Internet-related investments in brand building include using the Web as a way to manage customer relationships and cross-sell. Customer service has always been a key element in building a brand. In e-commerce, the Internet has raised the importance of customer service and accelerated the time frame in which companies have to provide superior service to their customers. Having a Web site up and running accelerates how a company's brand is interpreted. The nature of the Web site experience thus becomes an important part of building the firm's brand. It gives the company an opportunity to build on its strengths.

For companies with an existing brand, Web sites are an extension of their brand franchise. Web sites can tap into demand by offering product information that differentiates a firm's products from its competition. Customers may gather information on the products at the Web site and then take the information to the firm's brick-and-mortar store. Building a brand requires an integrated set of messages across all media, including the Internet. Companies need to achieve a high degree of integration among all point of contact with customers, including call centers, Web sites, and stores. By giving value to the customer when they are online, the firm enhances its brand image and the brand becomes part of the value proposition.