Today I did some browsing at one of my favorite local retail shops. It's a beautiful store with great displays, helpful staff, and quality products so I stop by fairly often to see what's new. 

As I was wandering around, I came across a display of fancy tea accoutrements—nice mugs, loose leaf teas, steeping spoons, and so on. One of the items was a little box of flavored sugar cubes. They were packaged elegantly in a clear box with a nice, matte label with pretty typography.

There were 27 of them in the box, and they cost...

(wait for it)  

$33 bucks. Yep. More than a dollar per cube. For pressed sugar. 

Now, if you go to the grocery store and buy the same sugar cubes (minus the fancy flavor), you can get 250 of them for $14. 

Or if you just get the sugar cube “dots” same size, but not perfectly shaped squares, you can get 150 for just $2.69.

My initial reaction of course was along the lines of “who in their right mind would buy this?! And who has the audacity to charge that much? Crazy.”

But then I thought “Oooooh riiiiight.

This is simply about branding.”

Just because everyone seems to have their own take on what branding really means, let’s start by getting clear on what branding does for a product. The Branding Journal defines it this way:

Branding is the process of giving a meaning to specific company, products or services by creating and shaping a brand in consumers’ minds. It is a strategy designed by companies to help people to quickly identify their products and organization, and give them a reason to choose their products over the competition’s, by clarifying what this particular brand is and is not. The objective is to attract and retain loyal customers by delivering a product that is always aligned with what the brand promises.

In this case, they’re using a number of elements of branding (packaging, pricing, positioning, and visual identity) to attract a certain kind of customer who will take in those signals and say “Yes! This is my kind of product. This is for me.”

Part of the trick to great branding is that it ALL has to align, otherwise the customer gets mixed messages.

Send a Clear Message

Let’s say for instance that the price of the sugar cubes stayed at $27, but the packaging was just a regular paper bag with a sticker. It wouldn’t line up with what you’d expect for the price, so you’d hesitate and probably think it was a rip-off. “Sugar cubes in a crappy bag for thirty bucks? Not a chance.” It wouldn’t make sense.

It can go the other way, too. There can be a product or service that looks amazing, but if the price is too low, it gives you pause. “Wait, what am I missing? Is this not actually as good as it seems?”

But when the branding is spot on and creates a particular experience for a customer, it makes it easy for the customer to make the purchase.

In the case of these sugar cubes, I’d imagine that the company is trying to convey that they are a premium brand.

They want to create a sense of luxury and quality. Perhaps they want you to think they’re the Rolls Royce of tea brands. They know that a customer who is attracted to driving a luxury car like that values a high level of quality in every element of their life, regardless of cost. So, the tea company uses branding to signal to a customer “Hey, you know our kind. We’re top shelf. You’re not the kind of person who’s just going to put any ol’ sugar in your tea…you want the nice stuff. We’ve got it.”

When the customer sees the pretty packaging, reads the “Luxe Cubes” label, sees the placement in a store already selling high-end products, and finally sees the price tag, they don’t think twice. The whole experience makes sense to them.

It All Adds Up

Think about shopping for clothes in Wal-Mart vs. Nordstrom. They both use branding to help customers understand what their brand is promising customers. Wal-Mart is promising low prices on everyday items. Nordstrom promises excellent products and a quality shopping experience. From how their staff dresses to the shopping bags they use, each company makes a decision to signal to customers what to expect. If you left Wal-Mart with your purchase carefully wrapped in tissue in a pretty paper bag, it wouldn’t make sense.

Often times if your product or service is great but you’re not getting sales (or as many as you’d like) you might have a branding problem. Something might not be aligned. Because, as we’ve seen with the sugar cubes, branding helps people to identify a) if the product is for them, and b) if the value makes sense to them.

Check In With Your Business

What does your branding signal to customers?

Does it show that you pay attention to every little detail? Does it scream bargain basement? Does it do a little of both?

If you’re charging premium prices for an offer, but your website is wonky or your packaging is cheap, you’re sending mixed messages. Aligned branding will help you sell more to the right customer…which is the whole point, right?

Where could you be more clear with your branding?

Questions? Not sure if your branding is sending mixed messages? Need an extra set of eyes on your stuff? Let’s talk!