Some components of branding are the: 

• Logo
• Slogan/Tagline
• Store front
• Store windows
• Internal signage
• Ticketing and packaging
• Uniforms
• Store design
• Music
• Products
• Receipts
• Advertising
• How the phone is answered
• How they greet you customers
• Merchandise mix
• Service strategy
• and the list goes on.

Standing out from their competitors can be a challenge. Store designers can stick to a fashion trend which can make stores look and feel similar. I was in a shopping centre lately and counted over 6 stores that had curtains as their back feature wall! Wallpaper is now becoming fashionable and several stores in the same market segment had wallpaper. 

We did a customer exit survey of a very well know ladies clothing company and many of their customers mentioned that their shopfront was indistinguishable at a glance from their competitor.

So being distinguishable is very important as are increased visitation and transaction frequency, greater ability to attract new customers and increased economic goodwill.

The benefits to the customers are that they have their own or desired self image and self esteem enhanced, simplifies the choice of where to shop saving time effort and hassle. They shop were they trust the product and service.

If we think of a little blue box with the white ribbon, most people would think of Tiffany and Breakfast at Tiffany. This is a wonderful example of how effective, good branding can be. They have created packaging that clearly identifies who they are and what they stand for or aspire to. Their customers save these little blue boxes for a lifetime. Even packaging can have long lasting value!

Branding can express a multitude of thoughts, values, expectations or it can be as simple and as clever as Safety is to Volvo (although they have had a change in marketing strategy lately) or Entertainment is to Disney.

Of course the retailers need to be very clear as to what customers they want to attract. I often find the smaller retailers cannot easily answer these questions:

• Which customer segmentation do they want?
• Where do they live
• What do they do
• What income bracket are they in
• What age bracket are they in
• What sort of lifestyle do they have or desire
• What do they want to feel
• What are their shopping behaviours
• What pleasure do they want to derive from their product or shopping experience
• What pain do they want to alleviate from their product or shopping experience