Experts' Views About Defining Services Brands and the Principles of Services Branding

Abstract

There is a dearth of research into the nature of services brands and the principles of services branding, which we address by interviewing 20 leading-edge brand consultants. The consensus view was that branding principles are common between products and services at the conceptual level. In either sector, brands must be developed as the link mirroring the set of functional and emotional values created by the company and the way these are perceived by consumers. However, at the operation level, there may be differences in the emphasis given to the manifestation of specific elements of services brands. Moreover, the current inconsistency of delivery of services brands was raised as a critical challenge. Suggested ways of resolving this include a consumer-delighting culture that permeates every department, with greater emphasis on internal communication and training.