ife science marketing professionals are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of branding in the research products market. This is due to the fact that when one examines the nature of many research products, it soon becomes apparent that there are wide discrepancies in prices, profit margins and market share -- despite the fact that the products are remarkably similar. What is being observed is brand equity at work. Some vendors are able to charge far higher prices than others, for essentially the same product, simply because of the perceptions, beliefs and behavior exhibited by their customer base. Thus, the message to be conveyed, and the media chosen to disseminate the message, is critically important to the success of any company wishing to establish market dominance. Yet while most marketing executives can recite the response rate to last month’s mailing, or the number of leads generated at a scientific meeting, they are often hard-pressed to describe the values inherent in their brands.

There is an irony about this. Customers can always see the value of a brand very clearly -- even if they can not define it very coherently. This is because the customer must make a choice as to which reagent, or kit, or instrument to use. It isn’t possible to purchase them all –- priorities must be set. For most life science products, scientists make their choice based on their perception of competing brands.

An important corollary of this clarity is that the customer also has clear expectations of how "their" brand should present itself to the scientific community, be it in the demeanor of their sales reps, the "look" of their print ads, or the technologies on display at a scientific meeting. Loyal customers set high standards for their favorite vendors -- an uninspiring message comes as a disappointment, if not a personal affront.

Most marketing professionals understand this concept and work hard to ensure a level of consistency in the image they convey across traditional marketing media. On the other hand, they are less sure of themselves when it comes to the emerging medium of the World Wide Web. The Web presents many opportunities to transfer, reinforce and build brand equity, but every opportunity also carries with it a danger -- the prospect of diminishing or irreversibly damaging a brand's reputation. Brand equity is built through every interaction between your company and its customers -- including how your Web presence is perceived by the market. Recent research conducted by BioInformatics, Inc. (Bethesda, MD) indicates that a supplier's brand equity can be transferred to the Web -- but only for a relatively brief period of time. The dynamic nature of the Web, and the evolving expectations of customers, is changing the attributes on which a brand is judged online.