Why consumers pay a premium for branded stuff?

I know it will vary from consumer to consumer but we actually make intuitive emotional decisions instead of rational ones, as this is innate in all of us. What do you say?

People usually buy branded stuff because they want to belong to a certain lifestyle. When a customer buys a branded product she is also buying not just a superior quality product but something more than that (status, bragging rights, etc).

Through media, people are more aware about the quality. Quality product with gurantee play a major role in branding, as well as services provided by companies for their products after sale.

Branded stuff means a product that has proven over a period. The brand has been built slowly and steadily with emphasis on the product's quality, performance as well as its brand positioning. The manufacturer is spending in building the Brand and giving the gaurantee of it's efficacy. This is what people have in mind while buying and paying a premium for it.

If branding comes just by mere publicity, but not backed by equal performance, then people do not pay a premium as expected.

Having said this, its also an emotional connect with Brand to start with. Today, if a very well known Brand in food manufacturing is launching a product in electronics, people would give it a try until they start having un manageable issues with it. Where as a new manufacturer starts the same electronic product and genuinely produces a great performing product, still it takes time to have easy loyalists until the brand image is built.

Consumers try to avoid any possible future headache if the provider of the generic brand fails to provide the promised service/ quality.

IF I had to make a choice in buying a TV, I would look at so many brands but I would go that extra bit and buy a SONY!

That extra bit has paid off and has been working in my hiouse for the past 7 years! So it does make sense to pay that premium and ge safe than sorry. SONY has a brand equity in the market that the company will go to lengths to protect. Hence safely a conslusion can be drawn that the brand would go that extra way to please a consumer! I think thats why people who know that paying a little bit more can buy them the peace and quality of life that they yearn and earn for, should go for branded premium stuff!

Itr is human nature to avoid cognitive dissonence. Consumers prefer product that do that avoiding. Branded product are created with more man hours spend in studying the consumer needs and aspirations before being brought to market for consumption. So those who feel that the products that has the least cognitive dissonence when being used gets the resources.

As it is to avoid cognitive dissonece, it is also that a brand carries less risk in consuming, because the whole existence of the company depends on it's product. Moreover branded products are well aritculated so one feels.

The opposite is the 'generic product', which comes with no gurantees and cheaper because they don't promote ethe procduct either like advertising, deals, logistics etc;