Many companies confuse branding with design, marketing and public relations, says Eric Cheung, Executive Creative Director of BrandsNation.

"Branding is more than simply a beautiful design, or logo," he explains. "Branding encompasses the core values of a company, its strengths, its vision."

Hong Kong does not have too many well-known brands, which he attributes to businesses desire to make a quick return on their investment. However, smaller companies are increasingly planning for the long-term and are looking to grow their own brands in the Mainland through the window of opportunity that CEPA has presented, he said.

"Branding seems pretty hot recently, especially when we can enjoy the advantage from CEPA. Many companies are planning to penetrate the China market with the 'Brand from Hong Kong' tag, because Hong Kong products and services still have an edge and enjoy positive recognition in Mainland China," he said.

In the 15 or so years that he has been working in the industry, Mr Cheung said branding has never presented as many opportunities for businesses to grow, nor been as important, as it is today.

With many companies believing that their product or service is unique or among the best in the market, branding not only adds value, but also builds up the loyalty and trust of customers who will keep using certain branded products or services, he says. The alternative is discounts and more discounts, which can be very unhealthy.

But isn't branding just for multinational companies with huge budgets?

"That is totally untrue. If any businessman wants to survive and build a sustainable relationship with his customers, then he needs branding, regardless of the size of the business," he said.

Just how much a company should spend on branding depends on the scope and timeframe they have in mind. To brand internationally can be very expensive and takes years, but building a brand locally, or in a single market, does not require a great deal of capital.

"If you are a little café and you make what you consider to be the best steamed buns in Hong Kong, then you could brand your buns by using the tools of quality, uniqueness and the values that went into making them," Mr Cheung explained. "These qualities form the backbone of branding. Again, it is not just about fancy logos and big advertising budgets, it is about the values of the company and customers respect that."

Mr Cheung says a good branding consultant could take almost any product or service and craft a brand building program for that business.

"Of course we cannot cheat the market. If a product is just run-of-the-mill then there is not a lot you can do. But if it has only one unique element, either in function or design, then you can build that into a valuable branded product," he said.

A common mistake businesses tend to make when trying to build a branded product is to cling on to an old idea, service or concept which the boss emotionally considers his baby and just won't let it go.

"They tend to fall in love with something and rely on a beautiful design to market it. Without objectively looking at it and developing a strategic communication plan to build it as a brand, it is bound to fail," he said.

"Branding is all about communicating to customers the most differentiating qualities and uniqueness of your product or service to build a sustainable relationship. The market is evolving every second, so you are fooling yourself if you think putting old wine in a new bottle will make a difference. If you truly reflect your brand's promises consistently with a distinctive look and feel to your customers, then that is branding."