Difference in Brand Construct
Back home, I wanted to
buy an equipment for my house. Influenced by advertisements and impressed by the
proprietor’s publicised and principled stand on various socio-political issues,
I decided on a brand. Machines, irrespective of make, do fail but services
promised should not. Repeated calls to the service centre went unattended. It required
persistence and contacts to get my work done!
Dr APR is a medical
specialist in whom, my trust has grown each day over a decade. I refer my
friends and seek long distance pro bono consultancy for many.
Three different
brands and three different brand images. Hype and hoopla around brand promotion
aside, brand image is all about how it connects and stays on with the consumer.
Responses
The hotel, on a
faraway continent, responded to my review[1]. I refer
the hotel to travellers and receive helpful votes on my page.
The response from
the manufacturer located a few kilometres away from where I stay, was just a
system generated acknowledgement to my mail. They neither returned my calls nor
followed up on mail. In fact, many have expressed similar experiences. I
strongly advice those whom I know against having anything to do with the
unresponsive brand that is destined to wither away.
The doctor
unassumingly continues serving humanity. I continue to refer the doctor and
pester him for advice for any one whom I think needs help. Those referred refer
others!
Spurred by my
experiences, I end up unknowingly reinforcing multiple brand images, either
favourably or unfavourably.
Promised
Experience
Though defined as
intangible, brand is an identity that promises a tangible experience. More favourable the experienceable and consistently closer
to the promise, better perceived and accepted becomes the brand. Mega launches,
opulent promotions, celebrity endorsements, and
audacious allocations gather eyeballs till the glitz last.
Image, loyalty and value of brands are made of greater stuff. It rests on something
abstract seemingly promised by the brand. Invariably, it is the prevalent perception
amongst the masses.
Though individual
perception may vary, there is a commonly held belief associated with each
brand. It could be as subjectively vague as quality – price combination or as
objective as warranty services or as intangible as societal relevance or trust
worthiness. It is this uniquely individual expectation that aggregates to what
the population believes is the brand promise. It is the ability of a brand to
meet individual and collective expectation which decides its reach. It is at
this point brand loyalty is sown.
Seeding Loyalty
Enticing pricing
schemes loaded with freebies can bait reach and generate initial volumes. It seldom
seeds loyalty nor reaps retention. Advertisements
and celebrity endorsements ensure brand visibility that can help move it, once
off the shelf. However, real growth of a brand happens not by the first sale
but through repeated buys by the same customer. Ability of the brand to repeatedly
satiate customer’s expectations seeds brand loyalty. Consumer then accepts, adopts
and owns the brand. Such brand loyalty dictates brand life expectancy.
Brand’s growth is
driven by its performance aided by tentacles of the brand. A knowledgeable salesman
at the counter representing the brand, a friendly service engineer on a house
call, a helpful call centre executive taking a feedback or recording a
complaint are tentacles of the brand, which nourishes and enriches its image. The
combination, of performance and support systems, seeks and seeds loyalty, makes
it addictive and ensures brand success.
Brand, after all, is
nothing more than a collection of pleasant or unpleasant memories about a
product or service. Brand equity essentially is the outcome of brand loyalty.
Brand Equity
Equity is synonymous with ownership. A brand,
whose ownership is confined only to its creators, promoters and on those who
are stuck with it, is doomed. A brand must have the inherent wherewithal to
influence and entice so as to spread, grow and thrive. The ability of a brand to
meet and go beyond expectations, is what fuels its growth. It is this
characteristic of the brand that enhances its equity. Brand equity is built on
performance, reliability and durability. Brand equity is essentially the outcome
of brand image and its societal reach. It is bound to suffer if those, dealing
with it, act deviant.
Brand Image
A good brand embodies the core values integral
to the parent organisation. Brand image is the reflection of organisational
culture. Size notwithstanding, great brand images come from organisations with
impeccable core values. Fly-by-night operators or get-rich-quick promoters resorting
to sell-and-scoot techniques can never offer great brands.
While brand identity is a time-consuming
creation, brand image is the considered affirmation or rejection of the
identity marketed. The brand would eventually find its own niche in the market.
That is why some carefully crafted, aggressively marketed, celebrity endorsed
brands enjoy hoisted reputation only to suffer equity erosion.
Its when employees and employers alike internalise
core values the brand represents, can they effectively promote the brand. Better
the internalisation, integration and implementation, lesser the need to labour
on marketing strategies and sculpting brand identity. That is why selection and
induction of individual into organisations assumes importance.
Brand Value
In the market place everything finally
has to be translated into numbers. Brands are no exception. Different agencies
use different parameters and methods of evaluation to calculate brand value. Irrespective
of the method used to assign objective value to a subjective aspect, two
elements that immensely impact brand value are reach and loyalty, which in turn
is dependent on consistency in performance. Both these aspects theoretically or
statically calculatable, effectively dictate the movement of the brand,
turnover of the company and therefore the profit margins. In turn, brand value impacts
the price of equity shares. Thus, it becomes a key consideration in acquisitions
and justifiably demands appropriate compensation.
ROI
Brand represents cumulative
aggregation of all investments made in a specific product, service or endeavour
and investments must yield returns. Marketing
strategies certainly increase visibility, recall and market penetration.
However, the real yield comes from the inherent strength of the brand and the
image it has created for itself rather than the identity projected. Better the
image, higher the returns.
A lingering Thought
Isn’t every
individual a living brand? Isn’t time for us to evaluate our own ‘brand net worth’
at least once?
