One huge aspect of growing and managing a business is branding. Your brand defines the way that people perceive you. It defines what characteristics and traits they associate when they see your logo or products.
The value of a brand can shape many aspects of your business and its performance. A high brand equity can help you receive a higher return on investment in marketing. It can aid you by helping your products perform better. And it will play a huge role in building up a base of customers who return again and again.
What Is Brand Equity?
How do customers view your business? Do they associate it with positive experiences and reliable consequences? Are they able to recognize it when they see your logo?
If you answered yes, then your brand likely has good value. Brand equity is a way of looking at the value that comes with positive consumer perception of your business and products.
There are many benefits to having a business with high brand values. A popular brand can easily launch products which become the default choice for consumers. This is because they trust the brand, feel that they can trust it to be reliable, and feel that it is worth the money it costs.
The level of positive recognition garnered by your brand is known as brand equity. A barely-launched new business will no marketing strategy is going to have minimal or no brand equity, and will have to look at other brand models to see the value of high equity.
Even worse than having minimal brand equity, however, is having a negative perception in people’s minds. Even a remote connection to a scandal, crime, or something else that people react to with disgust can result in massively reduced brand equity. A key example of this is a brand of dieting candy known as “Ayds.” The candy was successful until AIDS showed up. Though the two were unrelated in everything except name, the candy’s sales dropped by fifty percent.
Additional Facts About Brand Equity
Measuring the value of a brand is an imprecise science. Hard data and facts may drive certain elements, such as profit margins, advertising ROI, and increasing market share. However, elements such as prestige, recognition, consumer satisfaction, and brand associations are far more difficult to determine and measure.
When a brand has a high level of equity, they’re able to operate on a different playing field than lesser-known brands are. Their reputation gives them leverage which allows for higher profits margins, better returns on their investments, and the ability to distribute their products on an even larger scale.
Because they’ve already earned the trust of the public, it’s easier for them to introduce and market new products. Customers are willing to pay premium prices to obtain the brand’s products.
However, it’s important to remember that brands are not created solely by companies, but also by the general public. The business can make wise investments in building their brand with smart marketing, design, and customer service. However, the conversations surrounding customer experiences also play a huge role in brand equity and are far more difficult for a brand to dictate.
However, there are many things that brands can do to promote the building of a reliable, trustworthy brand model.
How to Build Brand Equity
#1. Tell the Story of Your Brand
Instead of allowing your brand to be viewed as an impersonal entity, do your best to imbue your brand with personality, values, and a story. Don’t give people a generic platitude-driven description when they want to learn more about you.
Instead, tell them how the company was started. Introduce them to the people who are essential to your brand. Explain your goals and hopes for the future. Endorse the values that your brand was founded upon. All of these things will help your brand stand apart from others and build its equity.
#2. Build Recognition
Everything you do to build a brand will be rather futile if no one remembers anything about your brand. This is why aspects such as packaging, website and store design, packaging, and memorable marketing are so important.
Pick a singular theme or style and run with it until people come to associate it with your brand. Design ad campaigns to have similar and complementing ads rather than an eclectic array of randomness.
#3. Pay Attention to Pricing
The amount you charge for your items or services can play a huge role in people’s perception. Are you a luxury brand with exclusive items? Or a budget-friendly brand with fewer bells and whistles than your more expensive competition? Avoid setting prices arbitrarily or thoughtlessly, as this does play a huge role in how your brand is viewed.
#4. Capitalize on Unique Factors
What makes your brand different from all of the other brands out there? Is it your unique products or services? Your ability to offer things for a low price, or the fact that you have higher quality items than others? The awesome features or intuitive design?
Even if you’ve got a lot of similar competition, it’s almost always possible to find your own unique style. Invent new features or experiences if you can, or simply improve on weak areas in your competition’s business model.
#5. Satisfy Your Customers
Unfortunately, most people are far more likely to remember and share bad experiences they have with a brand than good ones.
This means that you’ll want to make sure your products and services can deliver the quality you’re promising, along with stellar customer service. Developing a bad reputation can kill your brand, so you’ve got to keep it from happening in the first place.
Finally, remember than crafting your brand will likely take time, effort, and money. Don’t expect it to take care of itself just because you offer awesome products. Smart tactics, excellent service, and clever marketing design can help get your brand recognition growing, but you’ll always have to keep working to improve and expand your brand’s equity.
