Build Brand Equity

All great products solve a customer problem. If your product or service is reliable, loyal clients will continue to purchase your product. Brand equity is a way to ensure that customers view your company is different from your competitors. If you market using your brand equity, you can build a loyal customer base.

Steps

Identifying Your Brand

1. Position your product or service as unique and reliable. Brand equity is how your customers recognize that you are different and better than other choices in the marketplace. Companies use brand equity to build customer loyalty. Loyal customers will buy your product and possibly refer other customers to you.
   • Brand equity is built on your customer’s experience with your product
   • If your product or service is reliable, you’ll create brand equity. Think about products that you buy each week or month. You buy those products because they are reliable. That’s why you keep going back to the same company.
   • As customers use your product or service and get the results they expect, they will become loyal clients. Loyal customers may be willing to buy your product, even if the price increases.
   • Loyal customers may stick with you product, even if they have a small customer service issue. These customers see a value in your product.
   • Don't discount the importance of good customer service. Even with a great product, a bad customer experience can have a reverse effect, effectively build a negative brand that people will avoid.
2. Solve a problem for your customer. Customers buy a product to solve a problem. The problem must be important enough that it motivates the client to find a solution.
   • Find a solution to a customer problem. Use that solution to create a marketing strategy. You can learn more about marketing strategy here: Develop a Marketing Strategy.
   • Your marketing strategy is the way you explain the problem, and how your product solves that problem.
   • Say, for example, that you’re in the outdoor sports gear business. You notice that hikers and bikers need a durable phone charger that holds up to being dropped. It also needs to be durable enough to withstand temperature extremes. You create a solution to that problem: a durable phone charger.
   • Companies that provide a service can also solve problems for customers. Say, for example, that you own a delivery service. Based on a survey of your clients, you notice that customers would really like the ability to send a package to a specific neighbor, if they aren’t home. You add a feature to your website that lets the customer input the name and address of a neighbor’s home. This change ensures that the package goes to the customer’s preferred location.
3. Be clear about your firm’s position in the marketplace. Think about a single point that describes the essence of your company to the marketplace. To create that single point, fill in this sentence: “We are the only company that solves this problem in this unique way.”
   • Use the sentence and fill in your company name. Describe the problem and put the language in the sentence. Finally, briefly explain how you uniquely solve the customer’s problem.
   • This exercise forces you to think clearly about your firm’s position in the marketplace. If you can’t complete each part of the sentence, you can’t explain your brand equity to customers and prospects.
   • The durable phone charger company would explain that they’ve created a charger that allows the user to charge a phone, even while hiking or biking. The customer can go outdoors and be confident that their charger will work.
4. Train your employees to believe in your brand. Teaching your employees about your brand will increase their emotional connection to the company and can help them understand their direct impact. If your employees are invested in the brand and its success, they'll be excited to talk about it, educate your customers, and make sure they have a satisfying experience.
   • Do not exclude your employees from the branding process; teach them the brand guidelines and empower them to provide feedback and try their own ideas. If it's your employee's own idea at stake, he's going to be far more invested in ensuring it is properly executed.

Marketing Your Brand

1. Tell your story using emotion. Stories get people’s attention and keep them engaged. Use a story to explain your brand. Try and connect with your audience with emotion.
   • If a prospect makes an emotional connection to your brand, they may decide to take action and buy your product.
   • Give an example that explains how a customer was frustrated about a problem. Point out how your product solved the problem.
   • The phone charger company may get testimonials from customers. The client explains how they got stranded outdoors when their cell phone died and their standard charger didn’t work. The customer goes on to explain how the durable charger solves that problem. Now, they can hike or bike with confidence that the charger will work.
   • Your brand can also generate positive emotions in the mind of your customer. Campbell’s Soup, for example, presents a warm, cozy image on a winter day. Coca-Cola provides an image of love and happiness. Positive images are a powerful way to build customer loyalty and drive sales.
2. Include all of the aspects of your product’s story in your marketing efforts. This approach helps solidify your product’s position in the minds of your clients. A consistent message is memorable.
   • When a customer thinks of the problem, they may be more likely to remember your company.
   • Your website should reflect your specific solution to the problem. The durable phone charger’s website, for example, may have a picture on the home page. The picture shows a hiker or biker using the charger in rain or snow conditions.
   • Text on the webpage, for example, can explain the reliability of the charger. As a result, everyone who comes to your site sees a simple, powerful message that explains the problem that you solve.
   • Your marketing efforts can also include content marketing. Posting useful content (blogs, articles) to your website will increase your search ranking on Google. You’ll also engage your audience and keep them on your website if you post interesting content. You can embed links to your products in the content.
   • Post your content on all of your social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. Encourage people to link to your content.
   • Make sure that your logo and slogan fits with the story you want to tell. If you sell products to serious outdoor hikers and bikers, come up with a visual that fits your audience. Maybe your logo is a mountain range.
3. Work on methods to make your product memorable. When a customer is ready to buy, they may only consider your product if they remember your brand. The customer’s awareness about your product is a critical factor in generating more sales.
   • Create a simple logo that is easy for people to remember. Use that logo on all of your products and in every marketing and advertising message. McDonald’s, for example, has simplified their golden arches logo over the years. The logo is simple, but everyone recognizes the brand.
   • Like your logo, a product’s slogan can make your brand memorable. Use both your logo and your slogan everywhere. Include those tools in your packaging, as well as your marketing and advertising efforts.
   • Customers need to be reminded of a product repeatedly before they will buy. One goal of brand equity is to provide many different opportunities for people to see your brand. You want people to hear about your brand online, through TV commercials and many other outlets.
4. Measure how well your marketing efforts convert prospects into customers. That conversion is measured by the conversion rate. Your conversion rate describes how well your marketing moves a prospect to take action and buy your product.
   • One way to judge your marketing efforts is to survey your customers. Ask them what they think your company’s message is to the marketplace. These results will reveal whether or not your marketing message is clear.
   • You can also analyze how your search rankings and website traffic change as your market your company. If you’re getting more activity that means that your marketing is making an impact.
   • Check your social media comments. If you see positive comments that indicate that your product is solving the problem for customers. Satisfied customers will make positive comments on social media.

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Sources and Citations

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