The Tea Behind Brand Equity, the Brain, & Successful Marketing
OVERVIEW
Maybe it’s because I’ve been sick as a dog this week (gotta love that annual Fall cold), but as I ransacked our medicine kit to grab yet another set of DayQuil pills, my mind couldn’t help but go straight to the impact of brand equity and the nuances we often take for granted when we make product purchases (as one does…more Kleenex please).?
Most of us grocery shop fairly frequently, grabbing items from shelves and checking them off our lists while barely spending time to evaluate why we typically (and haphazardly) select each brand of spinach, cold medicine, toothpaste, or soft drink. In terms of product reliability, at some point or another we’ve learned to trust one brand over another, and we rarely take the time to evaluate the rationale behind those choices, the motivations of those companies, or whether the increasingly-gouged price tags accurately reflect a “superior” product.
BRAND EQUITY IS AN EVER-EVOLVING TEST OF PSYCHOLOGY
“Compelling, successful brands usually have detailed strategies for how to appeal to their target audience and create a sense of rapport with them. This goes far beyond just offering good products and reliable customer service—it ventures into the very foundations of brand identity,” Patrick Nycz, President of NewPoint, writes in Forbes. “Building a more appealing brand means better understanding the psychology of your audience and how to tap into that psychology.”?
Audiences are consumers. Consumers are people. People are human.?
When it comes to developing a company’s brand, it’s essential to keep the goals of the company aligned to the goals of the intended consumer. Purchasing decisions reflect not just the needs of the consumer after all, they also emphasize the ideal persona consumers want to convey – the type of lifestyle and the ideal kind of person they want to be. Brands represent values, and purchasing decisions are the representation of an implied alignment between consumers and companies.?
For example, despite being sick and in need of common cold materials, what do I immediately gravitate to? The brands I know will bring me comfort, consistency, and reliability when I need support:
BRAND QUALITY: FACT OR FARSE?
As both a consumer and a marketer, I’ve learned to rely on so many of these brands, regardless of their actual impact, because of the perceived value they add to my life. Sure, the active ingredients in DayQuil could just as easily be found in a Bartell’s brand name product for significantly cheaper. Or I could go with Amazon’s 365 brand of tissue paper, and save a few dollars instead of purchasing Kleenix. However, the committed relationship I have with the brands I’ve learned to rely on during certain needs in my life highlights the true impact of brand equity– the holy grail of marketers’ dreams. When I’m feeling sick, I don’t need to spend time evaluating which products I’ll spend money on or why. I just know. And unless something adverse occurs, I won’t question those purchasing habits.
Researcher, consumer neuroscientist, and writer Dr. Matt Johnson emphasizes:
“Branding pioneer Walter Landolf once said, ‘products are made in the factory, but brands are made in the mind’. Neuroscientifically speaking, the brand is ultimately a pattern of connectivity in consumers' brains. It is the totality of the emotional, and semantic associations that consumers have come to understand that the brand represents. And it's this associative pattern that gives the brand its symbolic meaning.”
When associating health with products, my brain automatically relegates to my proven cocktail of brands. It’s a reminder for anyone looking to develop their brand – for consumers in similar situations, brand equity is the difference between an instantaneous decision and the possibility of spending hard-earned income elsewhere.?
As I emphasized in one of my previous posts on the importance of developing a company’s brand identity, developing an effective product is essential to building reputation and positive rapport with consumers. But, it’s a little chicken and egg – unless that product is represented by an identifiable, trusted brand, it doesn’t matter if the product is good, because consumers simply won’t try it.?
领英推荐
HOW TO PIVOT CONSUMERS – CREATING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE IDEAL EXPERIENCE
I’ve always loved Twinings tea. It’s what my mother would give us growing up. It’s what made us feel sophisticated and fancy (we save Lipton’s for our sweet tea only, thank you!). However, a few years ago, I developed an unexpected fondness for Genmaicha tea by Eden. This occurred when a longtime trusted friend offered me tea at her place, and upon requesting green tea, I discovered that her brand was much better than the Twinings’ version I had previously been purchasing. We could argue that the product was superior, and that resulted in my changed consumer behavior.
However…
My friend has always been focused on finding organic, healthy foods, and she only enjoys high-quality products that add value to her life. When she drinks tea, it is to create peace. To carve out time for herself. To wind down from a chaotic day. To open a conversation with a longtime friend. Tea with my friend is a memorable experience – not one to take lightly or quickly. She would never buy a brand of tea that didn’t represent these values, and that’s what led her to purchasing her initial box of Eden tea long, long ago.?
Cut to today. Now, when I drink my Eden Genmaicha tea, it makes me feel warmly sentimental and cared for. It reminds me that I am doing something good for my sick body – that I am investing in my own self-care one steaming cup of green tea at a time. Especially when I’m sick, it is a feeling that I seek, a trusted moment of relaxation and rejuvenation. Ultimately, I’ve learned to trust Eden to help me heal.
THE SIX KEY COMPONENTS FOR CREATING BRAND EQUITY?
As Qualtrics explains, brand equity is a culmination of several key components:
The culmination of these results in consumers’ purchasing decisions, and ultimately, a company’s bottom line. Furthermore:?
“Branding, and brand value, represent some 20% of the value of the entire S&P 500, while 77% of consumers are likely to refer to certain items by brand names, rather than product names. Consistent presentation of a brand, meanwhile, can increase revenue by 33% – meaning that time and money spent on building your brand equity can pay big dividends.” - Qualtrics
By building a brand that consumers know, trust, recognize, and rely on, companies become top of mind, and top of conversation. That equity ultimately comes into play when it comes time to make purchasing decisions, in sickness and in health. It’s the difference between choosing my Eden tea or feeling the need to adventure into something new.
IN CONCLUSION
Does your brand come to mind when consumers are looking to fulfill a want or need? If not, who are your primary competitors, and what do their brands convey that yours may not? Is there a key differentiator with your products that needs to be better emphasized to help your brand stand out in the sea of noise? Have you targeted audiences that align with your brand values to ensure alignment and opportunity for increased engagement and conversion??
By considering these questions in conjunction with these six key components above, your company has an opportunity to determine the strength of your brand, and the areas for improvement. And just as daisies become synonymous with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, here’s wishing you health and wellness along the way.?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
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