We all operate in markets where we are working alongside competitors. So, how do you separate yourself from the rest of the market? Easy answer: Branding.
Branding - your colours, your logo, your tone. You all have it. But what separates the likes of RC Cola from Coca Cola and from Pepsi? It’s the extent to which your customers positively associate with your brand. As you know, b&m rebranded a year ago and we went back to the start…
The theory: Keller develop the Customer Based Equity Model in 1993 (photo below courtesy of The Branding Journal). The model, cited thousands of times since publication, presents a model of brand equity from the perspective of the consumer. Basically, he looks at the impact your customers responses to your business have on your brand.
Why did he do this? Well, each customer who interacts with you takes a journey. From the moment you meet them, to the goods or service you provide to them, every communication, it is all remembered. This experience will generate the consumers perception of your brand and this is vital. Keller states ‘brand equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favourable, strong and unique association in memory’.
So, when the customer meets you, likes you, uses or purchases your goods/services and has a good experience with them, the obvious resulting perception is positive. Good start. This is the beginning, they know who you are and know how they feel about you, steps one and two on the model.
To sustain market share and generate repeat business, you then must get that customer to come back to you again. You must communicate to these customers what your brand is and connect with them on a social and psychological level to develop further positive feelings. This is then solidified if they continue to have good experiences with you and hopefully start to believe your product/service is superior to your competitors. This creates high levels of brand loyalty.
The piece de resistance? If that customer comes to you regardless of who else is in the market and recommends you to their friends and peers; you’ve created Brand Advocacy, or in Keller’s model, Resonance, the top level. That customer truly resonates with what you do, how you do it and the outcome. You’ve created a strong emotional bond between your brand and the customer.
These super loyal customers will generate new leads, share more information with you and act as real advocates, naturally. We all know many people’s purchasing decisions are usually swayed by word of mouth referrals, therefore companies must harness the power of their customer based brand equity and get clients to this resonance level.
To reinforce this, did you know that Coldwell (2001) found that a totally satisfied customer contributes 2.6 times as much revenue to a company as a somewhat satisfied customer? Therefore, that slight difference between your service being ok and great and generating stronger loyalty from it makes all the difference to the bottom line.
Its also worth noting that acquiring a new customer is 5 times more expensive than keeping a current one, so its vital we work hard to retain the ones we work so hard to win in the first place.
So, you know the why, but how do you build your customers up to advocacy? Well, even Keller notes that not all customers will become advocates, its just not possible. Yet, we know that just a few key advocates can make all the difference to your brand and bottom line.
Key things to do:
Trace your customer journey and refine it to ensure everyone gets the best experience.
Ask for feedback. You may find there is a broken link in the chain and by resolving it, your customers may go from loyal, to advocate.
Speak to your customers and the changing trends of the market and adjust your strategy to suit
Deliver the brand consistently, authentically and often.
b&m have started taking this approach and are working to develop good levels of brand advocacy across our customer base.
Get in touch if you would like me to help you walk through your customer journey and develop methods to gain higher levels of brand advocacy.
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