Brand Power & Brand Engagement – Background
Brand plays a uniquely significant role in marketing thinking and strategy. Well-known brands are powerful differentiators from the competition that attract customers and keep them loyal. They are the most puzzling asset companies can possess – exceptionally valuable on many fronts and exceedingly hard to quantify in terms of their value. Brand strength enhances the financial valuation of a company in terms of multiples that defy traditional guidelines.
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) have effectively used the power of brand in designing marketing communications and strategy implementation. Much of today's marketing thinking on brand equity, power, value and positioning comes from that sector.
Approach
Even in non-CPG industries, product branding or corporate branding plays a critical role in market expansion and customer retention. GE Capital, HSBC and Merrill Lynch are good examples of corporate branding in the retail and commercial financial services industries. As companies focus more on customer loyalty and employee engagement, the role of brand in terms of building customer patronage takes center stage.
Market Probe's approach to branding is based on two hypotheses:
1. Brand power or corporate reputation is a critical pillar that can support customer loyalty. Sharing the stage with brand are product quality, competitive pricing and customer experiences, among others.
2. Evaluation of a brand (brand power in Market Probe's model) has both rational and emotional components. A customer may think highly of his or her financial institution because of that bank's emphasis on technology in order to make banking easier. This is a rational dimension. This bank may also excel in offering emotional support to the customer, helping him or her to feel a sense of attachment to the bank. This emotional component can be trust in the bank because of its past actions or promises.
